Travel Jobs: Behavioral Interviews

Behavioral interviews are the trend of the time in human resources. To put it nicely, this interview style is a load of crap.

I’m happy to tell you my recent job search and subsequent training have come to an end. I am happily installed in my new profession and place of residence in Newark, New Jersey. That being said, it was hell just trying to find a travel job.

For those of you who are now on your search for employment that extends beyond the borders of a cubicle in an office, I’m afraid you’ll encounter the above mentioned behavioral interview method. I’m sorry for that. The problem with this style is that it is not in fact determining the best candidate for the job but only the biggest B.S.er in the interview group. I’m not saying the questions asked aren’t a valid indicator; I’m saying the method is bad. Interviewees are put under pressure to come up with a stellar response on the fly. That’s an important trait if you’re planning on a sales career, but it isn’t really necessary for most jobs. Many well qualified candidates are slipping through the cracks because they didn’t come up with a great “Name a time you went above and beyond the call of duty” response, even though they may have actually gone above and beyond the call of duty on many occasions. It’s just hard to come up with the best response under that kind pressure. Does that indicate a person can’t ACT under pressure? Of course not. Just like having an argument with your boyfriend, these applicants think of the BEST responses when they’re brushing their teeth that night – after it’s just too late.

My proposal to the interviewers of the world is to give the applicant a “test” with the desired questions. Put them in an empty room and give them an appropriate amount of time to give each question a little though and provide an answer. The interviewer can then review the responses immediately prior to the interview and discuss the situations further with the interviewee. This would also provide the interviewer with more material to evaluate at the end of the process, as well as show the interviewee’s organizational skills. The interviewer can then concentrate on the person being interviewed, rather than taking notes the entire time. That’s a small leap, rather than scrapping the whole process since all you’re really getting are the responses you WANT to hear. But I definitely do think it would be a step in the right direction.

Until my method catches on, here are some sources for potential behavioral interview questions so you won’t be caught completely off guard:

Quint Careers
About.com
Boston College

Good luck with the hunt!