Hiring decisions affect the balance, productivity and morale of the entire team. Marginal hires, especially those at higher-level positions, can be a very damaging expense.
Many executive candidates are well-studied interviewers but their performance, once hired, may not match the superstar figure portrayed during initial assessment.
Construction executives must call on their people-reading skills and interviewing techniques to build an effective team. The key to identifying and selecting high-performance candidates is asking the right questions. Many hiring executives in today’s competitive marketplace do not prepare for interviews, choosing instead to go with their gut, which can be dangerous. The ultimate goals when interviewing are to determine the candidate’s true motivations, if the company can meet the candidate’s needs, and if the particular candidate can make a positive impact on the long-term success of the company.
To effectively answer these questions, employ a behavioral questioning format. Behavioral interviewing techniques attempt to relate a candidate’s answers to specific experiences and focus on projecting potential performance from past actions.
Behavioral Interview Questions
Following are 25 sample interview questions that can be tailored to fit the position’s requirements and the industry niche.
- Tell me about your career plan, and what you have done so far to accomplish it.
- Tell me about your greatest career achievements. Why did you pick those examples?
- What is the most difficult or complex idea, situation or process you have had to explain to someone? How did you explain it? Were you successful?
- Describe a time when you had difficulty communicating your thoughts clearly to another person or group. What message were you trying to convey? How did you end up getting your point across?
- Tell me about a time you had to use your written communication skills to get an important point across.
- Describe a time you faced problems or stressful situations that tested your coping skills. What did you do?
- Describe how you handled interactions with a difficult colleague. What occurred, and how did you address the situation?
- Give an example of a discussion with a direct report about his/her poor performance and how it helped improve that employee’s performance.
- Tell me about something new or different you did in your previous job that improved customer service, productivity, quality, teamwork or performance.
- Summarize a situation in which you took the initiative to get others involved in an important issue and played a leading role to achieve the results needed.
- Creativity often means stepping back from standard ways of thinking. Give an example of a time when you were able to break out of a structured mindset and explore new or different concepts and ideas.
- Give an example of something you have done to either develop or strengthen customer relationships.
- Describe a time you exceeded the expectations of a client, customer or stakeholder.
- Give an example of a difficult decision you had to make with no outside guidance.
- Tell me about an important decision you made by asking the right questions and gathering the right information.
- Give an example of a major project or task you delegated to one of your employees. How did you monitor the project or task?
- Describe a time you were able to transform your anxiety or negative emotions into positive actions.
- What do you do when faced with choosing between opposing things, both of which seem like the right decision?
- Discuss a time when your integrity was challenged.
- Describe how you set your goals for last year and how you measured your work. Did you achieve your goals?
- Tell me about your best and worst hiring decisions.
- Describe a time you took the initiative to do something that needed to be done even though it wasn’t really your responsibility. What circumstances prompted you to act?
- Building rapport with some people can be challenging. Give an example of a time when you were able to quickly built rapport with someone in your organization amid a difficult situation.
- Give an example of a time you developed and maintained (or strengthened) a relationship with a person or group outside or inside the organization. Why and how did you develop the relationship?
- Give an example of a strategy you developed to achieve a short- or long-term business goal or objective.
By relating a candidate’s answers to specific past experiences, employers can develop more reliable indicators of how the individual will act in the future.