What does behaviour-based mean?
Behaviour-based questions are those that ask individuals to provide examples of how they behaved in the past. Usually this type of question asks an individual to give an example of how he demonstrated a competency (i.e. an example of a time when he demonstrated "persistence")

What is behavioural interviewing
Behavioural interviewing, also known as behaviour-based interviewing, is an interviewing approach in which the interviewer asks questions that require the applicant to provide examples of how he performed in the past. (see "What does behaviour-based mean?")

What is a structured behaviour interview?
A structured behaviour interview is one in which the interviewer follows a predefined set of interview questions. Some or all of the questions are behaviour-based.

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How reliable is behaviour-based interviewing?
Unquestionably behaviour-based interviewing is more reliable and effective than any non behaviour-based approach. Many studies have been conducted on this topic (see details of studies) and virtually all of them show that an interviewer's ability to select the best candidate is 15% to 64% greater using a behaviour-based approach that it is using a non behaviour-based approach. In fact, the studies (with only one exception) suggest that the likelihood of selecting the best applicant is usually at least 40% greater.

While, there is no single tool or process that can guarantee 100% accuracy, behaviour-based interviewing is dramatically more effective than non behaviour-based interviewing. It is also more reliable than some costly professionally administered psychological tests. (Note: most psychological screening tests do not even claim to predict performance.)

Can't applicants easily provide fake examples in a behaviour-based interview?
It is much more difficult (but not impossible) to lie in a behaviour-based interview than it is to lie in a typical non behaviour-based interview. A typical non behaviour-based interview asks questions like "What are your strengths and weaknesses?" and "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?" While those questions can be good to ask, it is easy to fake answers for them. Furthermore, it's difficult to validate the answers, because the applicant is only providing an opinion. Behaviour-based questions ask for facts (i.e. "Can you give me an example of a time you communicated information really clearly?"). Follow-up questions like," What did you do that made it so easy for others to understand?" allow the interviewer to get specific details from the applicant. The more the interviewer probes, the more specific the information becomes and the more difficult it is for the applicant to concoct a story.

Don't behaviour-based questions place unnecessary stress on applicants?
Behaviour-based questions are never intended to place stress on applicants. In fact, often the opposite is true. Acceptable behaviour-based questions only ask applicants to provide examples of past performance in areas where they should have already demonstrated competence. For example, if good communication skills is one of the most important requirements for the job, qualified applicants will likely have demonstrated that skill in the past. Thus the question should be no more difficult or stressful than a question about the applicant's technical skills related to the job.

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