Listers!

Wow..I am surprised at how many folks wanted this info. Interviewing well
can certainly be a challenge. Forgive me, but it will just be easier to
post, rather than personal replies.

I have included the behavioral questions I  have used in the past.  I
combined several different lists of questions as there are different
questions for individual contributors than leadership folks....  Also, be
aware that these are customized, and the original material  is from
Behavioral Technology, Inc.  Please take a look at their web site
www.btweb.com for more info about their products and services, particularly
their schedule of seminars, at

http://www.btweb.com/selection/selection.htm


Good luck in  your search for the right candidates!
Beth Macdonald
415/752.6511
Big Head Interactive
www.bigheadinteractive.com

***********
Coping: Tell me about a time when you had to cope with strict deadlines or
time demands.
Coping: Give me an example of a time when another person really tried your
patience.
Coping: Tell me about a high stress situation when it was desirable to keep
a positive attitude. What did you do?
Tolerance of Ambiguity: What has been your experience  in working with
conflicting, delayed, or ambiguous information? What did you do to make the
most of the situation?
Tolerance of Ambiguity:  Sooner or later we find ourselves in the position
of having to live with an unresolved situation on the job.  Tell me about a
time when this happened to you.
Decisiveness: Describe a situation in which you had to take immediate
action, thinking quickly under pressure.
Decisiveness: Many times it is important to stand by a decision you have
made, even when it is under attacked or doubted by others. Give me an
example of when you have stuck by a decision even when it was under attack
by others.
Spoken Communication:  Tell me about specific  experience of yours in which
you had to make a presentation (technical or proposal, or educational) to a
group of  5 or more people.
Spoken Communication: Tell me about a specific experience of yours that
illustrates your ability to  influence another person verbally. Feel free to
use an example that involves changing an attitude, pitching a proposal, or
in some other way being persuasive.
Assertiveness:  Sometimes it is important to disagree with others, in order
to keep a mistake from being made. Tell me about a time when you were
willing to share your disagreement with another person in order  to build a
positive outcome.
Assertiveness: Some of the best ideas are born out of an individual’s
ability to maturely challenge another’s way of thinking. Tell me about a
time when you were successful in challenging another’s ideas.
Policy and Procedures: We all recognize that regulations may vary in terms
of their meaningfulness.  Select a strict and meaningful regulation you had
to conform to  in your last position. (Now invite the candidate to do the
opposite: describe a regulation they chose not to uphold. )
Policy and Procedures: What type of experience have you had in managing
situations that involved health and human welfare issues or severe financial
outcomes? Detail, as much as possible, the way in which  you used policy and
procedures to insure job effectiveness.
Goal Setting: Tell me about a system you use for goal setting. To what
extent does it involve written objectives, paperwork and forms? Describe a
specific instance in which you  defined your goals and objectives in
writing.
Goal Setting: What important target dates did  you set to reach objectives
at your last job? How did you arrive at the dates to set? Exactly what were
they, and to what degree were you successful in meeting the dates. What
percent of the original objective was delivered by that date?
Written Communication: In some jobs it is necessary to document your work
thoroughly, in writing. For example, documentation might be necessary to
prove you did your job correctly or to train another person to do it. Give
me an example of your experience in this area.
Written Communication: Tell me about your experience in generating a
proposal in written form. To what extent did you define content, outline,
format and presentation? To what extent did you contribute material in the
proposal? Was the proposal accepted? (Note: you may want to ask the total
number of proposals generated in the last "n" years, and how many were
accepted.)
Commitment to Task:  Getting the job done may  necessitate unusual
persistence or dedication to results, especially when faced with  obstacles
or distractions. Tell me about a time in which you were able to be
persistent in order to reach goals.
Commitment to Task: We all have to make decisions on the job about the
delicate balance between personal and work objectives. When do you feel you
had to make personal sacrifices in order to get the job done? (Caution:
listen to the difference in responses from  individual contributor
candidates, versus leadership candidates.  A leader who makes significant
personal sacrifices may or may not lack balance, and require that same level
from staff. )
Organization and Planning: Give me an example of a time when you were
effective in doing away with "constant emergencies" and "surprises" in your
work climate.
Energizing: Tell me about a specific time when your ability to motivate,
reward, and encourage others created a positive experience.  Give me an
example of the things you did to  build enthusiasm in  others. How did you
evaluate the success of these techniques in general?
Energizing: Tell me about a time when you used competition to motivate
others.  (caution. This is a double edged question.  Listen carefully to the
respondent. Did the candidate use specific competitive techniques to
increase measurable performance results in the staff? Was there an absence
of performance measurement, or a technique which had trivial or negative
impact on team spirit?)
Interaction: Building rapport is sometimes a very challenging thing to do.
Give an example of a time when you were able to build rapport with someone
in a work situation, even when it was difficult, or the odds were against
you.  (Caution. Listen for  a candidate who  acts/decides to
reduce/increase trust  reduce increase control based on information
circulated about another person. Was there misuse of trust, or inappropriate
methods of gaining trust and rapport?)
Leadership: Organizations are built on the principle of delegation. Give me
an example of the  greatest success you had in the use of delegation. Take
time to think of the best example, so you can be specific in describing it.
(Caution: If this is a leadership candidate, Did the candidate
assign/encourage independent action, then evaluate performance according to
objective measures of success? Was there ineffective or trivial effort to
assign  independent actions?)

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