Behavioral interview questions allow hiring managers to learn more about a candidate’s personality. While the goal is typically to determine if the job seeker is a strong match for the role and company culture, interview questions of this nature can also potentially expose red flags that make the candidate a poor choice.
Here’s a look at ten interview questions that can reveal behavior issues.
1. Can You Tell Me About a Time When You Changed Your Mind?
With this interview question, you can see if a candidate is adaptable, as open-minded professionals can typically provide a reasonable answer with ease. If they struggle to give an example, it could indicate that they resist change, which isn’t ideal.
2. Describe Your Best and Worst Days at Your Last Job.
How a candidate describes their best and worst days on the job can be incredibly revealing. Along with showing what makes them enthusiastic, it can identify whether there may be a behavioral issue based on how they speak about a challenging time.
3. If You Didn’t Need the Money, What Would Keep You Coming to Work?
This question helps determine a candidate’s motivations and enthusiasm for the job or their field. If they can’t provide an answer, it could mean they aren’t overly passionate about what they do, which could be problematic.
4. How Would Your Current or Previous Boss Describe You?
With this question, you may learn about traits that the candidate wouldn’t otherwise reveal. Additionally, they may discuss their feelings about their current or previous boss, which can also be enlightening.
5. What Do You Do to Manage Stress?
Here, you want a candidate to present reliable techniques for keeping stress in check. If they can’t provide an example or describe an unhealthy coping mechanism, that should give you pause.
6. How Did You Handle Your Last Significant Conflict at Work?
This is another question that can reveal a lot about a candidate’s attitude. If they take responsibility for their role in the conflict and present a reasonable way of navigating it, that’s a positive sign. If not, that’s often a red flag.
7. Tell Me About a Time Where You Received Negative Feedback You Disagreed With.
When you ask this question, the ideal answer is one where a candidate remained reasonable and tried to learn from the feedback, even if they didn’t entirely agree. However, a candidate with behavior issues may react otherwise to this question, giving you valuable insights into their character.
8. Can You Tell Me About a Time When You Made a Mistake at Work?
Most candidates will be able to describe a mistake, as well as how they worked to resolve it. But if a candidate either states they’ve never made an error or discusses hiding the mistake from others, that’s a warning sign of potential behavior issues.
9. Have You Ever Been on a Team Where a Colleague Wasn’t Pulling Their Weight? How Did You React to That?
Here’s a question where a candidate saying they haven’t encountered the situation isn’t inherently problematic. However, if a job seeker describes unprofessional behavior when addressing the issue, that should give you pause.
10. Can You Tell Me My Name?
A question like this can be valuable, as it shows how attentive a candidate is during what’s often a stressful experience. Not being able to provide an answer could indicate a lack of attention to detail, but if a candidate gets defensive about not knowing, they could reveal much more.
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If you’d like to learn more about how to interview candidates strategically or want to partner with recruitment professionals to fill vacant roles, The Advance Group wants to hear from you. Contact us today.
