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Behavioural Interviews: The Art of Finding Who They Really Are
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Stop me if you've heard this one before: "Where do you see yourself in five years?" followed by the candidate's rehearsed response about growth, challenges, and alignment with company values.
If I had a dollar for every time I've sat through that charade, I'd have retired to the Gold Coast by now. After 18 years in HR and talent acquisition across Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane, I can tell you that traditional interviews are about as useful as a chocolate teapot when it comes to predicting job performance.
That's why I became obsessed with behavioural interviewing. And yes, obsessed is the right word.
The Lightbulb Moment That Changed Everything
Three years ago, I hired what looked like the perfect candidate on paper. Stellar qualifications, articulate responses, confident handshake. Six months later, they'd managed to alienate half the sales team and completely mishandle our biggest client crisis. The warning signs were there during the interview - I just wasn't asking the right questions.
Traditional interviews test one thing brilliantly: how well someone can give hypothetical answers to hypothetical situations. Behavioural interviews, on the other hand, dig into what someone has actually done. Because here's the uncomfortable truth most hiring managers won't admit: past behaviour is the most reliable predictor of future performance.
Why Most Managers Get Behavioural Interviews Wrong
The biggest mistake? Treating behavioural questions like a tick-box exercise. "Tell me about a time when..." followed by nodding politely at whatever story emerges. That's not behavioural interviewing - that's just amateur hour with better questions.
Real behavioural interviewing is forensic. It's about understanding not just what happened, but why decisions were made, how the person felt during the process, and what they learned from the experience. I've seen too many Brisbane businesses hire the wrong person because they stopped digging after the surface-level story.
Companies like Atlassian have mastered this approach. Their structured behavioural interview process has helped them scale rapidly while maintaining their culture. They don't just ask for examples - they probe for specific details that reveal character and decision-making patterns.
The SOAR Method: My Secret Weapon
Forget STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result). I use SOAR: Situation, Obstacles, Actions, and Reflection. That last bit - reflection - is where the magic happens. Anyone can tell you what they did. The right candidates can tell you why they did it and what they'd do differently.
Here's what SOAR looks like in practice:
Situation: Set the scene properly. What was the context? Who were the key players? What were the stakes?
Obstacles: This is where you separate the wheat from the chaff. What made this situation challenging? What barriers did they face? Push for specifics here.
Actions: Not just what they did, but why they chose that approach. What alternatives did they consider? Who did they consult? This reveals problem-solving style and collaboration skills.
Reflection: The game-changer. What did they learn? What would they do differently? How did this experience shape their approach going forward?
Most candidates can handle the first three elements. The reflection component is where authentic self-awareness shines through - or doesn't.
The Questions That Actually Matter
After thousands of interviews, I've refined my approach to focus on five core behavioural areas. These aren't groundbreaking - good managers have been exploring these themes for decades. But the specific questions I use have evolved through trial and error.
Problem-solving under pressure: "Walk me through the most complex problem you've had to solve in the last 12 months. Don't give me the highlight reel - I want the messy middle bit too."
Dealing with conflict: "Tell me about a time when you disagreed with your manager's decision. How did you handle it, and what was the outcome?"
Learning from failure: "Describe a project or initiative that didn't go as planned. What went wrong, and how did you respond?"
Influencing without authority: "Give me an example of when you needed to get something done but didn't have direct control over the people or resources required."
Cultural fit and values: "Tell me about a time when you had to make a decision that tested your personal values at work. What did you do?"
Notice how these questions can't be answered with textbook responses? That's intentional. I'm looking for authentic stories, hesitation, real emotion. The candidates who launch into polished, rehearsed answers usually aren't giving me the whole truth.
Reading Between the Lines
Here's where experience matters. A candidate's body language, the pace of their storytelling, the details they choose to include or omit - these all provide crucial data points.
I remember interviewing a candidate for a senior marketing role who told a story about resolving a client complaint. The story itself was fine - good outcome, professional approach. But she consistently referred to the client as "this person" rather than using their name or title. Small detail, but it suggested a lack of genuine connection with clients. My instincts were right - six months later, her client relationships were consistently transactional rather than strategic.
The best candidates tell stories with genuine emotion. They admit mistakes without deflecting blame. They show vulnerability while demonstrating growth. These aren't qualities you can teach in interview training - they're character traits that emerge under skilled questioning.
Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them
The verification trap: Don't just accept stories at face value. Follow up with questions like "What did your manager say about your approach?" or "How did the other team members react?" Inconsistencies often emerge when you dig deeper.
Leading the witness: Avoid telegraphing the "right" answer. Instead of asking "Tell me about a time when you showed leadership," try "Describe a situation where you influenced an outcome without having formal authority."
The recency bias: Most people naturally default to recent examples. Push for variety: "That's a great example from your current role. Can you think of a similar situation from earlier in your career?" Patterns of behaviour become clearer when you see them across different contexts.
Technology and Behavioural Interviewing
Video interviews have actually improved my behavioural interviewing effectiveness. Candidates are often more relaxed in familiar environments, leading to more authentic responses. But technology isn't a substitute for skilled questioning - it's just a different delivery method.
Some companies are experimenting with AI-powered behavioural assessment tools. I'm sceptical. The nuance of human behaviour, the ability to read between the lines, the instinct to probe deeper - these aren't capabilities that algorithms can replicate effectively. At least not yet.
Building Your Behavioural Interview Toolkit
Start with your company's core competencies and work backwards. What behaviours distinguish your top performers? What patterns do you see in employees who struggle or leave early? Use these insights to develop situation-specific questions.
Role-play your questions with colleagues first. You'd be surprised how differently questions land when spoken aloud versus read silently. Practice the follow-up probes too - that's where the real insights emerge.
Document everything, but don't let note-taking interfere with the conversation flow. I use a simple template that captures key behavioural indicators while maintaining natural dialogue.
The Commercial Reality
Behavioural interviewing takes more time and skill than traditional methods. It requires training your interview panel, standardising your approach, and often extending your interview process. Some managers resist this investment, preferring to stick with quicker, less reliable methods.
This is short-sighted thinking. The cost of a bad hire - lost productivity, team disruption, replacement costs - far exceeds the investment in proper interview processes. Research consistently shows that structured behavioural interviews improve hiring success rates by 40-60%.
Making It Stick in Your Organisation
The biggest challenge isn't learning behavioural interview techniques - it's getting consistent adoption across your hiring managers. I've seen brilliant behavioural interview training programs fail because they weren't embedded into company processes and accountability systems.
Start with your highest-impact roles and most experienced interviewers. Build success stories and internal advocates. Make behavioural interviewing competency a requirement for anyone involved in hiring decisions. This isn't optional soft skill development - it's core business capability.
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The next time you're sitting across from a candidate, remember: their past behaviour is your best predictor of future performance. Ask better questions, dig deeper, and trust the process. Your team will thank you for it.
The best hires aren't necessarily the most articulate in interviews - they're the ones whose past actions align with your future needs. Behavioural interviewing helps you find those people. Use it wisely.