The best predictor of future behaviour is past behaviour. That is the foundation of the behavioural interview.
In contrast to traditional interview questions – “What would you do if…” – recruiters want to know what candidates have actually done. Using the Critical Incident Technique, interviewers first ask line managers and team members about success-critical situations: conflicts, leadership challenges, customer complaints. During the interview, candidates are then asked to describe comparable situations from their own past. Studies show that this structured interview format is particularly effective – because it provides evidence of real behaviour rather than hypothetical responses.
For candidates, the behavioural interview is demanding – and requires targeted preparation. Those who want to demonstrate leadership capability should be able to describe a concrete situation from their professional life in which they have proven it. The STAR method – Situation, Task, Action, Result – helps to structure such examples clearly and coherently.
Those who succeed in doing so enable the other party to visualise their behaviour. And that is precisely the goal.
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