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Behavioral vs Situational Interviews: How Are They Different?

Feb 6, 2019 |
Employers,  |
Mitchell Riley |

Different kinds of jobs require different types of interviews. Two common types of interviews are behavioral and situational interviews. Although the two share many similarities they are based on distinct philosophies. One also happens to be more difficult than the other.

Let’s take a closer look at what behavioral and situational interviews are and how they differ:

Behavioral Interviews

In the most basic terms, behavioral interviews involve asking the interviewee to describe past experiences that are similar to the situation the interviewer is describing. The purpose of this type of interview is to see whether the candidate has encountered similar situations in the past and get a better understanding of their behavior and personality.

Here are some examples:

· Describe a time in your life where you had to make an incredibly tough decision.

· Describe an instance where you and your supervisor were on opposite sides of an argument.

· Describe the biggest mistake you’ve made on the job.

Every single one of the questions is difficult but each one of them will reveal something significant about the candidate. They can be used to judge how well they prepared for the interview, their thought process and their past experiences and behavior. All these revelations are crucial in understanding the candidate.

Situational Interviews

Stock_Business-008Situational interviews focus on the future instead of the past. Instead of asking about past experiences, the candidate is questioned about potential problems they may face on the job.

Questions in a situational interview usually start with “What would you do if…” The candidate is then expected to quickly process the situation and provide solutions to the problem.

Situational interviews are used are used to test the candidate’s problem-solving skills, knowledge, intellectual capacity and their expertise. They are highly reliable indicators of how a candidate performs under pressure. The interview has the right to assume that the candidate is capable of performing the tasks they discuss in the interview.

AT OPS Staffing, we use both behavioral and situational interview questions to assess a candidate’s capabilities before passing them on to our client’s. Our strict screening process ensures that we only present the best candidates to our esteemed clients.

Our expert recruiting services can assist you in finding exceptional managerial candidates for your water and fire restoration company. We help restoration companies hire Project Managers, Estimators, Business Development Executives, Office Managers and other Upper Management professionals.

Contact our team for your fire, water, and disaster restoration recruiting needs!

Posted: Feb 6, 2019
Posted by: Mitchell Riley
OPS Staffing | + 1 (888) 482-6019

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