Generally speaking, skills and knowledge are trained, therefore great when things are repetitive and on track but invariably things go off track and usually at critical moments. When that happens you really do find out what your people and teams are capable of, or not.
Situational questions focus on how people handle real-life scenarios that could well be expected to encounter. Responses will tell you how they have handled similar situations previously and how you could expect them to do it in the future. Asking these questions helps employers better understand the thought process and assess problem-solving, self-management and communication skills.
Building high performing teams and recruiting the people in them has been a huge part of my career, generally on a final interview basis. Will they fit the culture of the company? Do they demonstrate the right behaviours? Can they think for themselves? How will they deal with situations that come up? So, I used ‘situational’ questions to really understand these points.
For anyone who is interviewing, I recommend you use ‘real world’ situational questioning because it will help you understand how an individual thinks and their capabilities in relatable situations based on your expectations, TED questions work well for this.
For those being interviewed, most people are comfortable telling stories, we do it often. The basis of the CARL format is to answer an interviewer's questions by telling mini stories. So, think of answering the questions in this way:
C = The Challenge you faced
A = The Actions you took
R = The Results you achieved
L = The Lessons you learned
I love an acronym!
Jason Bushby
Director @ Candoo.co.uk | Helping people build great teams
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