Why Behavioral Interviewing Techniques Are Essential for Hiring Teams
Something I see all too often when assessing the way a hiring team asks questions is the tendency to conduct surface-level interviews; asking a question, receiving an answer, and then moving on to a new topic.
But this approach often fails to reveal how a candidate truly thinks, acts, and problem-solves in real-world situations.
To make better hiring decisions, interviewers must go beyond generic responses and use behavioral interviewing techniques—a structured approach that focuses on past experiences as predictors of future performance. One of the most powerful ways to apply this is through drill-down questioning, where interviewers follow up on initial answers to uncover deeper insights into a candidate’s skills, decision-making process, and impact.
Instead of moving quickly from one question to the next, hiring teams should focus on fewer areas in greater depth. This means asking follow-up questions like:
- “Can you walk me through a specific example?”
- “What was your exact role in that situation?”
- “What was the outcome, and what did you learn from it?”
By implementing these behavioral interviewing techniques, hiring teams can avoid vague, hypothetical answers and instead collect real-world evidence of a candidate’s competencies. In this guide, we’ll cover:
- Why traditional interview styles fail to assess true capabilities
- How to use effective follow-up questions to drill down into a candidate’s experience
- Common mistakes to avoid when structuring interview questions
- How this approach strengthens behavioral interviewing strategies for hiring teams
If you want to improve the quality of your hiring decisions, refining your behavioral interviewing techniques with structured follow-up questioning is key, and should be a key part of any interview training for your hiring team.
Understanding Behavioral Interviewing
What Is Behavioral Interviewing?
Behavioral interviewing is a structured interview technique designed to assess a candidate’s past experiences as indicators of their future performance. Instead of asking hypothetical questions like, “How would you handle a difficult client?”, behavioral interviewing requires candidates to provide real-world examples of how they have handled similar situations in the past.
This method is based on the principle that past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior. By focusing on what a candidate has actually done, rather than what they think they would do, hiring teams gain concrete evidence of a candidate’s skills, decision-making process, and ability to navigate challenges.
Why Behavioral Interviewing Matters in Hiring
Traditional interviews often fail to uncover the true capabilities of a candidate because they rely on:
- Yes/No questions that don’t provide meaningful insights
- Hypothetical scenarios that allow candidates to craft idealized answers
- Generalized responses that lack detail and proof of competence
In contrast, behavioral interviewing techniques provide hiring teams with a deeper, more accurate understanding of a candidate’s strengths, weaknesses, and work style. By requiring candidates to share specific past experiences, interviewers can evaluate:
- Problem-solving skills
- Leadership and teamwork abilities
- Adaptability under pressure
- Communication and decision-making processes
For example, instead of asking:
❌ “Are you good at resolving conflicts?”
A behavioral interview question would be:
✅ “Tell me about a time you had a conflict with a coworker. How did you handle it, and what was the outcome?”
This approach eliminates guesswork, allowing interviewers to assess how candidates actually behave in real work scenarios.
Next, we’ll dive into how to use follow-up questions to dig deeper into a candidate’s answers and uncover even more valuable insights.
How to use Follow-Up Questions in Interviews
Many interviewers make the mistake of accepting surface-level answers and moving on too quickly. But the key to truly understanding a candidate’s abilities lies in effective follow-up questions.
Follow-up questions—also known as the drill-down technique—help interviewers go beyond initial responses to uncover deeper insights into a candidate’s skills, experience, and decision-making process. This approach aligns with behavioral interviewing techniques by ensuring that candidates provide real-world examples rather than hypothetical or vague responses.
Why Follow-Up Questions Are Crucial
Follow-up questions:
✅ Clarify vague responses – Candidates often provide general answers. Follow-ups force them to add details.
✅ Uncover real experiences – Instead of theoretical answers, follow-ups ensure candidates describe actual past behavior.
✅ Expose red flags – Candidates who struggle to provide details may be exaggerating their experience.
✅ Distinguish strong candidates – The best candidates will provide clear, structured, and insightful answers when probed.
How to Use the Drill-Down Technique
The drill-down technique involves layering follow-up questions to progressively extract more detail from a candidate’s initial response. Here’s an example:
Question: “What do you find most challenging about your current role?”
📌 Candidate: “Managing competing priorities.”
Follow-Up Drill-Down Questions:
- “Can you describe a specific instance where you struggled with competing priorities?”
- “What was your exact role in that situation?”
- “How did you decide which task to prioritize?”
- “What steps did you take to manage the workload?”
- “What was the outcome, and what did you learn from that experience?”
- “How have you applied that learning in similar situations since?”
By using progressive follow-ups, hiring teams can get to the core of a candidate’s actual work experience and decision-making process.
Common Mistakes to Avoid in Follow-Up Questions
❌ Yes/No follow-ups: Avoid questions like, “Did that work out well?” Instead, ask “What was the result?”
❌ Leading questions: Avoid suggesting answers, like “So you took charge of that, right?” Instead, ask “What was your role in resolving the issue?”
❌ Jumping to another topic too quickly: If a candidate’s answer is unclear, keep probing until you get a full understanding.
Final Thought
Mastering follow-up questions in interviews using the drill-down technique ensures hiring teams move beyond rehearsed answers and uncover genuine, performance-based insights. This method, combined with behavioral interviewing techniques, allows for better hiring decisions based on real-world evidence rather than assumptions.
What are behavioral interviewing techniques?
Behavioral interview techniques involve asking candidates about past experiences to predict future performance. Instead of hypothetical questions, interviewers use real-world scenarios to assess problem-solving, communication, and decision-making skills.
How do follow-up questions improve interviews?
Follow-up questions help interviewers drill down into candidate responses, ensuring clarity and depth. Instead of moving on after a general answer, follow-ups like “What was your exact role in that situation?” or “What did you learn from that experience?” uncover valuable insights.
What are follow-up questions in interviews?
Follow-up questions in interviews are additional prompts that interviewers ask after a candidate’s initial response to gather more depth, clarity, or specificity. They help uncover how and why a candidate made certain decisions, providing a deeper understanding of their skills, thought process, and past behavior.
What are examples of good behavioral interview questions?
“Tell me about a time you handled a difficult client or stakeholder. How did you resolve the issue?”
“Describe a situation where you had to work under a tight deadline. What steps did you take?”
“Can you share an experience where you had to adapt to a major change in your role?”
What common mistakes should interviewers avoid? when asking questions
Asking yes/no questions instead of open-ended ones.
Using hypothetical scenarios instead of real experiences.
Leading candidates toward an answer instead of allowing them to provide genuine responses.
