My Behavioral Interview

No, it was not that typical test of behavior in front of the would-be brides’ family. As a matter of fact, am totally averse to sitting (either the girl or guy) in front of a huge family and being invigilated by them.

The crux of the post is this new type of an Interview, which I had to undergo last week for a multi-national. They call it the behavioral Interviewing. This was the first of its kind till date, the term atleast(for me). Unlike the traditional HR interviews, this is more todo with “the most accurate predictor of future performance is past performance in a similar situation."

Not sure, if companies in India have adopted this off late. When my consultant called me up to congratulate on my successful technical round, I was in for a shock the next moment.

Consultant: Mr.Prakash..*I feel so old when they prefix Mr.* Your next round will be a Behavioral Interview from *so and so* on *so and so*

Me: *trying to dig into every damn utilizable cells (do I have any?) in my brain* uhh.. haaann .. yeahh… errr okie

Consultant: If you need more details, please “Google”. All the Best *Grrrr.. as if it was a great advise *

For a moment, I was puzzled. Had heard of video conf, HR, “n” rounds of Tech, who can forget the great aptitude written tests of the mighty "I". When ‘googled’ for the term, I was in for a little shock. Few links portrayed as though this Int was taken for candidates required for big decision-making posts. Then, was a bit relieved as it was pretty usual in commonwealth nations.

More reading specified the candidate had to be well-prepared before he takes it up. I had this naughty smile, when I read those lines. My thoughts went back to after-BE days, where preparation to any interview call was catalysed with late-sleeping and early morning revision of the Quants formula or QA terminology.

Now, pakku is mature(?) and doesn’t believe in preparation. Yep, I believe in spontaneity in any interview. That’s where the true intelligence of any individual shines (and believe me, sometimes nosedives to such an extent even the huge beach towels cannot cover your face)

So, finally when I did take up the interview, it wasn’t a pleasant one. Spontaneity in “behavioral” interview may only work to a certain extent. But, what saved me was my prior experience esp., Singapore- the mighty APAC workex.

Well guys, its no rocket science either. You just have to take up the STAR approach – Situation/Task, Action, Result. Aint it zzzzzimpppple!!

*wild laughter* Now.. get back to work !!!!!

Have a nice working week ahead…
pakku