Are behavioral style interview questions legal?

[joker0927]

I live in Washington state. I'm currently looking for a job and I was just wondering if this new fad of asking "behavioral style" interview questions was legal. (i.e. "Describe a time when you were disappointed and how you delt with that disappointment?")

To me, it seems as though we have a bunch of managers and hr people trying to interpret your answers to psycological type questions, with little or no questions about skill, qualifications, background, etc.

 

[cbg]

The kind of question you refer to is entirely legal and quite common.

 

[Beth3]

Of course they're legal - why wouldn't they be? An employee's skill, qualifications, and background are of equal importance but the truth is, the #1 reason people get fired is over behavioral issues (temperment, bad fit with company culture, incompatible values, poor conflict solving abilities, communication style, etc.) so overlooking this area in an interview is a very bad idea.

Since past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior, asking questions like "Tell me about a time when..." only make sense. You may not like answering those types of questions but I can assure you, they're here to stay.

 

[joker0927]

The problem as I see it, is that the people interpreting the answers to these questions aren't qualified. How many hiring managers have any kind of psychologically training? These are psychological questions aren't they? Granted, some of the questions may be fairly cut and dry, but others are obviously open to interpretation and assumption. It just worries me that some unqualified hiring manager is making assumptions and decisions based on how well I answer some off the wall question that may or may not have anything to do with the job I'm interviewing for.

Another problem I see is that if you've never thought about one of the questions they pull out of their hat, you may not be able to think of good example on the spot. Does that mean you don't know how to handle stress or deal with an irate customer? Of course not, it simply means that you can't think of an example on the spot.

Simply put, it's seems like an unobjective test being administered by unqualified people. Maybe I'm just cynical because I don't like having to imagine what crazy question the next one will ask and spending untold time trying to come up with an answer that will sound good to them.

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

My response:

Actually, you're right. Employers only ask these questions when their REAL agenda is discrimination - - but obviously, they can't come right out and say, "I'm not hiring you because you're Black". No, what they do when they don't want a Black or Mexican, or whatever, working for them, they just say, "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't like your answers to the behavioral questions."
And, since those answers are "subjective", there's no real right or wrong answers. It just depends upon what side of the bed that potential employer got out of on that morning - - and you can't disprove the answers, either!

As an employer, myself, I also use Rorschach tests. Now, let's see if you can dispute MY conclusions to THOSE!

IAAL

 

[Beth3]

No, these aren't "psychological" questions. They're BEHAVIORAL questions. If I ask you, "Tell me about a time when you had a conflict with a co-worker and how you resolved it," it doesn't take a lot of training for me to decide you're not a good fit if you reply, "I waited for him outside his car that day and whacked him a good one with a tire iron." Er, thanks for coming in to see us.

Most HR people and managers using these types of questions have had some training and experience with them and know what type of answer to listen for that indicates there is a fit with their organization. And like it or not, how you answer questions on the spot that you're not prepared for is the best way to get a candid answer from a candidate. (By the way, have you noticed the irony in your post in that you're making the assumption that the hiring manager is unqualified to make assumptions about you?)

I suspect you just don't like answering these types of questions. When I'm asking them, I'm usually glad I'm doing the asking and not the answering. But that's life. We all have to deal with situations that put us outside our comfort zone now and then.

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

No, these aren't "psychological" questions. They're BEHAVIORAL questions. If I ask you, "Tell me about a time when you had a conflict with a co-worker and how you resolved it," it doesn't take a lot of training for me to decide you're not a good fit if you reply, "I waited for him outside his car that day and whacked him a good one with a tire iron." Er, thanks for coming in to see us.

MY RESPONSE: That may be so, Beth. However, from a man's point of view, I can certainly respect and understand a response like that.


TO THE WRITER - -

This brings up a very good point. You need to know who is "grading" these responses. If it's a woman, you need to remember, a woman works off of "emotion" and not "logic". You see, a woman sees the above answer as poor judgment, and "pre-historic". A man, on the other hand, sees an answer like the above as an act of "attacking the problem head on, and taking the bull by the horns." You see, I'd like an answer like that, and I'd probably hire you. Beth wouldn't because she's a namby-pamby wussie woman.

So, if you know that a woman will be evaluating your responses, you've GOT to respond to them in namby-pamby, "please and thank you" female acceptable style.

IAAL

 

[Beth3]

Ai yi yi.

I see you've recently completed your court-ordered sensitivity training, IAAL.

 

[joker0927]

Beth, I'm only going from the gen psych class I took in college, but a "behavioral" question is a "psychological" question. i.e. "behavioral psychology". How can we make any assumption or hold any opinion about behavior without some psychological component. But that's not the angle I really want to persue here.

Your right. If i say that I would wait for someone outside his car to resolve conflict, it doesn't take a psychologist to interpret that answer. However, if I'm asked "How would you sell ice to eskimos?" or "How are M&Ms made?", I don't think most hiring managers are qualified to make any assumptions about me based on my answer to those question. These are the type of questions that worry me. By the way, these are actually interview questions from Micorsoft, posted by people who interviewed there.

 

[Ramoth]

Behavioral Psychology is the study of WHY people behave in a certain way. These questions are aimed at the WHAT, not they Why (What did you do? not Why did you do it?)

 

[Beth3]

joker, we can debate this all night but the reality is that the questions are legal and have a perfectly legitimate place in the recruiting process. In fact, I will tell you that the individual's fit with the organization in terms of style, values, and ethics is the #1 issue hiring managers ought to be most concerned about because mismatches on those things are the primary reasons people fail at their new jobs.

Of course they have to have the skill and knowledge to do the job too but I can tell you it's a whole lot easier to train someone on some technical skills they are lacking than it is to train someone on how NOT to be a jerk (which is virtually impossible anyway) or to coach someone into being assertive (if that's what the job requires) and so on.

By the way, the only proper answer to "How are M&M's made?" is "Who gives a s***; I only care that they taste good." Joker, I'm guessing you're a technical skills guy (an engineer or IT person for example?) and therefore can't imagine that there isn't just one "right" answer to any of these questions and you're freaked out that you don't know what the right answers are. While there are some wrong answers ("I whacked the guy with a tire iron") there are any numer of right answers.

And even the tire iron response might be the right one in some venues, such as interviewing with the WWF or as a hit man.

Relax. Good luck with the job search.

 

[joker0927]

ramoth,
i guess the psychological component i'm seeing is this

they asked WHAT i would do or HOW i would react, etc.; then make some psychological assumption about me.......i.e. he can't deal with stress or conflict, or he's not outgoing, or whatever it may be

why, because i don't know hwo m&m's are made?

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

Ai yi yi.

I see you've recently completed your court-ordered sensitivity training, IAAL.

======================================

My response:

Yes, and I'm doing much better, now.

I knew you'd love my response! Ain't I a pistol?

IAAL

 

[joker0927]

LOL,

Beth, your right on the money for the most part. And that answer actually makes me feel a bit better about the whole thing; so thankyou.

But, like IAAL pointed out, I still feel like these subjective questions leave a big hole for for all types of descrimination, misunderstanding, and poor assumptions. How many otherwise qualified people get passed over because of these crazy questions?

 

[Beth3]

joker, IAAL was being sarcastic.

I only have three words for you: RELAX RELAX RELAX. You are wringing your hands over something over which you have no control anyway (which drives you technical-types nuts, eh?) If the company you're interviewing with is so inept as to include a behavioral-styles interview with no idea how to properly evaluate responses, then you don't want to work there anyway.
Besides, the technical managers you're interviewing with usually don't "get" these questions and leave this portion of the process to us namby-pamby wussie HR people who tend to know what we're doing, at least on this score.

Joker, the more you fret about this, the more you're going to seize up during the next interview you go to. So chill.

Yes, IAAL, you are a pistol.