There is another variation in the way some employers put together their job interview questions, this approach is called “Targeted Questions”.  I hope that once you understand how they are constructed you will be able to respond comfortably in an interview situation.

The targeted question approach is intended to draw out specific experiences or skills a candidate may have, which are considered necessary to successfully performance in the job that is being filled.  

Supervisors in Riverside County departments (to name one employer example) are being taught to frame questions in this manner.  But, targeted questions are a well known approach, so they may be used no matter who the interviewing employer may be. It is in your best interest to hone your interviewing skills to be aware of what this type of question aims to do, and then have a plan to address it.     

Having targeted questions is not dissimilar to the notion of behavioral competencies which I discussed in my July 2, 2007 blog entry entitled, “The New Measure of Competency, and how it can affect your job interview.”  There is a lot of similarity, but in this simplified adaptation more emphasis is placed on a particular experience event. Predicting a candidate will repeat the behavior (use the knowledge or skill) if the very same situation comes up in their new job. 

This variation in question style is in contrast to belief that if the person has a particular behavioral attribute they will behave the same way in a variety of situations, even if they have not dealt with the particular experience scenario constructed in a question. 

I may not be (technically) won over, but I can see how the ‘targeted” approach makes the task of constructing interview questions easier for the department supervisor or manager who actually has the vacancy.  This is, of course, the part that is going to be important to you as the interviewee.

So, if the employer is a proponent of using targeted questions the supervisor or manager getting ready for an oral interview is going to be encouraged to write questions in such a way that requires the candidate to draw upon past experiences for a given situation.  Again, because they believe how you behaved in this or a similar situation is the best indicator of how you will most likely act in the future if you are their employee. 

Heads up… If you haven’t had a work experience that mirrors the situation described, don’t take a pass on the question; rather dig into your memory of an example from school, service organization membership, church affiliation, volunteer experience, etc.

The mnemonic used to construct these questions is STAR, which stands for: 

• Situation or Task;
• Action taken or applied to the situation or task;
• Result of the action taken or applied in the situation or task described. 

 Okay now… all of the proceeding introduction and setup was to get to this point, where I tell you how you can be better prepared to respond to this type of interview question. 

1. Get a copy of the job description if there is one.  Review the duties that are assigned to the position you will be interviewing for;

2. Attempt to identify the aspects of the job that could be the most important for employee success (which is what the supervisor/manager is going to be doing also). 

For example if it is a customer service job, an important skill and measure of job success will probably mean the candidate needs to be able to deal with difficult people. More specifically, in a given scenario the candidate needs to be able to recognize the signs of a situation going out of control, take action to calm the customer and refocus so that the customer gets what they reasonably need, and comes away from the situation with a positive view of their experience. 

You may be doing a little guesswork here, but write down your experiences in the STAR format – and bring those answers with you to the interview!  It will be easy enough to explain that you made notes about your relevant experiences, so you could refer to them.  If it is a job in the field you have been working in it will be easier to pick out the kinds of things that might come up.  If not, you will have to use a little more imagination and past work examples that might be somewhat broader or more universal. 

Even if you don’t guess exactly right you will at least have practiced how to frame your answers in the desired format.  Also, it will get you thinking about projects and programs, or work activities, and types of people that you have had experience with in your career.  You will be able to access that information more rapidly in the interview, particularly if you have had an extensive career that would be difficult to single out just one occasion on the spot.

One last piece of advice regarding interviewing… I have said this before, but as much as you want them (the employer) to like you and value your skills, they too want you to like their organization and the opportunities their position offers.  One of the ways you can show that you are fully engaged in the process is along with your targeted question answers, also write down the questions you may have about the position or the employer to ask at the appropriate point in the interview. 

At this time I would stick with some further exploration of duties and responsibilities, organizational structure, and maybe organizational culture.  See my previous blog entries regarding when to negotiate salaries and benefits.  It is okay to ask about the selection process and when candidates might be notified of the outcome, but don’t be pushy if you want to be considered in the best light.  

As always, I hope this information will be of some help in achieving your job search goals.  And, remember what they say about County employment in the Desert, “Careers as Wide Open as the Horizon.”