Dr. Wendell Williams authored a great article for ERE Daily on the effectiveness of behavioral interviews. He gave three examples of questions that can be asked, with this being the only effective one.
<<Tell me about a particular event when you had to confront a subordinate about a performance problem. What caused the event? What specifically did you do? What was the result? Then armed with this data, the interviewer probes for accuracy, translates several examples into one to two behavioral competencies, compares the past-event competencies to a list of future-requirement competencies, rates the quality of the competencies based on relevance and recency, and integrates this information by meeting with other independent interviewers.>>
Let’s translate this to a question that might be asked of a senior finance executive.
“Give me an example of a time when you were able to lead a team in developing and deploying corporate resources that delivered outstanding business results.”
You might want to focus on such things as the challenge the company was facing. How long were they struggling? What did they want to do, or do better? How long did it take? Who else was involved? What were the measurable business results that were delivered? What was the overall strategic importance to the organization or division? This becomes the framework for establishing your market value.
This is the C–A–R strategy I use in developing my clients’ resumes and preparing them for the interview. Of course, if your resume doesn’t sell value, you may never even get to the interview. But if you do make it to the interview, articulating value is critical to winning. Your ability to be clear and compelling in your delivery will position you to outperform the competition.