Some HR genius was really impressed with Lumbergh's 'SARI'

Every Bill Lumbergh waking around every office with a coffee cup is a product of "Behavioral Interviewing."

Did your technique predict THAT future behavior?

impress 'the Bobs' from "Office Space,"

with your "SARI" or "PAR" about how you identified the problem with people not putting cover letters on the TPS Reports, took action, (got everyone another copy of the TPS Reports cover letter memo), and now have an interesting story to tell about it.

yeahhhhhhhh, that'd be grrrreat…

Furthermore, many elements of behavioral interviews can be falsified, fabricated, slanted, highlighted, or embellished, just like with resumes. The one thing that is very hard to fake, though, is actual job competence.

Reality is not every employer has actually studied what it takes to do today's jobs. So they ask behavioral interview questions building on the homework of past employers.

This too incidentally, is why some candidates don't bother researching companies before applying. Far away from the overly choreographed world of interviews, some state, "I'm sick and tired of researching companies that I think I'd be interested in joining, only to have to sit through behavioral interview after behavioral interview. When do we get to talk about some real work?"

I, for one, do not waste time asking behavioral interview questions. As a manager, interview time is extremely valuable to me and even moreso to my guests, the candidates. What you did for someone else 5 years ago will never matter as much as what you can do for me now.

I have an interview schedule in less than two weeks and I need help in this regard.

Maureen

The first interviewer told me a little about herself and her role within the company and the questions were related entirely to my previous job performance. At the end she complimented me for having been so well prepared with answers and stated that she appreciated that she didn't have to probe and that it "wasn't like pulling teeth" as in many other interviews. Throughout the interview I had noticed that she was writing notes in three separate columns, seemed genuinely interested in my responses and afforded me the opportunity to think for a moment before answering each question. At one point she even brought up answers that I had given during my phone interviews that she wanted me to expound upon. Before escorting me back to the lobby to await the second interview she stated that she had no idea who would be interviewing me next.

The second interviewer arrived twenty minutes later and I felt as though I had suddenly been transported to another company. She seemed rushed to get through the hour and did little more than read questions from a checklist. The questions were HR in nature and were geared more towards interpersonal relations and past conflict with co-workers, supervisors and management. Throughout the entire hour with her I felt as if nothing I said was right. She made very little eye-contact and at times made borderline rude comments. When I attempted to ask for clarification or indicated that I had not encountered certain scenarios her tone would become condescending as though I had said something wrong or not answered the question adequately. She even minimized my current position as a representative for a government entity. I was stunned but kept my composure and answered the questions to the best of my ability. But I have never been interviewed by someone who showed such a disinterest in their subject or displayed such a negative attitude.

Everything that you all have posted in this article helps me to better understand what I experienced today and so I thank you.