Behavioural questions that actually test capacity
"Tell me about a time…" only works if you know what you’re listening for.
Behavioural interviewing is the default in APS panels. Done well, it produces real evidence. Done by habit, it produces stories the panel cannot score.
Three rules make behavioural questions work. First, each question maps to one work-related quality, not three. Second, the panel agrees a rating scale before the interview, with concrete descriptors of what a strong, adequate, and weak response looks like. Third, the panel probes for the candidate’s specific role in the example, not the team’s.
Without these, panels end up debating whether a candidate “came across well,” which is not assessment. It is impression.
Before your next interview, write a rating scale for each question: three descriptors, specific to the role’s outcomes.