This document provides an overview of structured interviews and tips for applicants. It discusses how structured interviews work, including building rapport, instructions, lead and probing questions, questions from the applicant, and next steps. The document also covers preparing for different types of questions like behavioral and situational questions. Applicants are encouraged to use the STARR method to structure their answers and give examples. Thorough preparation is emphasized, including researching the organization and practicing common interview questions.

1. Structured
Interviewing:
An Applicant’s
Guide
Presented By: David Dubin, Ph.D.
Managing Partner at Psychological ARTS
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2. Introductions
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3. How important is the job
interview?
• Most commonly used hiring tool
• One of the most expensive ways to hire
• One of the last steps in hiring process
• If you ace the interview, there’s a good
chance you’ll get the job
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4. Different Interviews
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Unstructur
“Tell me
yourself”
Irrelevant
Job
“What is
greatest
weakness?”
Structure
and job-related
“Tell me
about a
time…”

5. The Structured Interview
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6. The Structured Interview
• Rapport Building
• Instructions
• Lead Questions
• Probing Questions
• Questions from Interviewee
• Next Steps
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7. Building Rapport
• A chance to chat with interviewer(s) before the
structured interview takes place
• Purpose is reduce stress
• E.g., “How are you doing? Did you have any trouble
finding our location?”
Quick Tips
• Arrive early
• Dress and groom
appropriately
• Smile
• Present a positive
mood
• Carry crisp resumes
and work samples in a
portfolio or briefcase
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8. Instructions
• Introduce themselves and roles in interview process
• Explain structure of the interview
• Provide a general time span for the interview
• Ask for questions
Quick Tips
• Pace yourself based on
the estimated time
• Some interviewers
provide methods for
succeeding in the
interview
• Don’t go catatonic;
listen actively
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9. Lead Questions
•Main Questions in an Interview
Behavioral Questions
asking about past work experience
Situational Questions
Hypothetical situations
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10. Probing Questions
• Gathers more information from
your answer
• Redirect your answer
• Throw you a curveball
Quick Tips
• Don’t be thrown off.
Asking these questions
doesn’t mean you’re
doing a bad job
• If the interviewer is
trying to guide you
somewhere, take the
hint
• Prepare for these
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11. Questions from You
• Opportunity for you to find out
more about the job
• Opportunity for the interviewer to
sell the company to you
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Quick Tips
• Ask Questions!
• Structure questions in a
way that shows unique
interest in the company
• Don’t ask about salary
or benefits

12. Next Steps
• Timeline for decision-making
• Other requirements if you move
forward (e.g., background check,
personality assessment, etc.)
• Your time constraints (e.g. about to
hear back from another job)
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Quick Tips
• Acknowledge and
understand next steps
• Short statement of
your interest in the job
• Thank them for the
interview

13. Understanding the Structured Interview
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14. Types of Questions
Behavioral
(What you did in
past)
Situational
(Hypothetical)
Interpersonal
(Personality,
leadership, etc.)
Tell me about a
time…(conflict,
leadership,
attention to detail,
critical thinking,
etc.)
Imagine you were
in a situation
where…(ethics,
safety orientation,
strategic thinking,
etc.)
Technical (e.g.,
contract law)
Give me an example
when you’ve had
to…(design an
alternative energy
solution, etc.)
You’ve been asked
to…(design a
selection battery,
roll out a new
product, design a
program, etc.)
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15. Answering Behavioral Questions:
The STARR Method
Situation Talk about the context of the
example you’re providing
Task What needed to be done?
Action What did you do, specifically
(not your team).
Results What happened as a consequence
of your action (make sure it’s
good)
Relationships This is a bonus. Did you build,
sustain, or leverage any
relationships along the way?
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16. Behavioral, Interpersonal:
Team Oriented
Lead Question: Tell me about a time when you were
working on a group project, and conflict within the team was
disrupting progress?
Probing Questions:
 What was the conflict?
 How was it resolved?
 What was your role?
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17. Teamwork:
The STARR Method
Situation Working on a group project in my I/O
psychology class.
Task We had to decide on a project topic. One
team member wanted to write about
interviewing and the other wanted to focus
on cognitive ability tests.
Action I emailed the professor and CCed my team
members asking if we could expand our
project topic to cover selection assessments.
Results Our professor agreed and complimented our
initiative. We received an ‘A’ on the project.
Relationships My team members were happy that I
included them in on my email to the
professor without making it sound like they
were causing conflict. We still work together
on projects today.
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18. Behavioral, Interpersonal:
Achievement Orientation
Lead Question: Describe a time when you had to go
“above-and-beyond” to meet the demands of the job.
Probing Questions:
 How did you decide that you needed to step up?
 How were your other assignments affected?
 What were the results?
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You Try
Situation
Task
Action
Results
Relationships

19. Answering Situational
Questions
May be the same as behavioral
question but in future tense
 You may not have had the
experience
 Interviewer wants to know how
you will behave
May be an exhaustive question
tapping into your creativity or
technical knowledge
 What else would you do. What
else what would you do.
May be question with a dilemma
that relates to culture in the
organization
Answer in the same way you
would have answered the
behavioral question or provide
what you think is the best
answer
If technical make sure you
know your stuff, if innovation
keep coming up with ideas
Set contingencies in your
answers and be honest
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20. Situational, Interpersonal:
Accountability
Lead Question: Your supervisor is presenting the results of
an important study to a key client. During the presentation
you notice critical information is incorrect on the slides and
in his explanation of the findings. What would you do to
resolve this issue?
Probing Questions:
 How would you communicate the error to your supervisor?
 What if the supervisor wants to ignore the error?
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21. What’s the right answer?
Example Ineffective:
No solution or
Effective:
Provides an
outdated solution
example
Very Effective:
Provides great
innovative solution
example
Accountability Blamed error on others,
was not able to fix error
before bad things
happened
Took partial
responsibility for error,
was able to somewhat fix
error
Took full responsibility
for error, brought about
a good solution, created
ways to prevent errors
in future
Adaptability Does not adapt Makes some
adjustments
Fully adapts to changes
(e.g., audience,
learning, etc.)
Conflict Cause of conflict Helped resolve conflict Lead the charge in
resolving the conflict,
innovative and effective
way of resolving conflict
Culture Doesn’t fit in with
culture
Answer somewhat fits in
with culture
Answer exemplifies
culture
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22. Preparation
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23. Which questions should I
prepare for?
What information is your target organization
interested in?
• Job description
• http://www.onetonline.org/
• Sometimes they tell you how to prepare (e.g., Google)
What are questions organizations tend to ask?
• Most organizations want ethical, achievement
oriented, adaptive, and creative team players
• Google behavioral or situational interview questions
• Glassdoor.com and other such sites
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24. Job Description:
Social Science/Humanities Research
Associate III
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Essential Possible Interview Questions
To produce in-depth
written
content in a wide
variety of
formats...
Communicate and
interact with
stakeholders as
needed….
• Tell me about a time when you
had to write a report about a
technical subject for a broad
audience.
• Tell me about a time when you
had to meet a tight deadline
• Give me an example of a
challenge you faced when
dealing with multiple different
stakeholders.
• Tell me about a time when you
were faced with a difficult
customer/supervisor

25. How do I study?
• Figure out what questions may be asked
• Write down answers in story form providing as much
detail as possible
 Remember: Situation, Task, Action, Results, Relationships
(STARR)
• Choose stories that have good results, place you in a good
light, and can be used for many different kinds of questions
• Practice in front of the mirror, with a friend, a family
member, or colleague
 Make sure to solicit feedback…unless you’re talking to a mirror
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26. General tips
• When you’re invited for an interview, ask what the process is
going to be like (e.g., technical, interpersonal)
• Work experience is generally better than examples from school
or personal life
• Don’t feel pressured to start talking immediately. It’s okay to
say, “That’s a great question, would you give me a moment to
think about it”
• Avoid talking negatively about anyone in your examples
• Make sure you’re answering the question that was asked
• Ensure your story has a happy ending
• In my experience, behavioral questions are used more often
than situational questions
• Practice!
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