Would you say technical questions or behavior based questions are most weighted portion of the interview? Why?

You use both and depending on the job you may use one more than the other. For a programming job you might lean more on technical questions for a job in sales/marketing you might lean more on behavioral questions but you would use both in each case.

Having people read you their resume at an interview is a waste of time. Letting people stay in their comfort zone will get you little. Asking questions they do not expect and pursuing deeper answers will get you far more than knowing what they did 10 years ago at company X.


The challenge with behavioral interviewing is that you have to be good at it and practice it and understand how to probe and then interpret answers. It is a skill. I did a lengthy training session with a master at behavioral interviewing. I watched him get stuff out of people I thought I knew just by knowing how to ask open ended questions, probe, listen and follow up.

As a leader of technicians, I believe that behavioral questions are much more important. People can gain skills and technical knowledge, but I want to know how a person will integrate with the team. Will the person enhance my vision, or will he or she bring the group down. A cohesive team of people (regardless of size) will always outperform a bunch of smart individuals because they all sharpen one another.

Technical questions are important to assess the person's baseline knowledge and skills, but I can teach skills, teaching teamwork and interpersonal relationships is much harder.

Behavior, you can teach technical skills.