Experience‐based and Situational Interview Questions: Studies of Validity

This research compared the validity of two different types of structured interview questions (i.e., experience‐based and situational) under tightly controlled conditions. The experience‐based interview questions required that 108 study participants relate how they had handled situations in the past requiring skills and abilities necessary for effective performance on the job. Situational questions, administered to another group of 108 study participants, provided interviewees with hypothetical job‐relevant situations and asked them how they would respond if they were confronted with these problems. The experience‐based interview questions yielded higher levels of validity than the situational questions. Additional analyses showed that the interview added incrementally to the prediction of performance beyond the variance accounted for by a cognitive ability test. There were small differences in subgroup performance (White, Black, Hispanic, male, and female) on the experience‐based interview, though it was equally valid for all subgroups.