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How to handle extreme interviewing

By Kate Lorenz
CareerBuilder.com

Editor's Note: CNN.com has a business partnership with CareerBuilder.com, which serves as the exclusive provider of job listings and services to CNN.com.

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With so many candidates reading the same books on interviewing, recruiters and hiring managers say it's hard to obtain anything but a cookie-cutter response to the standard questions these days. To get a more revealing glimpse of a potential hire, many have resorted to "extreme" techniques.

Here's a look at two hot interviewing trends that are changing the hiring landscape -- and how smart candidates can respond to them:

Behavioral interviews

About 30 percent of all organizations use a technique called behavioral interviewing. It's based on the premise that the most accurate predictor of future performance is past performance in a similar situation.

Behavioral questions might include: "How do you decide what gets top priority when scheduling your time?" "Describe a situation where you were able to have a positive influence on the action of others," or "What is the toughest group you've had to get cooperation from?"

To prepare for a behavioral interview, find out the position's required skills, its goals and challenges as well as what makes a successful candidate. Then develop five stories -- the more recent the better -- that illustrate your past performance. Use the three-step STAR process. Describe the:

'Situation' or 'Task'

'Action' taken

'Result' or outcome

Craft these stories as if you were creating a 30-second radio spot. Don't be overly modest. It's through these succinct, well-rehearsed vignettes that you will show how your previous successes relate to the interviewer's current challenges.

Killer questions

"How would you design a spice rack for a blind person?" "What is the temperature when it's twice as cold as zero degrees?" "If Hollywood made a movie about your life, who would play the leading role?" Such questions may not seem relevant, but according to John Kador, author of eight best-selling books on interviewing, including "How to Ace the Brain Teaser Interview," they show your skills in logic, probability and business estimation and reveal a lot about your creativity and ability to think on your feet.

Joel Spolsky, founder of Fog Creek Software and a former program manager at Microsoft, says brain teasers are used primarily as conversation starters and rarely comprise more than 10 percent of the actual interview. "The goal is to have an interesting conversation with the candidate and to use that conversation to see how smart and capable they are," Spolsky explains.

How should you confront one of these questions? Kador offers the following tips:

Don't pick the obvious answer: Almost all puzzles are deeper than they appear -- that's what makes them puzzles. Note the obvious answer. Even share it with the interviewer. But then immediately dissect why it's wrong.

Work the answer, not the question: All the information you need is there. Go with it.

Work backward: Often a solution comes more easily when you start from the end of the puzzle and work backward.

Think out loud: Show the logic you're using. An interview is often structured like an exam, but a lot of answers can be worth partial credit. If you're talking out loud, an interviewer knows where you are and can give you hints.

Simpler is always better: If you find yourself working a calculus problem, stop immediately. These puzzles never require more than simple arithmetic. In general, the more complicated the question, the simpler the answer.

Go for closure: If you're drifting back and forth between equally attractive solutions, pick one and commit yourself. You don't have to have a good reason except for the need to move on. That's just good business, and interviewers will respect you for it.

Ask for the answer: If the interviewer indicates he or she has another answer in mind, ask for it. Never fail to turn the conversation into a learning opportunity.

Today's job candidates need to be prepared for a variety of interviewing scenarios. Being able to confidently tackle puzzlers and showcase your skills through "success stories" will set you apart from the masses of candidates who only know how to give cookie-cutter responses.

Kate Lorenz is the article and advice editor for CareerBuilder.com. She researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues.

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