2. Criteria Based Interviewing (CBI)

What is a CBI?

Criteria Based Interviewing focuses on your experiences from current or previous jobs, school / university or volunteer work, in fact just about anything you have done before. The principle of the CBI is that you're past behaviour and performance is the best indicator of your future behaviour and performance. Employers determine the criteria required for the role and ask their questions to gather specific information. Key criteria is varied and set for the required skills, knowledge and abilities of the individual to suit the role. Criteria can cover, Customer Care, Decision Making, Team Player, Problem Solving and Leadership. Answers to the CBI should be specific and not general, tell a story about the situation, what you did and what was the final outcome. The interviewer wants to hear specific examples about you, it can be a challenge thinking of specific examples but it is important to give as many details as you can about the situation.

Sample CBI Questions:

Tell me about a difficult problem that you have had to resolve in your current / past role.

Describe a time when you identified a problem that would otherwise have gone un-noticed?

What was the best idea that you have ever sold to your colleagues or a customer?

Remember the interviewer wants to hear about you and your actions - Situation Action Result