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Follow-Up ProbesFiled Under: General

Follow-up probes can be either open or closed, depending on the information that you seek. Open follow-up probes are used to search for further behavioral evidence of a skill, to provide more information about a specific event, or to resolve inconsistencies. Open follow-up probes can also be used to guide a wandering candidate back to the question at hand.

Because they are responsive to information provided by a candidate, open follow-up probes are always impromptu and usually begin with one of these phrases:

• “Tell me more about …”
• “Help me to understand why …”
• “Could you explain …”
• “I’d be interested in hearing more about …”
• “Let’s talk more about …”
• “I’d like to return to my original question, which is …”

Closed follow-up probes are used to solicit very specific information. This kind of probe can usually be answered with a “yes” or “no” or with just a few words. Closed follow-up probes are used to obtain confirmation of important information or to clear up misunderstandings. Here are a few examples of closed follow-up probes:

• “You said that you have fully qualified for a state license to practice acupuncture?”
• “Did I hear you say that you think your present employer is a crook?”
• “Is it correct that you graduated from Dartmouth in June of 1992?”
• “When do you expect to take your CPA examination?”

Example of an Open Behavioral Question with Open Follow-Up Probes

“Tell me about a time when you were completely over your head with work on a particular project. How did you deal with the situation?”

The purpose of the question is to assess the candidate’s ability to manage time. This question would be asked if being skilled in time management was one of the identified mandatory success factors.

Follow-up probes could include questions such as these:

• “That’s interesting. Tell me more about what you did to get control of the situation.”
• “How did you decide which task to do first?”
• “What was the outcome of your actions?”
• “What could you have done differently?”
• “How did the experience change the way you work today?”

Note that the purpose of each of these open follow-up probes is to more fully explore the candidate’s personal thoughts, feelings, motivations, and behavior. Questions that begin with “why,” “what,” or “how” accomplish this objective particularly well.

Use open follow-up probes freely. In fact, it’s helpful to continue to probe until you’ve discovered the result of a given action or learned how the situation turned out. And in some cases, it’s entirely appropriate to ask the candidate what could have been done differently or better.

Taken From: 10 Minute Guide to Conducting a Job Interview