Chapter-07 Interviewing Candidates

The purpose of the current chapter is to improve your effectiveness at using what is perhaps the most important screening tool, the selection interview. The main topics include types of interviews, the factors that can undermine an interview’s usefulness, and designing and conducting an effective interview.

BASIC FEATURES OF INTERVIEWS

An interview is a procedure designed to obtain information from a person through oral responses to oral inquiries; a selection interview is a selection procedure designed to predict future job performance on the basis of applicants’ oral responses to oral inquiries.

Types of Interviews

We can classify selection interviews according to (1) how structured they are,(2) their “content”–the types of questions they contain–and (3) how the firm administers the interviews.

Structured Versus Unstructured Interviews

In unstructured of nondirective interviews, the manager generally follows no set format.

At the other extreme, in structured or directive interviews, the employer specifies the questions ahead of time, and may also list and rate possible answers for appropriateness.

Inteview Content(Types of Questions)

We can also classify interviews based on the “content” or the types of questions they contain. In a situational interview, you ask the candidate what his or her behavior would be in a given situation.

Behavioral interviews ask interviewees to describe how they reacted to actual situations in the past.

Situational questions start with phrases such as, “Suppose you were faced with the following situation…What would you do?” Behavioral questions might start with a phrase like, “Can you think of a time when…What did you do?”

In a job-related interview, the interviewer tries to deduce what the applicant’s on-the-job performance will be based on his or her answers to questions about relevant past experiences.

In a stress interview, the interviewer seeks to make the applicant uncomfortable with occasionally rude questions.

Administering the Inteview

Interviews can also be administrered in various ways: one-on-one or by a panel of interviews; sequentially or all at once; and computerized or personally.

Panel Interviews A panel interview, also known as a board intervies, is defined as “an interview conducted by a team of interviewers(usually two to three), who together interview each candiate, and then combine their ratings into a final panel score.”

Phone and Video Interviews

Computerized Interviews

Are Interviews Useful?

The interview is generally a much better predictor of performance than previously thought and is comparable with many other selection techniques. But there are three caveats.

First, you should structure the intervies.

Second, be careful what sorts of traits you try to assess.

Third, it is clear that the manager must keep in mind the various factors that can undermine any interview’s usefulness.

WHAT CAN UNDERMINE AN INTERVIEW’S USEFULNESS?

Several things can undermine an interview’s usefulness.

First Impressions(Snap Judgments)

Perhaps the most consistent finding is that interviewers tend to jump to conclusions–make snap judgments–about candidates during the first few minutes of the interview.

Misunderstanding the Job

Interviewers who don’t have an accurate picture of what the job entails and what sort of candidate is best suited for it usually make their decesions based on incorrect impressions or stereotypes of what a good applicant is.

Candidate-Order(Contrast) Error and Pressure to Hire

Candidate-order(or contrast) erroe means that the order in which you see applicants affects how you rate them.

Nonverbal Behavior and Impression Management

The applicant’s nonverbal behavior can also have a surprisingly large impact on his or her rating.

Impression Management In fact, clever interviewees do say and do things to manage the impression they present.

Effect of Personal Characteristics: Attractiveness, Gender, Race

Interviewers also must guard against letting an applicant’s attractiveness and gender distort their assessments.

Interviewer Behavior

The interviewer’s behavior also affects the interviewee’s performance and rating.

DESIGNING AND CONDUCTING AN EFFECTIVE INTERVIEW

Structured interviews can minimize many of the problems we discussed.

The Structured Situational Interview

The procedure is as follows.

Step 1: Job Analysis Write a job description with a list of job duties, required knowledge, skills, abilities, and other worker qualifications.

Step 2: Rate the Job’s Main Duties Identify the job’s main duties. To do so, rate each job duty based on its importance to job success and on the time required to perform it compared to other tasks.

Step 3: Create Interview Questions Create interview questions based on actual job duties, with more questions for the important duties.

Step 4: Create Benchmark Answers Next, for each question, devlop several descriptive answers and a five-point rating scale for each, with ideal answers for good(a 5 rating), marginal(a 3 rating), and poor(a 1 rating).

Step 5: Appoint the Interview Panel and Conduct Interviews Employers generally conduct structured situational interviews using a panel, rather than one-on-one or sequentially.

Web-based programs help interviewers design and organize behavior based selection interviews. (Read more: http://www.selectpro.com)

How to Conduct a More Effective Interview

Yet in practice, some employers are quite successful without structured interviews.

Make your interviews more effective:

1. Base questions on actual job duties.
2. Use job knowledge, situational, or behavioral questions, and objective criteria to evaluate the interviewee’s responses.
3. Train interviewers.
4. Use the same questions with all candidates.
5. Use descriptive rating scales(excellent, fair, poor) to rate answers.
6. Use multiple interviewers or panel interviews.
7. If possible, use a standardized interview form.
8. Control the interview.
9. Take brief, unobtrusive notes during the interview.

Extracurricular activities are significantly associated with each of the four interpersonal skill dimensions–communication, initiative, decision making, and teamwork.

Prepare for the interview The interview should take place in a private room where telephone calls are not accepted and you can minimize interruptions. Prior to the interview, review the candidate’s application and resume, and note any areas that are vague or that may indicate strengths or weaknesses.

Establish Rapport The main point of the interview is to find out about the applicant.

Ask Questions Ideally here, it is best to ask situational or similary structured questions. In any case:

• Follow your list of questions.
• Some do’s and don’ts for actually asking questions include: - don’t ask questions that can be answered yes or no; - don’t put workds in the applicant’s mouth or telegraph the desired answer; - don’t interrogate the applicant as if the person is a criminal, and don’t be patronizing, sarcastic, or inattentive; - don’t monopolize the interview or let the applicant dominate the interview; - do ask open-ended questions; - do listen to the candidate to encourage him or her to express thoughts fully; - and do draw out the applicant’s opinions and feeling by repeating the person’s last comment as a question(such as “You didn’t like your last job”).
• To get more candid answers, mention that you’re going to conduct reference checks.
• Finally, if you ask for general statements of a candidat’s accomplishments, ask for examples.

Suggested Supplementary questions for interviewing applicants 1. How did you choose this line of work? 2. What did you enjoy most about your last job? 3. What did you like least about your last job? 4. What has been your greatest frustration or disappointment on your present job? Why? 5. What are some of the pluses and minuses of your last job? 6. What were the circumstances surrounding your leaving your last job? 7. Did you give notice? 8. Why should we be hiring you? 9. What do you expect from this employer? 10. What are three things you will not do in your next job? 11. What would your last supervisor say your three weaknesses are? 12. What are your major strenths? 13. How can your supervisor best help you obtain your goals? 14. How did your supervisor rate your job performance? 15. In what ways would you change your last supervisor? 16. What are your career goals during the next 1-3 years? 5-10 years? 17. How will working for this company help you reach those goals? 18. What did you do the last time you received instructions with which you disagreed? 19. What are some of the things about which you and your supervisor disagreed? What did you do? 20. Which do you prefer, working alone or working with groups? 21. What motivated you to do better at your last job? 22. Do you consider your progress on that job representative of your ability? Why? 23. Do you have any questions about the duties of the job for which you have applied? 24. Can you perform the essential functions of the job for which you have applied?

Close the Interview Leave time to answer any questions the candidate may have and, if appropriate, to advocate your firm to the candidate.

Review the Interview Reviewing the interview shortly after the candidate leaves can help minimize snap judgments and negative emphasis.

Another Practical Approach

Interview Evaluation Form Name of candidate: Date interviewed: Position:

Completed by:
Date:

Instructions: Circle one number for each criterion, then add them together for a total.

KNOWLEDGE OF SPECIFIC JOB AND JOB-RELATED TOPICS
0. No knowledge evident.
1. Less than we would prefer.
3. Meets requirements for hiring.
4. Thoroughlf versed in job and very strong in associated areas.

EXPERIENCE
0. None for this job; no related experience either.
1. Would prefer more for this job. Adequate for job applied for.
2. More than sufficient for job.
3. Totally experienced in job.
4. Strong experience in all related areas

COMMUNICATION
0. Could not communicate. Will be severely impaired in most jobs.
1. Some difficulties. Will detract from job performance.
2. Sufficient for adequate job performance.
3. More than sufficient for job.
4. Outstanding ability to communicate.

INTEREST IN POSITION AND ORGANIZATION
0. Showed no interest.
1. Some lack of interest.
2. Appeared genuinely interested.
3. Very interested. Seems to prefer type of work applied for.
4. Totally absorbed with job content. Conveys feeling only this job will do.

OVERALL MOTIVATION TO SUCCEED
0. None exhibited.
1. Showed little interest in advancement.
2. Average interest in advancement.
3. Highly motivated. Strong desire to advance.
4. Extremely motivated. Very strong desire to succeed and advance.

POISE AND CONFIDENCE
0. Extremely distracted and confused. Displayed uneven temper.
1. Sufficient display of confusion or loss of temper to interfere with job performance.
2. Sufficient poise and confidence to perform job.
3. No loss of poise during interview. Confidence in ability to handle pressure.
4. Displayed impressive poise under stress. appears unusually confident and secure.

COMPREHENSION
0. Did not understand many points and concepts.
1. Missed some ideas or concepts.
2. Understood most new ideas and skills discussed.
3. Grasped all new points and concepts quickly.
4. Extremely sharp. Understood subtle points and underlying motives.

________TOTAL POINTS
ADDITIONAL REMARKS:

SUMMARY

1. There are several basic types of interviews–situational, nondirective, structured, sequential, panel, stress, and appraisal interviews, for instance. We can classify interviews according to content, structure, and method of administration.
2. Several factors and problems can undermine the usefulness of an interview. These are making premature decisions, letting unfavorable information predominate, not knowing the requirements of the job, being under pressure to hire, the candidate-order effect, and sending visual cues to telegraph enthusiasm.
3. The five steps in the interview are: Plan, establish rapport, question the candidate, close the interview, and review the data.
4. Guidelines for interviewers include: Use a structured guide, know the requirements of the job, focus on traits you can more accurately evaluate, let the interviewee do most of the talking, delay your decision until after the interview, and remember the EEOC requirements.
5. Incresingly, employers use computer and the Web to assist in the employee interview process. As explained in this chapter, firms now conduct at least the preliminary interviews online, often using video-assisted scenarios. Several of the newer systems combine initial interviews with applicant tracking, to facilatate the employee selection process.
6. The steps in a structured or situational interview are: Analyze the job, evaluate the job duty information, develop interview questions with critical incidents, develop benchmark answers, appoint an interview committee, and implement.
7. A quick procedure for conducting an interview is to develop behavioral specifications; determine the basic intellectual, motivational, personality, and experience factors to probe for; use an interview plan; and then match the individual to the job.
8. As an interviewee, keep in mind that interviewers tend to make premature decisions and let unfavorable information predominate; your appearance and enthusiasm are important; you should get the interviewer to talk; it is important to prepare before walking in–get to know the job and the problems the interviewer wants solved; and you should stress your enthusiasm and motivation to work, and how your accomplishments match your interviewer’s needs.