Interviewing MANA 4328 Dr. George Benson

Types of Interviews  Unstructured (traditional) interviews  Structured interviews  Situational (Job specific situations)  Behavioral / experience (non-Job specific situations)  Job-related (Job-knowledge)  Stress Interview

Interview Purposes 1.Evaluate ability to perform the job. 2.Evaluate “fit” with the job. 3.Provide a realistic job preview. 4.Sell the job. 5.Gather any additional info needed.

Proper Use of the Interview  Use in conjunction with other methods  Recruiting vs. selection  Candidates remember more info when recruited  Interviewers tend to be more positive when recruiting  Good at measuring:  Personal relations, conscientiousness, and job knowledge (baseline knowledge not details)  Bad at measuring:  Specialized skills, and many abilities that are better measured with a test

Discrimination Found  All interviewers were white / male  No structured written interview format  No objective criteria for employment decisions  Questions unrelated to job requirements  No scoring standards  Discriminatory questions

Discrimination Not Found  Structured questionnaire  Questions based on job analysis  Formal scoring system used  Same questions asked to all candidates  KSA’s listed for job  Measurement of personality permitted

Structured Interviewing USED TO IMPROVE RELIABILTY AND VALIDITY OF INTERVIEWS  Ask all candidates the same questions.  Use a formal rating system.  Use situational / behavioral / job-related questions.  Don’t be swayed by body language, how someone speaks or how they dress -- unless it matters.  Practice.

Developing a Structured Interview 1.Conduct a job analysis 2.Categorize KSA’s (selection requirements then prioritize) 3.Decide which KSA’s best covered in interview 4.Develop situation / behavior / job related questions  Interview job incumbents for critical incidents and behaviors  Write the questions and rating scales  Validate the questions and rating scales 5.Train interviewers 6.Validate interview process

Situational Questions  Use critical incidents that have actually occurred and are examples of particularly good or poor job performance.  Situations determined by job incumbents or experts.  Best for KSA’s related to:  Good citizenship / teamwork  Personal relations / communication  Include behavioral dimensions for scoring.

Situational Questions Your spouse and teenage children are sick in bed with colds. There are no relatives or friends available to look in on them. Your shift starts in three hours. What would you do in this situation? 1 Low – I’d stay home, my family comes first. 3 Average – I’d phone my supervisor and explain my situation. 5 High – Since the only have colds I would come to work. A customer comes into the store to pick up a watch he left for repair. The repair was supposed to have been completed a week ago, but the watch is not back yet from the shop. The customer is angry. How would you handle the situation? 1 Low – Tell the customer the watch is not back yet and to come back later. 2 Average – Apologize, tell him that you will check on the problem and call later. 3 High – Put the customer at ease and call the repair shop while he waits.

Behavior / Experience-Based Questions It is often necessary to work together as a group to accomplish a task. Can you tell me about the most recent experience you had working as part of a group?  What was the task?  How many people in the group?  What difficulties arose working with the group?  What role did you play in resolving those differences?  How successful was the group in completing its task? Should not require that applicant has actually done the job.

Job-Related Questions  Use information from job task analysis  Identify and rate critical job tasks  Identify and rate critical KSA’s  Choose selection measures appropriate for KSA’s  Job-related questions best for job knowledge KSA’s.

Job-Related: Maintenance Supervisor KSA: Verbal ability to give work instructions to laborers regarding construction and repair. 1. What instructions would you give a work crew who was about to string a 220-volt electric cable in a building under construction? 2. Two laborers with limited experience ask about the procedures for repairing a brick wall. What instructions do you give them regarding equipment and how they should operate it? 3. You will use eight summer employee to repaint an office building. What instructions do you give them about general and specific painting procedures? Apply a scoring format.

Conducting a Good Interview  Be prepared.  Look over the resume.  Know what questions you want to ask in advance.  Keep appropriate notes.  Remember - the interview is about recruiting.  Put the candidate at ease – establish rapport.  Ask open questions so candidates can expand on their own capabilities.  Use silence judiciously.

Common Interviewer Bias  Similar-to-me error  Halo / Horns bias  First impression bias  Contrast errors

Common Interviewer Mistakes  Talking excessively  Asking inconsistent questions  Poor follow-up question  Asking questions unrelated to the job  Unable to put interviewee at ease  Overconfidence in ability to judge candidates  Stereotyping

Prohibited Questions Don’t ask applicants if they have children, plan to have children, or what child-care arrangements they have made. Don’t ask an applicants age. Don’t ask whether or not the candidate has a physical or mental disability that would interfere with doing the job. Don’t ask for such identifying characteristics as height or weight on an application. Don’t ask a female candidate for her maiden name. Don’t ask applicants about their citizenship. Don’t ask applicants about their arrest records. Don’t ask if a candidate smokes. Don’t ask a job candidate if he or she has AIDS or is HIV-positive.