INTERVIEWING SKILLS Lecture 3 Professional Development and Research Lecturer: Rositsa Milyankova GOOD LUCK!

2 Core skills Problem solving Projects and assignments Teaching and learning situations Problem solving Reasoning Syntheses analyses Communicating Working with others and independently Subject / practical skills Implementing Appraising, evaluating, judging Planning

3 Under performing Competent Talented IN PURSUIT OF A TALENTED ORGANISATION Talent is the most appropriate ‘skills’ applied to a relevant job in a motivated fashion Leading edge psychometrics and psychological assessment technology have established a good track record in predicting who will be good at what, and helping individuals fulfil their potential They enable open, fair and transparent process It is often forgotten that selection is a two way street

4  More Attractive to the Prospective Employees  More Efficient at Recruiting  Shorter time to hire  Higher job acceptance rates  Do not lose Talent through resignations AND THEREFORE  Are less affected by Skill Shortage  Successful in the War for Talent THE LINK BETWEEN RECRUITMENT AND TALENTED ORGANISATIONS

5 FORGING THE LINK BETWEEN PEOPLE, JOBS AND ORGANISATIONS Culture and Values are important Corporate performance Competencies Jobs People Measurement = Understanding = Informed decisions

6 THE ROLE OF THE CV Research from Personnel Today indicates that 12% of people admit to lying on their CV’s Some suggest as many as 1/3 rd of CV’s are designed to mislead American research has suggested that up to 80% of CV’s were misleading, from slight puffery to complete fabrication MORI research – Over 1/3 rd of Britain’s working population have lied on their CV’s and 14% of workers believed there was nothing wrong with exaggerating previous experiences Clearly the completion of a CV is a subjective exercise. What is its role in hiring?

7 ACCURACY OF C.V. AS SELECTION METHOD High Low Years job experience Years education Source; Robertson I & Smith M (2001), Personnel selection

8 UNDERSTANDING PEOPLE REQUIREMENTS AND UNDERSTANDING IS OFTEN ON THE ‘TOO DIFFICULT’ SPIKE Aptitude Style Motivation Knowledge/ experience AK/E M S Job analysis and other researches indicates that up to 70% of the attributes associated with success at work are dimensions of personality / style rather than ability THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AN INDIVIDUAL AND HIS JOB IS A COMPLEX COCKTAIL

ASSESSMENT TOOL KIT Competency questionnaires Ability Tests Personality Questionnaires Job Simulations Management exercises; Group Exercises In-Trays / In-basket Fact finding Presentation Competency based interview

10 SELECTION PROCESS Telephone Interview Psychometric Testing Panel Interviews One To One Interviews Simulation procedures Assessment Centres = all kinds of methods

11 General information about tests History of tests – France, Binet, use – children with difficulties, application after the Second World War Advantages in using paper and pencil tests for group of people Selection tests (psychometric and psychological): not only for selecting and promoting but in redundancy periods and career counseling; battery / set of tests Reliability and validity - reliable: consistent results - valid: measure what they must measure Fair and unfair discrimination Test conditions How the results are implemented – raw score is nothing

12 Types of tests Ability tests: paper and pencil or practical exercises Attainment tests: how much skills and knowledge an individual has Aptitude tests: highlight individual strengths and weaknesses, provide career counseling, predict success in ob-development Work sample tests or performance tests Trainability tests – assessing potential

13 Types of tests Personality questionnaires (tests) – identify some stable personal characteristics as: - extroversion – introversion, - tough minded – tender minded, - independent – dependent, - high self-confidence – low self-confidence Interest inventories (tests): - scientific / technical, - social / welfare, - persuasion; - arts, - clerical / computing

14 DIFFERENTIAL MODEL OF ABILITIES Verbal Numerical Clerical Diagrammatic Spatial Mechanical Sensory Dexterity Comprehensive Reasoning Evaluation Difficulty Test choice is critical

15 TRADITIONAL ABILITY TEST

16 TRADITIONAL ABILITY TEST THANK YOU FOR LISTENING

17 ACCURACY OF SELECTION METHODS High Low Ability tests Structured interviews Personality questionnaires Assessment Centres Bio-data Years job experience Years education Source; Robertson I & Smith M (2001), Personnel selection They help achieve a closer match between the people and their jobs

18 PERSONALITY QUESTIONNAIRES A definition of Personality; “A person’s typical or preferred way of behaving, thinking and feeling” Widely accepted that well constructed personality questionnaires, appropriately used, provide much rich As we are dealing with the world of work everything must be work related They are powerful aids to development as well as recruitment

19 EXAMPLE QUESTION FROM THE OPQ® Choose which one of the four statements is MOST and LEAST true (or typical) of you I am the sort of person who: A Is assertive in groups B Applies common sense C Can sell ideas to a customer D Manages to relax easily

20 MOTIVATION QUESTIONNAIRE E1 – E7: Levels of activity; Achievement; Competences; Fear of failure; Power; Interrelations; Commercial outlook S1 – S5: Affiliation; Recognition; Perceptual principles; Ease and security; Personal growth I1 – I3: Interest, Flexibility, Autonomy X1 – X3: Material reward; Progression; Status

21 SIMULATION EXERCISES Group exercises Assigned roles Unassigned roles In trays / in-basket Presentation exercises Fact finding exercises Analysis presentation exercises

22 COMPETENCY BASED INTERVIEW Competency: Quality orientation; “Provides a quality service. Maintains high professional standards and gets work right first time” “Tell me about a time when you set yourself high standards.” “What did you do to ensure you met those standards?” “To what extent did you achieve the standards?” “How did you feel about the quality of your work?”

23 WHAT SHOULD YOU DO? REMEMBER – The organisation is interested only in what you can do, not what you can’t The more rigorous the recruitment process the more likely you are to have a good ‘fit’ Multiple selection methods give you more than one opportunity to demonstrate your strengths

24 WHAT SHOULD YOU DO? Know and prepare yourself Understand the job you are going for If you have a disability do contact the assessor in advance Listen to instructions Do not try to guess what the organisation is looking for Personality questionnaires – answer quickly and honestly FEEDBACK; FEEDBACK;FEEDBACK Self insight enables us to focus on jobs to which we believe we are well suited

25 THE SELF-AUDIT: SWOT Work on paper Do it at least once per year List as many possibilities as you can Be honest!!

26 SWOT – Strengths What are my positive aspects of myself and my present situation What qualifications have I got How many kinds of work have I done and for how long What special knowledge and experience have I got What skills (including manual and artistic) do I possess What financial and property resources do I have How wide is my reputation and in what areas What support do I have from family and friends Do I have good health What are the strong points of my character and personality In so far as I have succeeded, what has helped me to do so Have I any strong, specific interest at work or outside work Do I possess patents or any other intellectual property What are the resources of my motivation and drive Have I any other strengths I have not listed

27 SWOT – Weaknesses What are my negative aspects of myself and my present situation What limits me Are there important gaps in my qualifications, experience or knowledge Do I have financial difficulties or pressure Have I any enemies Am I held in low esteem, and if so by whom Do my domestic or family circumstances present problems, and if so, what are they Have I or those close to me health problems or disabilities, what are they and what are their effects on my life What are the weak points of my character and personality In so far as I have done less well than I would have liked, what has held me back Under what circumstances have I felt most frustrated and unhappy Am I vulnerable in any way: financially, legally, physically, emotionally Have I any other limitations I have not listed

28 SWOT – Opportunities What aspects of the present or the foreseeable future situation could I use as advantage? Suitable job-vacancies available or coming up Reorganizations or relocations that might offer openings Difficulties, weaknesses or failures by rivals or opponents New industries or organizations being set up Relatives or friends looking for business partners Consultancy openings Writing, speaking or media opportunities Prizes, scholarships, bursaries available Sponsorships for research etc. on offer or which might be made available Gaps in local services. Consider the effects of changes in local conditions: new buildings, new industries, new infrastructure, social mix, age structure etc. Investment opportunities Inventions or ideas which I could put to use Assets (e.g. land, buildings) ripe for development

29 SWOT – Threats What aspects of the present or the foreseeable future situation may operate as my disadvantage? Potential financial problems Possible family break up Illness – self or others Rivalry or opposition from other individuals or organizations Changes in demand for what I or my organization offer Legal battles over assets Physical deterioration of property or assets Tax or benefit changes

30 Locus of control Locus of Control refers to the extent to which individuals believe that they can control events that affect them. - High internal locus of control - people believe that events result primarily from their own behavior and actions. They have better control of their behaviour and tend to exhibit more political behaviors. They are more likely to attempt to influence other people to assume that their efforts will be successful. They are more active in seeking information and knowledge concerning their situation - High external locus of control – people believe that powerful others, fate, or chance primarily determine events. - The propensity to engage in political behavior is stronger for individuals who have a high internal locus of control than for those who have a high external locus of control.

31 Locus of control – who defines my life path Internal locus of control – 30 % of all people - Men preliminary - Active, initiative, well oriented, result-oriented, all energy for attaining objectives External locus of control – 15 % of all people - Women and people with low social position - Life is destiny, fortune - These people are more religious or superstitious Locus in the middle – 55 %

32 Left-right orientation Left – logical, analytical, step-by step thinking, verbal and numerical information, engineers, architects, economists Right – intuitive, holistic, jumping imagination, fantasy, symbols, artists, teachers

33 The Tolerance of Ambiguity Tolerance of ambiguity = readiness for change The Tolerance of Ambiguity Scale

34 Career Anchors Career Orientation Inventory: - Technical/Functional Competence - General Management Competence - Autonomy/Independence - Security/Stability - Entrepreneurial Creativity - Service/Dedication to a Cause - Pure Challenge - Lifestyle

35 What to do if invited to sit for a test Why previous experience helps – be motivated Make a decision Establish a clear idea of the test demands Seek out relevant materials for preparation Prepare a programme of work Coach yourself The night before the test/interview Test anxiety – think positive Test strategies – where could be the mistakes What to do if you fail?

36 OBJECTIVES FOR INTERVIEWING: Information gathering Selection procedures Performance appraisal etc. Which results in different types of interviews

37 WHAT IS AN INTERVIEW? A two party conversation (face-to-face) in which (at least) one person has serious, specific purpose (goal) Interview stages - Before the interview - The interview itself - After the interview

38 INTERVIEW’S CHARACTERISTICS: Always purposeful Always structured (in different degrees) Has several distinct phases and involves question-and-answer format Has an element of control Is bipolar – 2 parties participate Amount of speech - Pareto principle

39 PLANNING THE INTERVIEW Define a goal: to have the interviewer view me as a bright, ambitious, articulate person Identify and analyze the other party Prepare a list of topics: long/short term career goals, knowledge about the company/products Choose the best interview structure Consider the possible questions

40 THE STRUCTURE OF THE INTERVIEW Highly scheduled (structured conversation) – standardized list of questions Nonscheduled – free conversation Moderately scheduled – directed by interviewer

41 POSSIBLE QUESTIONS Open vs closed qs Factual vs opinion qs Primary and secondary qs Direct vs indirect qs Hypothetical qs Leading and loaded qs

42 PREPARATION FOR THE INTERVIEW Yourself The Organisation The Job The Interviewers/ the interviewees

43 Prepare yourself: Who you are---your capabilities, your skills, where you might fit in the organization, preferred work style and environment. What skills do you plan to use? Where are you going? Have your short or long-term plans defined? Ask questions about your prospective job. Does this job fit with your current plans? Is it something you can handle? Would you be bored, or challenged by the job? Read again all the documents presented to the recruiters Do not forget the dress code - d ress accordingly Sleep enough Be on time!

44 The organization The company’s mission statement Strategic plans and objectives Corporate values and missions Current issues affecting the department, company Organizational changes (present and proposed)

45 The organization Who are the prospective employers and what do they do? What has the company done? Who are their competitors? What have been their successes? How can the job you are applying for impact your respective employer?

46 STRUCTURE OF THE INTERVIEW Rapport Structure/length of interview Preamble about organisation/job General Discussion about you Finding out about your character Detailed discussion about job Terms and Conditions Summing Up Next Steps

47 CONDUCTING THE INTERVIEW OPENING - DO NOT FORGET THAT:  50 % of decisions are made during the first seconds  Next 25 % - in the first 15 min  The rest 25 % are very difficult decisions and are taken later

48 CONDUCTING THE INTERVIEW OPENING  Greetings and self introduction  Orientation to: Explain the reason for the interview Explain what information is needed and how it will be used Mention the length of the interview Motivation

49 CONDUCTING THE INTERVIEW BODY: exchange questions and answers  Interviewer: - Controls and focuses the conversation - Listens actively - Uses different types of questions

50 CONDUCTING THE INTERVIEW BODY: exchange questions and answers  Interviewee: - Reviews and clarifies the results - Corrects any misunderstanding - Covers his/her own agenda

51 CONDUCTING THE INTERVIEW CLOSING - Review and clarify the results - Establish future answers - Conclude with pleasantries

52 IMAGE/BEHAVIOUR First impressions count! Appropriate clothes are essential On greeting give eye contact, smile, shake hands Remain alert Act professionally

53 13 WAYS TO SHINE AT INTERVIEW 1. Make sure you keep a copy of your CV and/or application form 2. Research your potential employers 3. Know the industry you are interested in entering 4. Refer again to the job description that first inspired you to apply for this very job 5. Consider you appearance 6. Take with you the letter of confirmation from the organization you are visiting

54 13 WAYS TO SHINE AT INTERVIEW 7. Check how you are going to get there 8. Be equipped: money, hairbrush, umbrella, handkerchief or tissues 9. Learn the art of firm handshake 10. Remember that an interview is a two-way process 11. Think about your body language 12. Never be afraid of a pause 13. Give yourself time to relax and prepare

55 EMPLOYERS PERSPECTIVE Employers find Graduates one of the most difficult roles to recruit Employers feel students with Work Experience: Manage their time better Are more realistic More mature

56 EMPLOYEES PERSPECTIVE Your goal – Stand out from all the other candidates They look for: – Ability & Suitability – Willingness – Manageability & Teamwork – Professional Behaviour