1. Interviewing Candidates7
Interviewing Candidates
Chapter 6 focused on important tools managers use to select employees.
Now we’ll turn to one of these tools—interviewing candidates.
The main topics we’ll cover include types of interviews, things that undermine interviewing’s usefulness, and designing and conducting effective selection interviews.
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2. Learning Objectives List the main types of selection interviews.
List and explain the main errors that can undermine an interview’s usefulness.
Define a structured situational interview.
After we complete this chapter, you will be able to:
List the main types of selection interviews.
List and explain the main errors that can undermine an interview’s usefulness.
Define a structured situational interview.
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3. Learning Objectives
Explain and illustrate each guideline for being a more effective interviewer.
Give several examples of situational questions, behavioral questions, and background questions that provide structure.
In addition, you will be able to:
Explain and illustrate each guideline for being a more effective interviewer.
Give several examples of situational questions, behavioral questions, and background questions that provide structure.
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4. List the main types of selection interviews.
An interview is a procedure designed to obtain information from a person through oral responses to oral inquiries. A selection interview (the focus of this chapter) is a selection procedure designed to predict future job performance based on applicants’ oral responses to oral inquiries.
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5. Basic Types of Interviews
Structured vs. unstructured
Questions to ask
Situational
Behavioral
Job-related
Stress
Puzzle questions
In unstructured (or nondirective) interviews, the manager follows no set format.
In structured (or directive) interviews, the employer lists the questions ahead of time. He or she also may even list and score possible answers for appropriateness.
Structured interviews are generally superior.
In structured interviews, all interviewers generally ask all applicants the same questions. It’s clear the courts will look at whether the interview process is structured and consistently applied.
In a situational interview, you ask the candidate what his or her behavior would be in a given situation.
Behavioral interviews ask applicants to describe how they reacted to actual situations in the past.
In a job-related interview, the applicants answer questions about relevant past experiences.
In stress interviews, the applicant is made uncomfortable by a series of often rude questions. This technique helps identify hypersensitive applicants and those with low or high stress tolerance.
Puzzle questions are popular. Recruiters like to use them to see how candidates think under pressure.
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6. Administering Interviews
Panel
Phone
Video/web-assisted
Computerized
Case interviews
Employers also administer interviews in various ways. These include one-on-one or by a panel of interviewers, sequentially or all at once, and computerized or personally.
In an unstructured sequential interview, each interviewer generally just asks questions as they come to mind. In a structured sequential interview, each interviewer rates the candidates on a standard evaluation form, using standardized questions.
A panel interview is an interview conducted by a team of interviewers who interview each candidate and then combine their ratings into a final panel score.
Employers do some interviews entirely by telephone.
These can actually be more accurate than face-to-face interviews for judging an applicant’s conscientiousness, intelligence, and interpersonal skills.
Firms have long used the Web to do selection interviews. With iPad-type video functionalities and the widespread use of Skype™, their use is growing.
A computerized interview is one in which a job candidate’s oral and/or computerized replies are obtained in response to questions and/or situations.
Finally, Bain & Company uses case interviews as part of its candidate selection process.
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7. Three Ways to Make the Interview Useful
Structure the interview
Carefully select traits to assess
Beware of committing interviewing errors
Structured interviews are more valid than unstructured interviews for predicting job performance.
This is especially true for structured interviews using situational questions as situational questions vary significantly from candidate to candidate.
To reduce interview errors, limit yourself mostly to situational and job knowledge questions. This will help you assess how the candidate will actually respond to typical situations on that job.
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8. Review Structured vs. unstructured Questions to ask Administration
Situational
Behavioral
Job-related
Stress
Puzzle questions
Administration
Panel
Phone
Video/web-assisted
Computerized
In unstructured interviews, the manager follows no set format. In structured interviews, the employer lists the questions ahead of time. Possible answers also may be provided. The types of questions we have discussed include:
Situational
Behavioral
Job-related
Stress
Puzzle questions
Interviews may be conducted by a panel, on the phone, using video or web-assisted technology or via the computer.
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9. List and explain the main errors that can undermine an interview’s usefulness
One reason selection interviews are often less than useful is that managers make predictable, avoidable errors. We’ll look at these next.
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10. Errors that Undermine Interviews
Snap judgments
Job requirements not understood – Halo effect
Candidate-order & pressure to hire
Nonverbal behavior & impression management
Personal characteristics
Interviewer mistakes
Perhaps the most consistent finding is that interviewers tend to jump to conclusions—make snap during the first few minutes of the interview. Sometimes this occurs before the interview starts, based on test scores or résumé data.
Interviewers may not have an accurate picture of the job requirements and what sort of candidate is best suited for it. If that’s the case, they may make their decisions based on incorrect impressions or stereotypes of what a good applicant is.
Candidate-order error means the order in which you see applicants affects how you rate them. There is some indication that the effects of primacy (who you interviewed first) or recency (most recently interviewed) can impact your decisions.
The applicant’s nonverbal behavior can also have a surprisingly large impact on his or her rating. Interviewers infer your personality from your nonverbal behaviors in the interview. Clever candidates capitalize on non-verbal behavior and impression management. One study found that some used ingratiation to persuade interviewers to like them. Psychologists call using techniques like ingratiation and self-promotion “impression management.”
Unfortunately, physical attributes such as applicants’ attractiveness, gender, disability, or race also may distort an interviewer’s assessments.
Interviewers may make numerous mistakes such as:
Having favorable pre-interview impressions
Playing district attorney or amateur psychologist
Asking improper questions
Being inept
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11. Review
Errors that undermine an interview’s usefulness include jumping to conclusions, not having accurate job requirements or the order in which candidates are interviewed. Non-verbal behavior, personal characteristics and physical attributes also create errors. Interviewers may make numerous mistakes such as playing district attorney or amateur psychologist or asking improper questions
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12. Define a structured situational interview
There are two basic ways to avoid interview errors: keep them in mind in order to avoid them and use structured interviews. We’ll look next at how to structure the interview around job-relevant situational and behavioral questions.
Structured interviews – behavioural or situational prepared questions and scoring system.
Unstructured interviews – chat etc. all informal, not necessarily directed to the job, every candidate has a different set of questions asked, employing you on personality and fit only.
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13. Designing & Conducting Structured Interviews
Analyze the job
Rate main duties
Create questions
Create benchmark answers
Appoint interview panel and conduct interviews
There are five basic steps involved in designing and conducting structured interviews.
STEP 1: Write a job description with a list of job duties; required knowledge, skills, and abilities; and other worker qualifications.
STEP 2: Rate each job duty, say from 1 to 5, based on its importance to job success. Identify the competencies and isolate the competencies that you wish to interview.
STEP 3: Create interview questions for each of the job duties, with more questions for the important duties.
STEP 4: Next, for each question, develop ideal (benchmark) answers for good (a 5 rating), marginal (a 3 rating), and poor (a 1 rating) answers. Show students that this is a BARS
STEP 5: Select a panel consisting of three to six members, preferably the same ones who wrote the questions and answers. It may also include the job’s supervisor and/or incumbent, and a human resources representative. The same panel interviews all candidates for the job.
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14. Situational Questions
Sales Manager Role: The company needs to increase it sales by 25% in the Asia Pacific Region. Tell us how you would go about this, what specifically would you do?
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15. Behavioural Question
This is based on past behaviours and is best to use the STARS technique
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16. STAR Technique
ST – Situation A – Actions or activities R- Response or results
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17. Behavioural Questions
Sales Manager ST – “Can you tell us about at time…?” A – “What specifically did you do?” R- “What were the results of your actions?”
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18. BARS
Behavioural Anchored Rating Scales 5. Gave a situation, gave high value actions of what he/she specifically did and what the results were. Excellent. 3. Gave a relevant situation, actions were appropriate, results were as expected. 1. Situation okay, talked generally in terms of group as opposed to ‘you’.
Interview panel to collate scores.
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19. Review Job analysis Rating Creating questions Benchmark answers
Create a panel and conduct interviews
The first step in designing and conducting proper structured interviews is to have a well-done job analysis. Rating the main duties of the job is next. Creating the actual questions and benchmark answers are important as well. Finally, assembling a panel of people and conducting the interviews is the final step in the process.
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20. How to Conduct an Effective Interview
There are 8 steps to conducting an effective interview
Make sure you know the job
Structure the interview
Get organized
Establish rapport
STEP 1: Do not start the interview unless you understand the job and what human skills you’re looking for. Study the job description.
STEP 2: Base questions on actual job duties. Use job knowledge, situational, or behavioral questions, and know the job to evaluate the interviewee’s answers. Use descriptive BARSrating scales (excellent, fair, poor) to rate answers. If possible, use a standardized interview form.
STEP 3: Hold the interview in a private room where telephone calls are not accepted and you can minimize interruptions.
STEP 4: The main reason for the interview is to find out about the applicant. To do this, start by putting the person at ease. Greet the candidate and start the interview by asking a noncontroversial question, perhaps about the weather or the traffic conditions that day. Also, let the candidate know what the timeframe is for the interview. Mention how much time you will likely use and how much time he or she will have to ask questions.
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21. How to Conduct an Effective Interview
Ask questions
Take notes
Close the interview
Review the interview
STEP 5: Follow the situational, behavioral, and job knowledge questions you wrote out ahead of time.
STEP 6: Take brief, unobtrusive notes while conducting the interview. Doing so may help avoid making a snap decision early in the interview, and may also help jog your memory once the interview is complete.
STEP 7: Leave time to answer any questions the candidate may have and, if appropriate, to advocate your firm to the candidate.
STEP 8: After the candidate leaves, review your interview notes. Then score the interview guide answers (if you used one), and make a decision. Do this as quickly as possible so your thoughts and perceptions are as fresh as they can be.
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22. Review Know the job Structure the interview Get organized
Create rapport
Ask questions
Take notes
Close
Review
As always, knowing the job requirements and specifications is a critical starting place, as is structuring the interview. Being organized not only helps you but also reflects well on the company and is perceived well by the candidate. Creating rapport and setting the stage for a two-way discussion is helpful to all. Be sure to ask useful questions and take short notes on answers to help you remember later. Closing the interview with information about the next steps and a timeline will reassure the candidate. Finally, review the interview immediately afterward and make a decision or recommendation.
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23. Give several examples of situational questions, behavioral questions, and background questions that provide structure
It’s useful to categorize your questions into situational (what would you do), behavioral (describe past behaviors) and background questions. We will discuss two examples of each.
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24. Situational (What Would You Do) Questions
Suppose your boss insisted that a presentation had to be finished by tonight. Your subordinate said she has to get home early to attend an online class, so she is unable to help you. What would you do?
The CEO just told you that he’s planning on firing your boss, with whom you are very close, and replacing him with you. What would you do?
Situational questions require the candidate to project themselves into a particular situation and explain what they might do. Such questions can provide information about leadership, communication, managing stress, ambition, problem solving and many other important characteristics. It’s a good idea to develop such questions from actual situations that have occurred in your firm.
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25. Behavioral (Past Behavior) Questions
Tell me about a time when you had to deal with a particularly obnoxious person. Describe the situation in detail, and explain how you handled it.
Tell me about a time when you were under a great deal of stress. What was the situation, and how did you handle it?
Asking behavioral questions (the candidate’s past behaviors) is another way to gather the types of information we discussed. Here, the candidate can demonstrate careful preparation for the interview. That is, a good candidate will have thought through questions similar to the ones you ask and prepared answers carefully. Such preparation may also suggest appropriate introspection on the part of the candidate.
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26. Background Questions
What kind and how much experience have you had actually repairing automobile engines?
Describe the types and years of experience you have had creating marketing programs for consumer products?
Background questions are usually best use in the early stages of an interview to help establish rapport as well as validate the resume. They also can lead to other follow-on questions later and provide a touchstone for both the candidate and interviewer.
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27. Review Situational Behavioral Background
All three categories of questions are important and should likely be used in all interviews. Using the same questions for all candidates will be helpful as well.
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