1. Module VIII Interviewing – (Basics and Techniques)
MANA 4328
Dennis C. Veit 1

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

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

4. Proper Use of the Interview – The success of an interview will depend on how well the interviewer is prepared.
Before the interview:
You should have available to you
Updated Job Description
Copy of Applicants resume (Marked up with your notes)
Application
Overview of “What you don’t know)
Specific questions for the applicant
Questions prepared to gain the insight you need

5. Interviewer’s Responsibility
Compare data –
Probe Job History
Probe Career Knowledge
Employee Education
Personal Accomplishments
Awards
Observational Information
Interviewer’s Responsibility is to gain: __________

6. 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.

7. Developing a Structured Interview
Conduct a job analysis
Categorize KSA’s (selection requirements then prioritize)
Decide which KSA’s best covered in interview
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
Train interviewers
Validate interview process

8. Planning the Interview:
Know where you are going to hold interview
Know topics of discussion and what you need to know from the interview
No questions unrelated to job requirements
Know your time constraints
How are you going to end the interview?

9. Physical Setting of interview:
Desk location
Angle of applicant and interviewer
Have all documents available
Know your questions ahead of time
Remember you are representing the Company at all times

10. Starting the Interview
Build rapport
Line out the interview steps
Build all questions ahead of time and ensure they are “lead questions”.
Know your questions ahead of time
Open the interview with a “Benefit Statement”

11. Which of the following would be a good lead question?
“I would like to begin the interview by discussing your early development and then progress on to your educational years, your work experience, and then conclude with a discussion of your current accomplishments you’ve made”
“I would like to begin the interview by discussing the early years of your career. I’ll be interested in the things that influenced you the most and their overall effect on you.”
“ I’d like to begin the interview today discussing some of the points you outlined on your resume and what you did to accomplish them”.

12. 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
If the question is not job related then DON’T ASK!

13. 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.

14. 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 they 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.

15. 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.

16. 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.

17. Job-Related: Maintenance Supervisor
KSA: Verbal ability to give work instructions to laborers regarding construction and repair.
What instructions would you give a work crew who was about to string a 220-volt electric cable in a building under construction?
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?
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.

18. Interview Questions Closed ended
Did you ever lead a team that was successful?
Tell me how you were rated as a manager?
Open ended:
Explain how you made those numbers?
What did you do to earn those ratings?
Echo/Reflective:
Framed
Silenced/Pause

19. Starting the Intervies
Build rapport
Line out the interview steps
Build all questions ahead of time and ensure they are “lead questions”.
Know your questions ahead of time
Open the interview with a “Benefit Statement”

20. Worst Interview Questions
Tell me about yourself…
Where do you see yourself in twenty years?
What are your greatest strengths / weaknesses?
What would you do if money did not matter?

21. 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.

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

23. 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

24. 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.