JOB INTERVIEWS TYPES QUESTIONS TIPS TECHNIQUES ADVICE

JOB INTERVIEWS

TYPES

QUESTIONS

TIPS

TECHNIQUES

ADVICE

INTERVIEWS

•Interviews stress both the interviewee and the interviewer.

•Each organization develops its own style of interview.

•Style based on org’s perception of usefulness of interviews.

•Lack of standard creates uncertainty for candidate.

•Knowing types of interviews may make interview more comfortable for both.

INTERVIEWS

TYPES

Screening v. Hiring/Selection

•Screening used to qualify before meeting with a higher authority

•Save time and money by eliminating unqualified candidates

•Telephone

•Computer

•Videoconference

INTERVIEWS

•Telephone – most common; general sense

•Computer – mc questions, phone or website

•Videophone, Video Conference - >1/2 of fortune 500 firms use VC

INTERVIEWS

SELECTION

•2 – Way street

Types

•One-on-One

•Serial

•Sequential

•Panel

•Group

SELECTION INTERVIEWS

•One-on-One – traditional, variable, both get sense of fit

•Serial – Candidates passed from interviewer to interviewer throughout day. Can take weekend or several days.

•Sequential – Meets with progressively higher interviewers over course of weeks

•Panel – appear before a committee. Can be intimidating.

•Group – Interview group at once.

SELECTION INTERVIEWS

•Situation/Performance – role play job function. CS Rep, dept. store.

•Audition – simulation or brief exercise to assess skills. Computer, mechanic, welder.

•Stress – assess reactions under stress.

•Behavioral Interview – use a candidate’s previous behavior to indicate future performance.

SELECTION INTERVIEWS

•Structured interview – ask candidates the same questions.

•Informal interviews – let candidate get too relaxed.

•Assessment Instruments/Testing – personality, aptitude, assessment centers

SELECTION INTERVIEWS

Structured interview

•Ask candidates the same questions

•Scientifically, the best type of interview.

Unstructured interview

•Difficult/Impossible to compare answers

•Least valid ways to hire

•Questions lack job relevance

SELECTION INTERVIEWS

Assessment Center

•Most sophisticated and expensive method

•1920’s German officers, British civil servants

•OSS spies and secret agents

•Used to assess, identify, and develop leadership potential

SELECTION INTERVIEWS

Assessment Center

•Virtual reality experience

•Personality inventories

•Mental abilities tests

•Simulated environment where behaviors are recorded by observers

•In-Basket Exercise

•Role Plays

SELECTION INTERVIEWS

In-Basket Exercise

•Work simulation that requires a candidate to read an overview of the organization and the position

•Candidates given two hours to indicate how they would handle, prioritize various e-mails, memos, voice mails, phone calls in a typical manager’s in-basket

SELECTION INTERVIEWS

Assessment Center

•Assessors look across all of the instruments and simulations to create overall competency scores

•$2,000 - $10,000 per candidate

SELECTION INTERVIEWS

•Mealtime interviews – assess candidate’s social skills.

Tips

•Don’t sit until host does

•Order less extravagant than interviewer

•Manageable food

•Let interviewer lead conversation

•Remember ordinary manners

SELECTION INTERVIEWS

•Follow-up interviews – second, third, fourth call backs. Confirm decision, difficult finalists, internal concerns.

SELECTION INTERVIEWS

CAVEATS

•Open to bias

•May miss certain areas of knowledge

•May stress one area and neglect another

•Problems in interpretation and analysis of information

•Always the possibility of distorted impressions

INTERVIEW QUESTIONING

•Bad or irrelevant information, or informa-tion that doesn’t predict future perfor-mance is the reason behind most bad hires.

•Best predictor of future behavior is past behavior.

•Behavior based interviewing

“Oh Say” QUESTIONS

•Determine an applicant’s skill level as well as his/her view toward conquering adversity.

•O-S Obstacle Situation

• A Actions taken E End result

“Oh Say” QUESTIONS

•O-S Obstacle Situation

• A Actions taken E End result

•O-S Tell me about a specific time when you dealt with ……

• A Tell me what action you took. E What was the end result?

“Oh Say” QUESTIONS

•O-SAE Method uses set of 3 questions for each skill that needs to be measured.

•Customize to particular situation.

•Question must include Obstacle.

•Both high and low performers can perform well when the circumstances are obstacle free and easy.

•When the going gets tough, low performers throw in the towel.

INTERVIEW TIPS

INTERVIEWER

•Write down your questions

•Decide what you need to learn and prepare questions to probe.

•Plan the environment – privacy, no interruptions, ensure the interviewee is looked after while they wait.

•Arrange seating in an informal relaxed way. Don’t sit behind desk opposite interviewee. Coffee or meeting room table

MORE INTERVIEW TIPS

INTERVIEWER

•Clear your desk, apart from what you need for the interview. Shows prepared and organized.

•Put the interviewee at ease.

•Explain clearly and concisely the details of the organization and the role.

•Ask open-ended questions – how, why, tell me, what

•Make interviewee do 90% of talking.

MORE INTERVIEW TIPS

INTERVIEWER

•Use “Why” often to probe reasons, thinking, find real motives

•High pressure rarely exposes hidden issues – calm, gentle, clever questions do

•Probe the cv to clarify holes

•Personality test results

INTERVIEWEE TIPS

•Research the firm as much as possible.

•Prepare to say - Why you want the job, What your best achievements are.

•Assemble hard evidence of your success

•Up to date cv. Bring a spare.

•Review your personal goals and be able to speak openly about them.

•2 or 3 good references. Contact them

•Enthusiastic, alert, positive mind set.

MORE INTERVIEWEE TIPS

•Discover your personality strengths and weakness and be able to discuss.

PRESSURE QUESTIONS

•Weakness and Failure

•Blame

•Evidence of Ability or Experience

•Be confident, credible, and constructive. Accentuate the positive.

•Be prepared.

WEAKNESS & FAILURE

•What is your greatest weakness?

•“I really can’t think of any”

•“I work too hard sometimes”

•“There are some things I’m not so good at, but I’d never say these are weaknesses as such – a weakness is a vulnerability, and I don’t consider myself vulnerable. If there’s something I can’t do or don’t know, then I find someone who can do it or does know.”

BLAME

•Why did you leave your last job?

•Why have you had so many jobs?

•Never blame anyone or anything. Employers want people who take responsibility, have initiative, and create answers not problems.

•“I was ready for more challenge.”

•Praise last employer.

PROVE IT QUESTIONS

•“Can you give me an example?”

•Clearly understand requirements of job you are applying for.

•Use quantified evidence where possible.

FOLLOW- UP

•Letter, email, phone.

•Passionate and determined not desperate and crawling.

FOLLOW- UP

•Letter, email, phone.

•Passionate and determined not desperate and crawling.

PERCEIVED ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPORT

POS AVERAGE 3.86

POS RANGE 2.7 - 4.5

FIT AVERAGE 4.15

FIT RANGE 1.9 – 5.0

COM AVERAGE 3.82

COM RANGE 2.7 – 4.6