3. Definition of “Interview”
A formal meeting in person, especially one
arranged for the assessment of the
qualifications of an applicant.
4. Types of Interview
Informational
Interview
Screening or
Telephone
Interview
Individual
Interview
Small Group
or Committee
Interview
On-site
Interview
Behavioral –
Based
Interview
Task Oriented
or Testing
Interview
Stress
Interview
5. Conducting an Interview
Provide a welcoming environment
Have a focus
Make every question count
Pay attention
Don’t hesitate to probe
Give ample time to respond
Suspend judgment
Take Notes
Vary the style of questions
6. Provide a Welcoming
Environment
In order to get the
best answers from the
people you
interview, you’ve got
to create a welcoming
environment for them.
7. Have a focus
Have an idea of what
information and insight
you’re expecting to gain
from the interview and
build your questions
around it.
8. Make every question count
Ask specific questions
that can produce insight
into the candidate’s
personality, past
performance, tied to the
criteria defined in the job
description
10. Don’t hesitate to probe
Whenever a candidate offers
an answer that does not
address the specific
information you are
seeking, please ask
additional questions to draw
out the specific answers.
11. Give Ample time to Respond
Give the
candidate time to
come up with a
thoughtful
answer.
12. Suspend Judgment
Try to keep your attention
on the answers you’re
getting instead of making
interpretations or
judgments. You’ll have
plenty of time after the
interview to evaluate what
you see and hear.
13. Take Notes
Note taking in the
employment interview
involves the interviewer
making written notes
during the employment
interview in relation to a
candidate’s responses.
14. Vary the Style of Questions
You can usually
divide questions into
four
categories, based on
the kinds of answers
you’re trying to elicit.
Examples:Describe a time when you knew you were right but were obliged to back-track due to guidelines or protocol.What was the most difficult work-based decision you had to make in the last year?Tell me about a time when you annoyed a customer or work colleague.
Repeating the question:Simply repeating the question may encourage a respondent to provide an answer if he or she has been completely silent, not understood the question or is deciding how to answer the question. Example: if the question is “What do you like about smoke-free environments?” and the respondent does not answer, you can probe: “Just to check, what do you consider to be some of the benefits of smoke-free environments?” Silent Probe: Providing a pause and waiting to ask the next question can be a useful way to motivate respondents to complete or gather their thoughts and give a more complete response. One word of caution with silent probes is to be mindful of “embarrassing silence.” Repeating the Answer: Repeating an answer verbatim provides the opportunity for the respondent to confirm the response and/or it can stimulate further explanation. Example: “So what I hear you saying is…” Ask a neutral question: Asking a neutral question may indicate the type of information you are seeking. Examples of neutral questions are “Why do you feel that way about ___,” “What do you mean by (word or phrase),” or “Anything else?” It is important that your probing question not be leading or biased. Other examples: Anything else? Any other reason? Any others? How do you mean? Could you tell me more about your thinking on that? Would you tell me what you have in mind? What do you mean? Why do you feel that way?
If the silence persists for more than, say, ten seconds, ask the candidate if she wants you to clarify the question. Otherwise, don’t rush things. Use the silence to observe the candidate and to take stock of where you are in the interview.
You don’t want to prejudice yourself in the beginning of the interview so that you fail to accurately process information that comes later.
Benefits of Interview Note Taking Note taking in the interview can help interviewers: o Reduce the impact of memory decay & Aid in recall of important information o Increase consistency in ratings and increase reliability o Reduce rating disagreement or variance o Increase accurate recording of what is being said o Focus on responses o Avoid primacy and recency effects and other potential bias* o Demonstrate a sense of interest in the candidate o Stay alert o Reduce the influence of impression management by focusing on what is being said o Provide documentation for legal defensibility o Provide documentation to support future feedback and potential training needs Guidelines for Interview Note Taking In order to ensure interviewers get the most out of note taking interviewers should: o Inform the candidate at the beginning of the interview that notes will be taken o Listen intently at what is being said o Take notes during the interview as the candidate is speaking versus at the end of the interview o Take notes in proximity of the interview questions (i.e. on a standardized form) o Avoid notes that are subjective, false, offensive, impressions or opinions o Take notes that are detailed summaries of the candidates answers using bullet form when needed o Take notes that detail what is actually said o Take notes for behavioral based questions that ensure the situation, what the candidate said and did and the result is captured
Here are some types of questions that you can use in your interview:Closed-ended: Questions that call for a simple, informal answer — often ayes or no.Open-ended: Questions that require thought and oblige the candidate to reveal attitudes or opinions. One type of open-ended question is the behavioral interview question. With a behavioral question, candidates are asked to relate past on-the-job experiences to situations they are likely to encounter in the position being discussed.Hypothetical: Questions that invite the candidate to resolve an imaginary situation or react to a given situation.Leading: Questions asked in such a way that the answer you’re looking for is obvious.