1. Welcome to the Effective Interviewing Course
Part I
Click to begin… Start
…or explore individual sections
Before the Interview During the Interview After the Interview
1
4. Topic 1: Before the Interview
Steps involved in preparing for an interview
Review • Candidate’s Resume
• Job Description
• Topics of Conversation
Identify • Areas to Probe
• Gaps in Resume
• Strengths and Weaknesses
Prepare • List of Questions
Tailor • Interview to Specific Individual
4
5. Topic 1: Before the Interview
Things to look out for on a Resume
• Detailed experience matching skills and role
• Demonstrated expertise
• Specific examples of successes
• Tangible metrics achieved
• Tenure and stability
• Progression of responsibilities
• Continuing education; professional orgs.
5
6. Topic 1: Before the Interview
Things to look out for on a Resume
• Grammatical errors
• Poor layout or lack of details
• Employment gaps or job hopping
• Inflated skill sets
• Superfluous verbiage
• Generic quality – written by someone else
6
7. Digging Deeper
Effective Interviewing
Click to find out
Interview Question Types – Quick Reference Guide
Question Type Description Examples
Verification Questions Use these types of questions to verify • Walk me through your resume
more about types
experience and credentials listed on the • How long did you work for this company?
Resume. • What were your responsibilities?
• When did you complete your first degree?
Opinion Questions These are used to obtain a candidate’s view • What are you passionate about?
of a certain situation or a choice between • Which is more important, creativity or efficiency?
two options. These types of questions help Why?
of Interview
an interviewer get a feel for a candidate’s • What are the most difficult decisions to make?
values and possible reactions in certain • If you were hiring someone for this position, what
situations. They are also useful for assessing qualities would you look for?
cultural fit within the organization.
Analytical Questions Analytical thinking questions are used to • You’ve got someone working for you for seven days
test creativity, and problem solving skills. and a gold bar to pay them. The gold bar is
Questions…
They usually take the form of riddles, brain segmented into seven connected pieces. You must
busters and math and logic questions. They give them a piece of gold at the end of every day. If
are a preferred form of interviewing for you are only allowed to break the gold bar twice,
companies that value innovation, how do you pay your worker?
particularly software companies like
Microsoft and Google.
…or move on to the
next section
7
8. Topic 2: During the Interview
The interviewing process
Opening Body Closing
8
9. Topic 2: During the Interview
Opening
1. Introductions
2. Break the Ice
3. Explain hiring process
4. Set guidelines
9
10. Topic 2: During the Interview
Body
1. Manage time
2. Manage content
3. Maintain balance
10
11. Topic 2: During the Interview
Closing
1. Answer questions
2. Specify next steps
3. Leave positive impression
11
12. Digging Deeper
Click on one of these options for
additional information
Following Rating
Up Errors
…or move on to the
next section
12
13. Topic 3: After the Interview
Good Practices
1. Document immediately
2. Make notes factual and specific
3. Avoid personal opinions and biases
13
14. Summary
Cost of Hiring Wrong 100% - 250% of Terminated
Employee = Employee’s Annual Salary!
Effective Interviewing minimizes the risk of hiring
the wrong employee
14
15. Exercise – Following up
In my current job, I was responsible Elaborate: Walk me through the steps you took to
for making a presentation that prepare for this presentation.
helped my company win a $100,000 Tie Down Specifics: What did you actually say or
contract. do during the presentation to make the sale?
I pay a lot of attention to detail. I will Tie Down Specifics: Can you tell me about the
typically find any mistakes that I last time you found a mistake you had overlooked
made when I review my work. previously?
On my last project, I had to convince
the team to use my approach for Clarify: What do you mean you “finally broke
analyzing some data. It was difficult through”?
to convince them, but I finally broke
Elaborate: How did you get them to go with you?
through.
Tie Down Specifics: Can you tell me about the
My leadership strategy is to lead by most recent time you used that strategy? Or
example. I don’t just tell people what
to do, I model it for them. Can you tell me about a time when you used that
strategy and it was particularly successful?
15
Notes de l'éditeur
In the 1800’s when a company needed workers, they would put a sign outside the building. If the sign read: “Tall Men Needed”, there would be no reason for you to apply if you didn’t reach the mark on the door. If you owned a mill and needed a man to work with the grinding stones, the interview would consist of your examination of the applicant’s hands. The hand that worked the stones would be rough and would have stone embedded in it. Smooth hands would tell you that the applicant did not know how to do the job.
Today, an interview is still in many ways a visual inspection. Although in addition to physical appearance, companies also seek to evaluate a candidate’s intellectual suitability for the job. Specifically the purpose of an interview is to determine:Aptitude: Can they perform and excel at the job? Attitude: Will this person be a fit with the organization’s culture? Adaptability: Will they grow and develop with the company’s business needs?
Introduce self and other members of panel, explain position in companyGive overview of the hiring process, describe opportunity“Break the Ice”, establish rapport with the candidateSet guidelines for your discussion
Manage the interview for both time and content; listen, summarize, and documentFollow up with clarifying questionsMaintain a balanced interview: The candidate should speak about 70% of the time. Make sure you are getting enough information from them to make an accurate evaluation. If the balance of dialogue is too lopsided either you or the candidate are probably RAMBLING - politely steer the conversation back on track. Allow the candidate the opportunity to ask questions during the interview but not to lead the questioning. Ask open ended questionsUse non-verbal “encouragers”Reflect and paraphrase
Ask if candidate has any questions; offer your availability for questions laterSpecify next stepsLeave the candidate with a positive impression
Document your conversation and notes immediatelyPrevents memory degradationDetailed documentation protects the interviewer against claims of biasMake notes factual and specificAvoid any personal opinions or biases. Do not make recommendation based on gut feeling or pre-conceived opinion of candidate
