Student number : 22018812

Course code : UMPDND-15-2 - Management skills for business and law

Task 1

In my module; Management Skills for Business and Law, I carried out a mock-interview session
with another student who role-played as a candidate applying for a job in an aerospace
company while I acted as the manager in charge of recruitment. From the experience and
feedback given by my coursemate who acted as my candidate, I have established two main
managerial/interviewer skills which are; listening skills and body language.

In the case of body language, as a manager I found that maintaining good eye contact with the
candidate demonstrated engagement, confidence and built trust within them (Harvey, W.
S. ,2011). This is because the candidate likely feels valued and heard from my end which
enables them to show their potential even more during the interview. This works vice-versa as
stated in Frauendorfer, D., & Schmid Mast, M. (2014) where ‘nonverbal avoidance behavior’
from a recruiter (and candidate) such as less talking, less eye contact, less fluent talking were
less effective in job interviews. In the case for the recruiter/manager, having such behavior
would disable candidates from opening up more. During my mock interview I noticed this as I
was less engaging during the first few minutes by checking my phone, tapping on the table
during the time that my candidate introduced herself and I had not looked them in the eye. From
my behavior, I noticed the candidate was less ‘chatty’ and did not wish to speak more. However,
once I began eye contact, keeping my body posture upright and nodding to whatever she said, I
noticed she began opening up more about her past experiences and skills that she found fit for
the role. This can be supported with reference from Gotcher, M. A. (1990) that states an
interviewer/manager’s poor body language such as head shakes, frowns, yawns and little eye
contact will leave the interviewee tense and less confident. That being said, there is a clear
emphasis that nonverbal communication skills within managers play an important role in
ensuring candidates are comfortable enough to show their true potential.

In the case of listening skills, carrying an active listening skill as a manager builds rapport which
results in a positive candidate experience. Moreover, it ensures a more attentive and fair
assessment of the candidate. During my mock interview, I had made the mistake of not being
attentive enough which cost me some valuable information I could have gotten from the
candidate. In reference to Taherdoost, H. (2022), interviewers should be attentive and not miss
any details. This is a common mistake however and Taherdoost, H. (2022) advises that
interviewers can try to engage in conversations to ‘stay in the loop’ of what the candidate is
saying. However, referencing Kuo, C.-C., Chang, K., & Cheng, S. (2022), a ‘power distance
orientation’ should be established so active listening skills should be kept to a certain extent. As
a manager/recruiter, it is important to set a standard in front of a potential employee which
means showing a level of authority. During my mock-interview, I noticed my candidate stirred
away from the question and got emotional from answering a question. While it is good to be
empathetic, it was important for me to redirect my candidate back to the question to maintain
professionalism and to keep in-check of time which is a common occurrence for real-time
interviews. (Doody, O., & Noonan, M. , 2013)

In conclusion, this mock interview experience has been a valuable learning opportunity for me. I
have gained a deeper understanding of the key skills required for an effective manager or
interviewer. There was definitely room for improvement which can be supported by the
references mentioned throughout this reflection.

References :

1. Frauendorfer, D., & Schmid Mast, M. (2014). "The Impact of Nonverbal Behavior in the
Job Interview."
2. Gotcher, M. A. (1990). Nonverbal Communication in the Job Interview: First Impressions
and Nonverbal Immediacy.
3. Kuo, C.-C., Chang, K., & Cheng, S. (2022). Can Manager's Listening Behavior Benefit
Employees? Power Distance May Have the Answer. International Journal of Listening,
DOI: 10.1080/10904018.2021.2004892.
4. Taherdoost, H. (2022). How to Conduct an Effective Interview: A Guide to Interview
Design in Research Study
5. Harvey, W. S. (2011). Strategies for Conducting Elite Interviews. Qualitative Research,
DOI: 10.1177/1468794111404329.
6. Doody, O., & Noonan, M. (2013). Preparing and conducting interviews to collect data.
Nurse Researcher, DOI: 10.7748/nr2013.05.20.5.28.e327.