Interviewing Skills

Workshop 2.1
 Objectives
1. Explain what are the aims of recruitment
2. Understand how an employer selects an employee for a role
3. Identify the problems with selection interviews
 Recruitment
Aims of recruitment:
1. To obtain a pool of suitable candidates for vacant posts
2. To use a fair process and be able to demonstrate that the process
was fair
3. To ensure that all recruitment activities contribute to
organisational goal and a desirable organisational image
4. To conduct recruitment activities in an efficient and cost effective
manner
(Foot and Hook 2011)
 Recruitment
• What is a “suitable candidate”?
• Who decides this?
• How is it decided?
• How do you achieve a fair recruitment process?
Let’s have a look at Apple!
• Please watch the video on b/b
about Apple’s recruitment
• What do you think is the
organisation’s approach?
• What are they looking in
prospective candidates?
• How would it feel working for
Apple?
 Job analysis
Assessing or defining the components of the post:
– Nature of the work performed
– Associated responsibilities and accountabilities
– Skills and knowledge required
– Working conditions
– Outputs or performance standards expected
(Wilton 2013)
 Job description
Job descriptions relate to the task to be undertaken:
• Job Title
• Location
• Responsible to
• Responsible for
• Main purpose of the job
• Responsibilities/duties
• Working conditions
• Other matters
• Any other duties
(Marchington and Wilkinson 2013)
 Person specification
Person specifications outline the attributes required for the
position, including:
• Knowledge
• Skills – IT, foreign language,
• Previous experience – in a similar role, company
• Qualifications
• Personal qualities – professionalism, creativity etc.

It represents the selection criteria

 Example of a Person specification
• Receptionist
Attributes Essential Desirable
Knowledge Knowledge of Knowledge of the
clerical systems company

Skills Experience of Supervisory

handling queries in experience
person and over the
telephone

Personal qualities Polite manner

Ability to work
under pressure

(Foot and Hook 2011)

 Competency frameworks
• Competency frameworks focus on the behaviours of
job applicants that are required to undertake the
role
• Often generic to an organisation rather than specific
to a job
• Person based rather than job based
• People analysis rather than job analysis
• A competency framework is a structure that sets out
the competencies required by individuals required
by individuals working within the organisation.
 Competency frameworks
• Most commonly sought:
– Communication skills
– People management
– Team skills
– Customer service skills
– Results-orientation
– Problem solving
(CIPD 2014)
Example of a competency framework
The UK Civil Service: “Delivering at a Pace”
Strategy
Level/Title Competence
6 Director Set/maintain clear strategy for the dept.

5 D/Director Translate strategic priorities to objectives

4 H/Section Manage performance of section

3 HEO Stretch self/team to deliver objectives

2 EO Allocate work and monitor performance

1 AA Deliver work to agree quality/time

AA = Admin Assistant; EO = Executive Officer; HEO = Higher Executive Officer; H/Section = Head of Section; D/Director = Deputy Director Delivery
Exercise: what attributes or competencies are employers looking for?

Consider;
1. Think of a sector you might consider in the future for
a job and/or placement.
2. Think about the kind of roles that might exist.
3. Now add in the attributes or competencies that you
would expect to be important in these jobs.
4. Consider how you would evidence that attribute or
competency

Your list might look a bit like this……….

Sector Types of roles Attributes or How you would
Competencies evidence that
attribute or
competency

Marketing Marketing Communication During fresher's

assistant skills week I delivered
an informative and
interesting
presentation to
new UWE
students.
Exercise: what attributes and/or competencies are employers looking for?

1. What sector did you think that you might

consider in the future for a job and/or
placement.
2. What role did you consider?
3. What attributes and/or competencies did you
decide would to be important in these jobs.
4. Consider how you would evidence that
attribute or competency.
 Selection methods
1. Interviews
• Telephone interviews
• Face to face interviews (individual, group or panel)
2. Psychometric testing
• Personality profiling
• Aptitude tests
• Technical tests
3. Assessment centres
• Work simulations
• Group exercises
4. References
 Why are selection interviews so widely used?
• Opportunity for face to face meeting and mutual preview
• Flexible
• Can be an efficient and practical tool
• Enables information to be provided about job and company
• Opportunity to ‘sell’ the organisation
 Problems with selection interviews
• Subjectivity and unfair bias
• Inconsistency
• Lack of structure
• Lack of preparation
• Lack of interviewer skill and concentration
• Interviewer errors in decision making
• Poor outcomes
The most awkward interview ever!

• Please watch the video via the relevant

link on blackboard and consider:
• What did David Brent do wrong in the
interview?
• Are there any strengths?
• How could he improve?
 Interviewer errors
• Expectancy effect
• Confirmation seeking bias
• Primacy effect
• Stereotyping and prototyping
• Halo/horns effect
• Contrast effect
• Negative information bias
• Similar to me effect
• Personal liking bias
• Information overload and selective attention
( Anderson & Shackleton 1993)
 Recapping…
• We introduced recruitment and explained its importance for
the organisation
• Discussed about the ‘systematic’ approach to recruitment: Job
analysis – Job Description – Person Specification & Competency
Frameworks
• We also looked at Selection, discussing the use of interviews
and presenting some of the key strengths and weaknesses.
 Reading
Key references:
• Anderson, N. and Shackleton, V. (1993) Successful
Selection Interviewing. Blackwell: Oxford (Chapter 3)
• Foot, M. and Hook, C (2011) Introducing Human
Resource Management. Essex: Pearson Education
Limited. (Chapter 7) Torrington D., Hall L., Taylor S.
and Atkinson C. (2014) Human Resource
Management, 9th ed, FT Prentice Hall: Harlow
(Chapter28)
 Reading
Further Sources:
• Carbery, R. and Cross, C. (2013) Human Resource Management. London: Palgrave Macmillian
(Chapter 3)
• CIPD. (2014) Competence and competency frameworks.
http://www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/factsheets/competence-competency-frameworks.aspx
• Foot, M. and Hook, C (2011) Introducing Human Resource Management. Essex: Pearson
Education Limited. (Chapter 6)
• Jackman, J.M., & Strober, M.H. (2003). Fear of feedback. Harvard Business Review, 81(4),
pp101-107.
• Marchington, M and Wilkinson (2012) Human Resource Management at Work. London: CIPD.
(Chapter 8)
• Taylor, S. (2010) Resourcing and Talent Management. 6th ed. London: CIPD. (Chapters 6 and
10)
• Torrington, D., Hall, L., Taylor, T. and Atkinson, C. (2014) Human Resource Management.
Harlow: Pearson Education Limited. (Chapters 6, 7 and 28)
• Wilton, N. An introduction to Human Resource Management. London: Sage. (Chapter 6)