Chapter 7

Interviewing
Candidates

Part Two | Recruitment and Placement

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by Charlie
Charlie
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Cook
Cook
Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall The
The University
University of
of West
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Alabama
 Road Map
Main Introduction
Session 1
1. Job Analysis
Session 2 2. Job Description/Competencies
Session 3 3. Personnel Planning
Session 4 4. Recruitment
Session 5 5. Selection (Part 1)
Session 6 6. Selection ( Part 2)
Recruitment Ethics and Laws
Session 7 7.
Induction/Organizational Exit 2
LEARNING OUTCOMES
1. List the main types of selection interviews.
2. List and explain main errors that can undermine an
interview’s usefulness.
3. Define a structured situational interview.
4. Explain and illustrate each guideline for being a
more effective interviewer.
5. Give several examples of situational questions,
behavioral questions, and background questions
that provide structure.
6. List the steps in a streamlined interview process.
7. List guidelines for interviewees.
7–3
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
Steps in the Selection Process

7–4
The Selection Process
 Obtaining Reliable and Valid Information
– Reliability
• The degree to which interviews, tests, and other selection
procedures yield comparable data over time and alternative
measures.
– Validity
• Degree to which a test or selection procedure measures a
person’s attributes.

7–5
Basic Testing Concepts
 Reliability
– The consistency of scores obtained by the same
person when retested with the identical or
equivalent tests.
– Are the test results stable over time?
 Test validity
– The accuracy with which a test, interview, and so
on measures what it purports to measure or fulfills
the function it was designed to fill.
– Does the test actually measure what we
need for it to measure?
7–6
Reliability as Stability over Time

HIGH RELIABILITY TEST RETEST

APPLICANT SCORE SCORE
Smith 90 93
Perez 65 62
Riley 110 105
Chan 80 78

VERY LOW RELIABILITY TEST RETEST

APPLICANT SCORE SCORE
Smith 90 72
Perez 65 88
Riley 110 67
Chan 80 111

7–7
Reliability as Consistency
(Interrater Reliability)
HIGH RELIABILITY

APPLICANT Rater #1 Rater #2 Rater #3

Smith 9 8 8
Perez 5 6 5
Riley 4 5 5
Chan 8 8 8

VERY LOW RELIABILITY

APPLICANT Rater #1 Rater #2 Rater #3

Smith 9 5 6
Perez 5 9 4
Riley 4 2 7
Chan 8 4 2
7–8
Basic Features of Interviews
 An interview
– A procedure designed to obtain information from
a person through oral responses to oral inquiries
 Types of interviews
– Selection interview
– Appraisal interview
– Exit interview
 Interviews formats
– Structured
– Unstructured

7–9
 Basic Types of Interviews

Selection Interview

Types of
Appraisal Interview
Interviews

Exit Interview

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 7–10

Types of Interviews
 Selection interview
– A selection procedure designed to predict future
job performance on the basis of applicants’ oral
responses to oral inquiries.
 Appraisal interview
– A discussion, following a performance appraisal, in
which supervisor and employee discuss the
employee’s rating and possible remedial actions.
 Exit interview
– An interview to elicit information about the job or
related matters to the employer some insight into
what’s right or wrong about the firm. 7–11
 Selection Interview Structure

Selection Interview
Characteristics

Interview Interview Interview

structure content administration

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 7–12

 Selection Interview Formats

Interview Structure
Formats

Unstructured Structured
(nondirective) (directive)
interview interview

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 7–13

Formats of Interviews
 Unstructured or nondirective interview
– An unstructured conversational-style interview in
which the interviewer pursues points of interest as
they come up in response to questions.
 Structured or directive interview
– An interview following a set sequence of
questions.

7–14
 Structured
Interview
Guide

Source: Copyright 1992. The

Dartnell Corporation, Chicago, IL.
Adapted with permission.

Figure 7–1c
7–15
 Interview Content

Types of Questions Asked

Situational Behavioral Job-related Stress

interview interview interview interview

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 7–16

 Interview Content: Types of Questions
 Situational interview
– A series of job-related questions that focus on
how the candidate would behave in a given
situation.
 Behavioral interview
– A series of job-related questions that focus on
how they reacted to actual situations in the past.
 Job-related interview
– A series of job-related questions that focus on
relevant past job-related behaviors.

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 7–17

Interview Content: Types of Questions
 Stress interview
– An interview in which the interviewer seeks to
make the applicant uncomfortable with
occasionally rude questions that supposedly to
spot sensitive applicants and those with low or
high stress tolerance.
 Puzzle questions
– Recruiters for technical, finance, and other types
of jobs use questions to pose problems requiring
unique (“out-of-the-box”) solutions to see how
candidates think under pressure.

7–18
 Administering the Interview
Unstructured
sequential interview

Structured Panel
sequential interview interview

Ways in
Which
Mass
Interview Can Phone
interview be Conducted interviews

Computerized Video/Web-assisted
interviews interviews

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 7–19

Personal or Individual Interviews
 Unstructured sequential interview
– An interview in which each interviewer forms an
independent opinion after asking different questions.
 Structured sequential interview
– An interview in which the applicant is interviewed
sequentially by several persons; each rates the applicant on
a standard form.
 Panel (board) interview
– An interview in which a group of interviewers questions the
applicant.
 Mass interview
– A panel interviews several candidates simultaneously.

7–20
Computerized Interviews
 Computerized selection interview
– An interview in which a job candidate’s oral and/or
computerized replies are obtained in response to
computerized oral, visual, or written questions
and/or situations.
 Characteristics
– Reduces amount of time managers devote to
interviewing unacceptable candidates.
– Applicants are more honest with computers
– Avoids problems of interpersonal interviews
– Mechanical nature of computer-aided interview
can leave an applicant dissatisfied.
7–21
 Three Ways to Make the Interview Useful

Structure the interview to

increase its validity

Making the Carefully choose what sorts of

Interview Useful traits are to be assessed

Beware of committing
interviewing errors

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 7–22

What Can Undermine An Interview’s Usefulness?

Nonverbal behavior
First impressions (snap
and impression
judgments)
management

Interviewer’s Factors Affecting

Applicant’s personal
misunderstanding An Interview’s characteristics
of the job Usefulness

Candidate-order
Interviewer’s
(contrast) error and
inadvertent behavior
pressure to hire

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 7–23

Factors Affecting Interviews
 First impressions
– The tendency for interviewers to jump to
conclusions—make snap judgments—about
candidates during the first few minutes of the
interview.
– Negative bias: unfavorable information about an
applicant influences interviewers more than does
positive information.

7–24
Factors Affecting Interviews (cont’d)
 Nonverbal behavior and impression
management
– Interviewers’ inferences of the interviewee’s
personality from the way he or she acts in the
interview have a large impact on the interviewer’s
rating of the interviewee.
– Clever interviewees attempt to manage the
impression they present to persuade interviewers
to view them more favorably.

7–25
Factors Affecting Interviews (cont’d)
 Misunderstanding the job
– Not knowing precisely what the job entails and
what sort of candidate is best suited causes
interviewers to make decisions based on incorrect
stereotypes of what a good applicant is.
 Candidate-order error
– An error of judgment on the part of the
interviewer due to interviewing one or more very
good or very bad candidates just before the
interview in question.

7–26
Non – Verbal Communication
 Body language
– How to read the interviewee’s body language.
– How to use your body language during the
interview?

7–27
Factors Affecting Interviews (cont’d)
 Effect of personal characteristics:
attractiveness, gender, race
– Interviewers tend have a less favorable view of
candidates who are:
• Physically unattractive
• Female
• Of a different racial background
• Disabled

7–28
Factors Affecting Interviews (cont’d)
 Interviewer behaviors affecting interview
outcomes
– Inadvertently telegraphing expected answers.
– Talking so much that applicants have no time to
answer questions.
– Letting the applicant dominate the interview.
– Acting more positively toward a favored (or similar
to the interviewer) applicant.

7–29
 Group Exercise
You need to ensure that an Interview is a
positive candidate experience. Candidates
will be assessing both you and your
organization. It is a two-way process.

Discuss with your colleagues in the group how

you can create a positive atmosphere that will
help candidates show their best.

You shall present your findings to the class

 Assignment Five

Using the task sheet provided

 Determine the elements of a successful
Interview.
 As a Chair Selector, write an introduction
that you will be using in an interview.
Designing and Conducting the Interview
 The structured situational interview
– Use either situational questions (preferred) or
behavioral questions that yield high criteria-
related validities.
– Step 1: Job Analysis
– Step 2: Rate the Job’s Main Duties
– Step 3: Create Interview Questions
– Step 4: Create Benchmark Answers
– Step 5: Appoint the Interview Panel and Conduct
Interviews
7–32
7–33
How to Conduct a More Effective Interview
Being Systematic and Effective

1 Know the job.

2 Structure the interview.
3 Get organized.
4 Establish rapport.
5 Ask questions.
6 Take brief, unobtrusive notes.
7 Close the interview.
8 Review the interview.

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 7–34

How to Conduct an Effective Interview
 Structure your interview:
1. Base questions on actual job duties.
2. Use job knowledge, situational, or behaviorally oriented
questions and objective criteria to evaluate the
interviewee’s responses.
3. Train interviewers.
4. Use the same questions with all candidates.
5. Use descriptive rating scales (excellent, fair, poor) to rate
answers.
6. Use multiple interviewers or panel interviews.
7. If possible, use a standardized interview form.
8. Control the interview.
9. Take brief, unobtrusive notes during the interview.

7–35
How to Conduct an Effective Interview
(cont’d)
 Prepare for the interview
– Secure a private room to minimize interruptions.
– Review the candidate’s application and résumé.
– Review the job specifications
 Establish rapport
– Put the person at ease.
 Ask questions
– Follow your list of questions.
– Don’t ask questions that can be answered yes or
no.
7–36
Avoid Asking Poor Questions
 Questions that rarely produce a true answer:
– “How did you get along with your coworkers?”
– “Just fine.”
 Leading questions:
– “You do like to talk to people, don’t you?”
– “Of course.”
 Obvious questions:
– Questions already answered on the application blank should be
probed, not asked again.
 Questions that are not job related:
– All questions asked should be directly related to the job for which
the interviewee has applied.

7–37
7–38
 Examples of Questions That Provide Structure
Situational Questions:
1. Suppose a co-worker was not following standard work procedures. The co-worker was
more experienced than you and claimed the new procedure was better. Would you use the
new procedure?
2. Suppose you were giving a sales presentation and a difficult technical question arose that
you could not answer. What would you do?
Past Behavior Questions:
3. Based on your past work experience, what is the most significant action you have ever
taken to help out a co-worker?
4. Can you provide an example of a specific instance where you developed a sales
presentation that was highly effective?
Background Questions:
5. What work experiences, training, or other qualifications do you have for working in a
teamwork environment?
6. What experience have you had with direct point-of-purchase sales?
Job Knowledge Questions:
7. What steps would you follow to conduct a brainstorming session with a group of employees
on safety?
8. What factors should you consider when developing a television advertising campaign?
Note: So that direct comparisons can be made, an example is presented to assess
both teamwork (1,3,5,7) and sales attributes (2,4,6,8) for each type of question.
Figure 7–3
Source: Michael Campion, David Palmer, and James Campion, “A Review of 7–39
Structure in the Selection Interview,” Personnel Psychology (1997), p. 668.
Please Check and Keep the
Competency-based
Question Bank Handout
 Using a Streamlined Interview Process
1. Prepare for the interview 3. Conduct the interview
• Knowledge and experience • Have a plan
• Motivation • Follow your plan
• Intellectual capacity 4. Match the candidate to the
• Personality factor job
2. Formulate questions to ask
in the interview
• Intellectual factor
• Motivation factor
• Personality factor
• Knowledge and experience
factor

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 7–41

 Group Exercise

 Determine Your Social Style

Analytical
Expressive
Driver
Amiable
 Determine as a Group the things that you do
well and the difficulties that you face within
that Social style.
Figure 6–10 “Can-Do” and “Will-Do” Factors in Selection Decisions

7–43
 Assignment Six

‘Ask the Right Questions’

A Recruitment and Selection Case Study
Please read Carefully:
 The Top Tips for Competency-Based
interviewing Handout
 The Top Tips for Asking Effective Questions
Handout
 The Short Listing CVs Handout
 The Psychometric Testing Handout
 The Interview Impressions Handout
 Look Out for the:

 Candidate Evaluation (Evidence Gathering)

Booklet

 The Perfect Induction Program

Booklet

Coming your way next session….

 END of

Topic 5,6, Recruitment

and END of
Chapter 6,7-Employee Testing
and Selection
Thank YOU

4–48