Interviewing

Chapter 11

Popularity

The interview is the most popular selection technique. It is the most popular in two senses; it is the technique most frequently used in selection decisions and it is the technique upon which most reliance is placed in formulating the selection decision. It can also be one of the least effective and most ill-used of selection tools.

USES

Information exchangeOne purpose is to enable the candidate to find out more

about the role, about the organization, and other factors which will be important in helping the candidate to make a decision whether to apply to the organization or accept the job. In a scarce labor market, where there are many organization chasing a few candidates, certain kinds of interview can be an effective technique for ‘hooking’ candidates and helping them to make decisions about the organization based on a feel for it and its people without having to make hard decisions based on brochures or other impersonal data.

ScreeningThe second use of an interview may be for screening purposes. Although it is a costly technique, in that it takes the valuable resource of selectors to undertake, it can be very effective particularly if there is not a very large volume of response in the first place. A short 1 to 15 minute interview can cover more than sufficient information to make decisions on whether to proceed with the candidate’s application. It has the advantage of the personal touch and provides the opportunity to give information to candidates about the organization, and a ‘fee’ for whether they wish to continue with their application. Using the interview as a screening process needs to be a clear decision, however, and not by default. Some organizations ask candidates to complete an application form and proceed to a ‘first interview’ without taking more than a cursory glance at the application form. In such circumstances it is better to decide whether to place reliance on the form for screening or disregard the form and use the interview as a screening process. Being half-hearted about both means being productive on neither.

Selection

The third use of interviewing is for selection decisions, which may be undertaken in tandem with other techniques, such as testing or assessment exercises, or as the sole decision point. Using the interview as the final selection tool requires a greater degree of sophistication and preparation but it remains the case that whatever use is made of the interview it will be more effective if it is properly prepared, has a clear focus, and is undertaken by skilled people.

Interview Panels

There is no golden rule about the appropriate number of interviewers for an interview, it is a matter of organizational preference. Research does not prove conclusively that panel interviews are per se more effective than one-to-one interviews. Some organizations prefer to have a series of one-t-one interviews, other prefer to use a panel approach, some more formal than others. It is the usual practice for search and selection consultants to undertake a one-to-one interview to prepare a shortlist which is then submitted to the client for final interview.

Types

Unstructured InterviewsUnstructured interviews follow a natural process of dialogue and,

although unstructured, may involve the interviewer in asking some ‘favorite’ questions. The unstructured interview may also pose some questions around the application or CV, or a set of questions around aspects such as work history, aspirations, personal circumstances etc. it is unstructured in the sense that the candidate is encouraged to lead the interview and talk freely in response to the set of questions or even to just one opening question.

Structured Interviews

Structured interviews, although more effective, are generally less common. They fall into two main types:

• Situational interview is almost like a verbal role play. The candidate is presented with a potential future scenario and asked how they would be likely to handle it.

• Behavioural Interview works on the premise that the best indicator of future behaviour is past behaviour; and that the way in which a person responded to a situation in the past is the most likely indication of how he will respond in the future.

Advantages & disadvantages

1. Unstructured interviews:Advantages Disadvantages

Requires less training and preparation

Less effective

Flexibility Uncomfortable for occasional interviewers

Difficult to compartmentalize

Inconsistent between candidates

Often over non specific generalizations

2. Structured interviews:Advantages Disadvantages

Effective predictor of performance Not a natural process

Better perceived by candidates Requires training and experience

Relevant and thorough Discriminatory

Prepare meaningful reports Unfamiliar artificial context

Difficult for people

More a test of English language than an investigation.

ChoiceThe unstructured interview can be undertaken with a

minimum of training, requires less preparation, and allows candidates a great degree of flexibility. The disadvantages are that it is less effective at predicting performance than structured interviews, it can be uncomfortable for occasional interviewers such as line colleagues or clients, and is difficult to compartmentalize into an overall selection process. The lack of compartmentalization often means that interview assessments are inconsistent between candidates, and can be at odds with other parts of the selection process, such as testing.

The advantage of the structured interview, whether situational or behavioral, is that it is a more effective predictor of performance than the unstructured interview. In general, structured interviews are better perceived by candidates who feel that the interview has been relevant and thorough.

Interviewing PrinciplesPrepareBefore the interview the interviewer should ensure that he

or she is fully prepared to conduct the interview and that all arrangements have been made to present a professional image to the candidate. This involves a thorough reading of the application form, making sure there will be no interruptions during the interview, and preparing the interview questions.

WelcomeA proper welcome creates the right atmosphere for mutual

confidence throughout the interview. The relationship between the candidate and the interviewer should be friendly, supportive and non-threatening. By building a rapport and putting the candidate at ease the interviewer will be more likely to get spontaneous, and therefore honest, answers to questions.

Interviewing PrinciplesControlMost interviews are designed to last a scheduled time. The

interviewer will need to ensure that information on the key criteria is collected in that time. It is important that the interviewers maintains control of the interview and may need to encourage reticent candidates to provide more detail in their answers, or restrict the output of more garrulous candidates.

ProbeInterviewers should ask simple open-ended questions, trying to

avoid leading the candidate or suggesting the answer required. Examples may be “how do you organize your work?” or “what sort of problem did you have to tackle?”. The questions should be indirect, using phrases such as “how, when, where, why, who, what, which, tell me more, in what way, explain, describe”. Indirect and open-ended questions will generally yield a better response from candidates. Direct questions and closed questions will be less productive.

Interviewing PrinciplesClarifyIt is important to pin down specific examples in the

candidate’s answers if they are to be relied upon. All too often interviewers will be pleased to receive an answer and move to the next question even though that answer does not provide the information required. Very often, interview questions need to be followed up with several probing questions before the required information is provided with sufficient clarity.

Notes

No one has a perfect memory and not-taking is therefore important. Taking notes is not easy and needs practice but candidates do not consider it rude for interviewers to take notes.

Interviewing PrinciplesCloseInterviewers need to bring interviews to a firm and decisive

close, after consulting their check-list to make sure that there are no major gaps in the information that has been provided. Candidates should be invited to offer any other information that has not been covered in the main part of the interview and that he or she thinks important.

ReviewJudging the candidate should not take place until the

interview has been completed. As soon as the interview has finished the interviewer should take time to conduct and evaluation rather than stepping straight into the next interview. A scoring system, particularly one linked to competencies, will help significantly. It is important to avoid making an assessment of the candidate during the course of the interview.

Interviewing Principles

PitfallsResearch into the effectiveness of interviews has

revealed a number of pitfalls which are all too common.

Snap judgments.Judgments can be formed about the candidate far too

quickly within the first few seconds of meeting them - and the interview process then becomes the means by which evidence is gathered to reinforce that judgment. Some research has shown that many decisions on candidates are snap judgments made in the first two minutes of the interview.

Interviewing PrinciplesConcentrationThe concentration span of many interviews follows a distinct

pattern of a sharp downward dip in the main part of the interview with peaks of concentration in the first five minutes and the last five minutes of the interviews. This is one of the reasons for note taking during the interview, not only to refresh the memory at a later stage but also as a prompt to continued concentration.

Ignoring the contextInterviewers can often discount the environment in which the

candidate is working, when forming judgments. It is easy to attribute dynamism to a candidate performing well in a high-achievement organization or culture when they may be swept away in the tide of performance rather than necessarily contributing to it directly. Equally, candidates working in a risk-averse culture may not be assessed as entrepreneurial or innovative in comparison with other candidates. It is important to seek information on the environment in which they are working and to judge answers in context.

Interviewing Principles

StereotypingThere is a danger in stereotyping both good and bad

groups. This can be a particular problem for discriminating against ethnic minorities. Every candidate deserves to be regarded as unique and individuals, and assessed as such.

MirroringThere is a great danger of subjectivity creeping into

the assessment of an interview so that people are rated positively or negatively according to whether they are similar or dissimilar to the interviewer.

Assessment Centers

chapter 12

The assessment center is a process that involves a number of techniques and a number of assessors, breaking down the assessment of candidates into a number of components and then re-assembling them for a complete picture on which a decision is based. There are two main purposes for development centers:•Development•SelectionThe distinction between the two is sometimes blurred but, in essence, the development type will aim to assess the strengths and weakness of the candidate and provide a framework for utilizing the strengths and addressing the weaknesses through developmental programs and training. The focus of the development center is often on the provision of information to the ‘candidate’ with great emphasis on feedbackThe selection based assessment center may be used for external selection or internal promotion or both. Its focus is on identifying the suitability of the candidate for a current or future planned position.

Definition

It is difficult to define an assessment center, its nature and content may differ significantly from one organization to another. It is probably fair to say, however, that the key aspects are that:•The assessment center uses multiple selection techniques with each technique being only one piece of the jigsaw building up to the complete picture of the candidate.•The assessment center uses a group of assessors, with selection decisions usually being made on a group basis.

DesignStage 1 is to identify the key criteria upon which the assessment will be based.Stage 2 Will be the choice of techniques to incorporate in the assessment center, identifying the most suitable technique for each competency. Cost and time constraints may, of course, influence these decisions.Stage 3 Is the development of the techniques which may involve ‘buying-in’ or developing ‘in-house’. For the interview this will mean the preparation of interview questions of either the situational type, based on the projected work for which the candidate is being assessed, or a behavioural type to identify the experiences of the candidates.Stage 4 the final stage is involved in the selection and training of assessors. In so doing consideration is given not only to the resourcing of the assessment center (in having sufficient assessors available to support the process) but also to the involvement of line managers in the selection process.

Components

The components of the assessment center will include the interview, testing and exercise. The range of exercises can have their basis in:•Work simulations or•CompetenciesAnd are characterized as either:•Group exercises or•Individual exercises.It is usual to find more than one exercise involved in an assessment center.

AdvantagesThere are many advantages to using assessment centers.•They focus on the key elements of the role and are therefore very specific in measuring the suitability of candidates.•They are thorough, avoiding over-reliance on a single technique but ensuring that a range of techniques is used to gather a full picture and a range of assessors employed to obtain a balanced picture. By using a variety of techniques the overall validity of the process is enhanced.•Assessment centers can be interesting for the candidates since they provide a variety of activities and often the opportunity to meet with other candidates and, through the involvement of assessors, a greater number of people from the organization than is usually available with other techniques.•The assessment exercises in particular can provide a useful flavor of the work, which can be important in ensuring that the candidate is making the right choice.

Advantages•Some studies have shown that assessment centers are more effective than other techniques at predicting successful candidates (but care needs to be taken with this conclusion since assessment centers are most frequently used for the selection of high flyers and there is therefore an element of self-fulfilling prophecy in operation).

Disadvantages

Assessment centers also have some disadvantages.•The process can feel uncomfortable to some candidates, particularly at a senior level, and particularly where abstract exercises are involved. Candidates can be offended by being asked to build Lego blocks when decision about their career are on the line.•Assessment centers are sometimes transparent and it is all too easy for candidates to ‘act’ in group exercises and other aspects, which may be sustained for the few days or weeks of the assessment center, but not fulfilled in the real world.

Disadvantages

• The centers can be time-consuming for the organization and for the candidates. While school-leavers and graduates may be able to devote time to assessment centers, those currently in employment will have difficulty devoting more than half a day.

• One of the prerequisites of assessment center exercise is that they should be appropriate to the general level of intellect and experience of the candidates. This therefore means that some stereotyping has already taken place and the danger of discrimination is present, but not easily recognized. More easily recognized is the discrimination implicit in exercises that involve physical activities.