Interviewing - In this chapter, we will discuss: + Planning Interviews + Conducting Interviews + The Ethics of Interviewing ‘An interview is a goal-oriented, interpersonal communication between an interviewer and a respondent. It is primarily undertaken to accomplish a specific purpose, perhaps to obtain or provide information, to solve a problem or to persuade someone to undertake some action. The style and structure of an interview depends on its purpose and on the relationship between the two parties involved. Following are different types of business interviews. , Employment Interviews Employment interviews provide general information to potential appli- cants before a vacancy arises, or take place when a specific job opening is available and applicants are to be screened for the position. Ultimately, the employment interview seeks to determine whether a particular applicant is suitable for the job. + Performance Appraisal Interviews Performance appraisal interviews provide job-related feedback to employ- ees, A supervisor and an employee together assess how much progress the employee has made towards the achievement of certain predetermined goals. i Scanned with CamScanner36 | Business Communteation ssistance to employees, Counselling Interviews sae guid ‘ional 00 rovide emoti eS} st Counselinginterens ve very ve ape ch interviews 50m ‘ , thal famly problems drinking drugs Disciplinary Interviews f re are disruptive pry Ce saterviews become necessary when aa voblems han Disciplinary intervie Some ofthe MOT common Prec eben Jems that ee eonare nonperformane foe a niteeism, sein a mse is nes sonal and + the employee’ perform; views, which primar k to induce somebody to adi idea, product ‘or service, are generally associated with selling. T) ane ful persuasive interview, the interviewer has to use all his ns of the respondent and to impar, Persuasive Interviews y see! Persuasive intel conduct a success ety communication skills, draw out opinior information. PLANNING THE INTERVIEW imerview, a good deal of planning is necessary to Whatever the type of e .ss. There are six strategies for planning an inter other party, decide the make the interview a succe: view—state the purpose, get information about the vrcture, consider possible questions, plan the physical setting and antic pate problems. State the Purpose fic goal, s9 mmunication process it must have a spec! ‘As an interview is a co! uestions can be tailo that the structure of the interview and the actual q to suit that particular purpose. On the respondent’ part, Jack of a clear put pose:can cause him to send out conflicting signals which often undermist his chances of achieving his goal. Get Information About the Other Party ns oni to make the best case for your candidacy for a ‘0 be prepared with informati y mpaty ted the Bld mation about yourself and about the The intervi it ite es, ue foes it easier to restrict himself to relevant 4 ites fami wth the jetails the applicant has provided in his apPl particular jobs yo os Scanned with CamScannerInterviewing 37 Decide the Structure kind of planning you ought to put in and what sort of results you can expect. In a directive interview, the interviewer takes almost complete charge of the flow of conversation by asking specific questions designed to keep the respondent focused on the type of information required. Such questions are called close-ended questions, as they seek to elicit precise information on a specific issue. A directive approach is useful when you are looking for Precise, reliable information in a short time. However, a directive approach limits the respondent’ initiative and may prevent him from vohinteering useful information. When you want to not only obtain’ factual informa. tion but also gauge the underlying feelings of the respondent or draw out his opinions on different issues, a nondirective approach works better. This approach, with its open-ended questions; gives the respondent more control in determining the course of the’ interview. The interviewer does a minimum of talking and encourages the resporident to fully express his feelings. In an actual interview, most questions fall along a continuum of openness. As an interviewer, you can frame questions towards any one end of the spectrum, depending on the purpose you want to achieve. Consider Possible Questions Factual questions seek to ascertain facts, while opinion questions ask for the respondent's judgements. Primary questions introduce new topics or new areas within a topic and secondary questions seek additional information on a topic that has already been introduced. Direct and: indirect questions are two different ways of eliciting information. Though direct questions are usually the best way to get information, sometimes they fail to elicit satis- factory answers, either because the respondent is unable to answer accu- rately or is unwilling to do so. . Direct Questions Do you understand? r Are you satisfied with my leadership? indirect Questions If you had to explain this policy to a newcomer, what would you say? If you were made the manager of this department, what changes would you make? ic : You may also decide to include hypothetical and leading questions. Hypothetical questions are ‘what if’ questions: If I were to introduce aeble working hours, do you think the morale of the staff would improve? These Scanned with CamScanner3a | Business dent to describe his attitudes, They _ Qn int’ ‘ n situations. Leadin, ae i em would behave ineerisin oats Lol 10 tee dent to answer in 4 P Oe ‘ oe : would n kin a ee eriewer expects such a6 7 e answer a he hours whenever necessary would y Communication CONDUCTING INTERVIEWS The Opening Body e respondent at ease and to estab. put the respondent at ease, the’ lly fol 1 greeting wits brief on interviewer usually d Jax and builds a rapport wit lent to rel Fi conversation, helping the respi nterview, the outcomes are likely to be i tever the nature of the i rey) eh ‘re interviewer and the respondent are comfortable with each other. used to put th e interview. To ows the initial ‘The opening is usually lish the purpose of th The Interviewer's Role . + It is the interviewer's responsibility to control and focus the conversation so that the discussion does not drift away from the agenda. The interviewer also has to ensure that he allots enough time to each item of the agenda. If he lingers too long on one topic, he may not have enough time to do justice to other areas that are equally important. ’ Interviewers must listen actively in order to pick up verbal and nonver- -bal cues. Sometimes they are so caught up in framing their own questions and responses that they fail to hear what the respondent is actually saying. An alert interviewer must not only pay attention to the respondent's verbal messages, but pick up nonverbal signals too, that may provide insights into the respondent's behaviour and attitudes, Skilful use of probing questions will improve the results, Sometimes the Sora mote satisfactory a ime to time will also help: the respondent have the same underst; The Respondent's Role explanation, Summarizing the mail! s to ensure that the interviewer and fanding, © moet oative steps to ensure that he makes# repahi ot important of these is to answer all ques YS possible. A respondent who fails to Bre ae Tespondent can take several ‘avourable impression, Th tions as clearly a : a Scanned with CamScannerInterviewing ‘| — 39 «Clear answers is either seen as having failed to understand the question or as wanting to evade the issue. Sometimes interviewers misinterpret facts. When this happens, it is up to the respondent to ensure that the record is set straight. He can do this by politely pointing out that he had said something else, or by unobtrusively repeating an earlier reniark, so that the misunderstanding is cleared. The respondent should also make sure that his answers are all tailored to achiev- ing his purpose in attending the interview. The answers should be honest; but must always focus on the positive aspects. © Closing Once the last question has been asked and answered, the interview can be rounded by a restatement of conclusions. This signals that you have fin- ished and gives the respondent an opportunity to ask relevant questions. ‘The interviewer then gives the respondent some idea of what future action he can expect before concluding with pleasantries. THE ETHICS OF INTERVIEWING s Communication between the interviewer and the-respondent should be guided by certain ethical guidelines. This paves the way for better inter- actions in future. They are as follows: Guidelines for the Interviewer + Do-not make unrealistic promises. Do not reveal confidential information. Do not ask illegal questions. Do not be controlling or overbearing. Do not be overly friendly. Guidelines for the Respondent’ Do not be dishonest. Do not waste the interviewer's time, Scanned with CamScanner