THE SELECTION INTERVIEW (I)

The second phase in the job-hunting game, initiated after the evaluation of
submitted résumés, consists of a formal meeting that has a decisive impact on
the professional evolution of the individuals participating in the competition for
the job on offer.
The selection interview, defined as a process used for “screening, hiring,
and placing applicants, employees, and members of organizations” remains a
fundamental method aiming at the identification of the suitable candidates, able
to meet the requirements of the positions made available.

Stages of the Process

The format of the communication situation has a single candidate meeting

with one or more persons representing the employer. A larger interview panel
will often include a specialized human resources worker.
The meeting could last somewhere between 30 and 60 minutes.
The interview consists mostly of questions being asked by the
interviewers regarding the history, personality, and the work style of the
candidate. The applicant is also given a chance to ask questions at the end of the
interview. These questions allow the interviewee to acquire more information
about the company but more than that, they give him or her the opportunity to
demonstrate a convincing interest in the position and in the company.
The candidate should close the interview in a friendly, positive manner.
Before leaving, it is useful for the candidate to summarize the qualifications
which were already discussed during the meeting and to reiterate the desire to
obtain the job.
After the interview, the candidate will send a “thank you” note or letter to
each person who took part in the interview in order to add a supplementary
suggestion to the impression he or she has already made on the panel.
Each interview is an occasion for the candidate to learn, to eliminate
detected mistakes and to improve his or her manner in view of other interviews
to come. The candidate could evaluate the success or failure by considering the
following questions:

1. What points did I make that seemed to interest the employer?

2. Did I present my qualifications well? Did I overlook qualifications
that were important for the job?
3. Did I learn all I needed to know about the job?
4. Did I talk too much? Too little?
5. Was I too assertive? Not assertive enough?
6. Was I dressed appropriately?

1
 7. Did I effectively close the interview?

The structure and the complexity of the interview is determined by the

type of job and the size of the company; a more sophisticated job in a large
company will lead to a more formal and more structured interview.
The organization of the proceedings could include more than one meeting
when there are many candidates or the position is particularly demanding; the
first interview could be conducted over the telephone, especially in the case of
candidates living away from the employer.

Types of Interview

The Behavioral Interview

In this context, the candidates have to react to questions describing
situations that are characteristic for the kind of job they are seeking.
Here are some typical behavioral interview questions:

1. Describe a time you had to work with someone you didn't like.
2. Tell me about a time when you had to stick by a decision you had
made, even though it made you very unpopular.
3. Give us an example of something particularly innovative that you
have done that made a difference in the workplace.
4. What was the last time you were late with a project?

The questions used refer either to hypothetical situations (“how would

you deal with situation X?”) or to examples pertaining to the experience of the
candidates (“when situation X arose, how did you deal with it?”).

The Stress Interview

The purpose of this type of interview is to find out how well the
candidates can handle stress. The activities meant to test the limits of the
candidates could include creating a busy environment, dealing with work
overload, or handling conflict.
The organizers could choose among various formats: in one type a group
of interviewers (one at a time or all at the same time) try to intimidate the
candidate and keep him or her off-balance; another type of stress interview may
involve only a single interviewer who behaves in an uninterested or hostile
manner.
The organizers of this format could use questions like these:
1. Sticky situation: If you caught a colleague cheating on his
expenses, what would you do?
2. Putting you on the spot: How do you feel this interview is going?

2
 3. Popping the balloon: (deep sigh) Well, if that's the best answer you
can give ... (shakes head) Okay, what about this one ...?
4. Oddball question: What would you change about the design of the
hockey stick?
5. Doubting your veracity: I don't feel like we're getting to the heart of
the matter here. Start again - tell me what really makes you tick.
Candidates may also be asked to deliver a presentation as part of the
selection process. This is obviously highly stressful and is therefore useful as a
predictor of how the candidate will perform under similar circumstances on the
job. Academic, Training, Airline, Legal and Teaching selection processes
frequently involve presentations of this sort.

The Technical Interview

This kind of interview focuses on problem solving skills and creativity.
Sometimes these interviews will be on a computer module with multiple choice
questions.
The type of questions a candidate will have to deal with are well
illustrated by those included in the Microsoft Interview; the examples below are
devised to determine a candidate's problem solving, coding and design abilities:

1. Design a music system for a car. What are the features? Draw a
picture.
2. Design a GPS navigation unit for a hiker.
3. Design a communication device for Canadian park rangers.
4. Design a coffee maker that will be used by astronauts.
5. What are examples of poorly designed software?
6. I am your grandmother. Describe what MATLAB is to me.
7. Tell me about a time when you made a decision and later found out
that it was incorrect. What did you do to resolve the issue?
8. Suppose you are one week away from the product shipping date
and discover a bug in your software. What do you do?
9. How would you test a keyboard?
10.What method would you use to look up a word in a dictionary?
11.Imagine you have a closet full of shirts. It’s very hard to find a
shirt. So what can you do to organize your shirts for easy retrieval?

Interview Questions

Most of the questions in an interview fall into certain standard categories

and they are meant to investigate subjects such as specific skills, abilities,
experiences, education, knowledge levels, personal characteristics, interpersonal
relationships, major strengths and major weaknesses.
The examples below include a sample of basic interview questions:

3
 1. What are your long range career goals, when and why did you
establish these goals, and how are you preparing yourself to achieve
them?
2. What specific goals, other than those related to your occupation,
have you established for yourself for the next 10 years?
3. Why are you interested in working for our organization?
4. What are the most important rewards you expect in your career?
5. What do you consider to be your greatest strengths?
6. How would you describe yourself?
7. How do you like to spend your free time?
8. What books magazines, newspapers, or journals do you read?
9. Why should I hire you?
10.What qualifications do you have that make you think you will be
successful?
11.Why do you think you would like this particular job?
12.In what ways do you think that you can make a contribution to our
company?
13.What do you think determines a person’s progress in an
organization?
14.Describe the relationship that should exist between a supervisor and
subordinates.
15.What two or three accomplishments have given you the most
satisfaction and why?
16.What have you learned from participation in extracurricular
activities?
17.In what kind of work environment are you most comfortable?
18.May we contact your previous employers for reference
information?
19.What characteristics do you think are necessary for success in this
field?
20.Describe what you consider to be the ideal job.

While questions focusing on data presented in the CV may be easier to

answer as the candidate is prepared to deal with them, other questions force the
candidates to make choices and to disclose plans and opinions that involve a
certain degree of risk taking.
In many countries, employment equity laws forbid discrimination based
on a number of criteria, such as race, gender, age, and marital status. The use of
questions referring to these issues in a job interview is generally considered
discriminatory, and constitutes an illegal hiring practice.

4
 The candidates are expected to ask questions at the end of the meeting and
all specialists urge the applicants to prepare in advance something along these
lines:

1. What are the opportunities for personal growth in your organization?

2. How is an employee evaluated and promoted?
3. Describe the typical first year assignments.
4. What are the challenging facets of the job?
5. What are the organization’s plans for future growth?
6. What industry trends will affect this company?
7. What are the toughest problems/decisions that the person in this
position will have to deal with?
8. Can you give me some idea of the timeline for your hiring decisions?
9. What are the organization’s strengths and weaknesses?
10.How is this organization stronger than the competition?
11.What are your expectations for future hires?
12.How would you describe this organization’s personality and
management style?
13.Describe the work environment.
14.What are the characteristics of a successful person at your
organization?
15.Why do you enjoy working for your firm?

The interview is not the only system of selection. There are intelligence
tests and ability tests, personality tests and computer tests that can produce a lot
of data concerning the profile of a candidate. More than that, the interview was
submitted to severe criticism determined by its “deficiencies in predicting
success and its susceptibility to bias and distortion.”
Despite all arguments, the interview is still in use and has reached the
status of an inevitable social ritual, accepted by both candidates and employers.
Apart from the fact that it is regarded as standard social practice, it is also
flexible, relatively inexpensive and it seems to be the best solution when certain
characteristics of the candidates need to be assessed, such as their interpersonal
behavior, the likelihood of them adjusting to the social aspects of the job
situation and also the candidates’ motivation to work.