Interview skills

Prepared by: Mohamed Essam el-din

 Interview skills
Interviews are used as part of the formal selection process in
which candidates are screened or ranked based on their scores
 Types of interview (according to occasion):
Selection interview
Appraisal interview
Exit interview

 Types of selection interview (according to structure):

1-structured interview:
 All candidates are asked the same questions in the same order.
 All candidates are evaluated using a common rating scale.
 Interviewers agree on acceptable answers.

2-unstrctured interview:
 Candidates may be asked different questions.
 A standardized rating scale is not required.
 Interviewers do not need to agree on acceptable answers.

*note: Structured interviews are generally best. In such interviews, all interviewers
generally ask all applicants the same questions. Partly because of this, these Interviews
tend to be more consistent, reliable, and valid. Having a standardized List of questions
can also help less talented interviewers conduct better interviews.
  Types of the interview (according to the number of
interviewees):
1- one to one interview
2- Panel interview
3- Mass interview

 Preparation for interview:

1-determine the strengths and weaknesses of current
team or department.
2- Update and understand job specs.
3- Identify mandatory vs. flexible credentials.
 Types of interview questions:
1- Situational interview:
You ask the candidate what his or her behavior would be in a given
situation. For example, ask a supervisory candidate how he or she would
act in response to a subordinate coming to work late 3 days in a row.

2- Behavioral interview:
Behavioral interviews are increasingly used. When Citizen’s Banking
Corporation in Flint, Michigan, found that 31 of the 50 people in its call
center quit in one year, the center’s head switched to behavioral
Interviews. Many who left did so because they did not enjoy irate questions
from clients. So she no longer tries to predict how candidates will act based
on asking them if they want to work with angry clients. Instead, she asks
behavioral questions like, “Tell me about a time you were speaking with an
irate person, and how you turned the situation around.” This makes it
harder to fool the interviewer; only four people left in the following year.

3- Stress interview:
In a stress interview, the interviewer seeks to make the applicant
uncomfortable with occasionally rude questions. The aim is supposedly to
spot sensitive applicants and those with low (or high) stress tolerance.
Thus, a candidate for a customer relations manager position who obligingly
mentions having had four jobs in the past 2 years might be told that
frequent. Job changes reflect irresponsible and immature behavior. If the
applicant then responds with a reasonable explanation of why the job
changes were necessary, the interviewer might pursue another topic. On
the other hand, if the formerly tranquil applicant reacts explosively, the
interviewer might deduce that the person has a low tolerance for stress.

 Interview errors:
1-first impression (snap judgement).
2-not clarifying what the job requires.
3-Candidate-Order (Contrast) Error and Pressure to Hire:
Candidate-order (or contrast) error means that the order in which you see applicants affects
how you rate them. In one study, managers had to evaluate a sample candidate who was “just
average” after first evaluating several “unfavorable” candidates. They scored the average
candidate more favorably than they might otherwise because, in contrast to the unfavorable
candidates, the average one looked better than he actually was. This contrast effect can be
huge: In some early studies, evaluators based only a small part of the applicant’s rating on his or
her actual potential. Pressure to hire accentuates this problem. Researchers told one group of
managers to assume they were behind in their recruiting quota. They told a second group they
were ahead. Those “behind” rated the same recruits more highly.
4- Nonverbal Behavior and Impression Management:
The applicant’s nonverbal behavior (smiling, avoiding your gaze, and so on) can also have a
surprisingly large impact on his or her rating. In one study, 52 human resource specialists
watched videotaped job interviews in which the applicants’ verbal content was identical, but
their nonverbal behavior differed markedly. Researchers told applicants in one group to exhibit
minimal eye contact, a low energy level, and low voice modulation. Those in a second group
demonstrated the opposite behavior. Twenty-three of the 26 personnel specialists who saw the
high-eye-contact, high-energy-level candidate would have invited him or her for a second
interview. None who saw the low-eye-contact, low-energy-level candidate would have
recommended a second interview. So, it pays interviewees to “look alive.” Nonverbal behaviors
are probably so important because interviewers infer your personality from the way you act in
the interview. In one study, 99 graduating college seniors completed questionnaires which
included measures of personality, among other things. The students then reported their success
in generating follow-up interviews and job offers. The interviewee’s personality, particularly his
or her level of extroversion, had a pronounced influence on whether he or she received follow-
up interviews and job offers. In turn, extroverted applicants seem particularly prone to self-
promotion, and self-promotion is strongly related to the interviewer’s perceptions of candidate–
job fit. Even structuring the interview doesn’t seem to cancel out the effects of such nonverbal
behavior. impression management Clever candidates capitalize on that fact. One study found
that some used ingratiation to persuade interviewers to like them. For instance, the candidates
praised the interviewers or appeared to agree with their opinions, thus signaling they shared
similar beliefs. Sensing that a perceived similarity in attitudes may influence how the interviewer
rates them, some interviewees try to emphasize (or fabricate) such similarities. Others make
self-promoting comments about their accomplishments. Self-promotion means promoting one’s
own skills and abilities to create the impression of competence. Psychologists call using
techniques like ingratiation and self-promotion “impression management.” Self-promotion is an
effective tactic, but faking or lying generally backfires.

5- Effect of Personal Characteristics: Attractiveness, Gender, Race:

Unfortunately, physical attributes also distort assessments. For example, people usually ascribe
more favorable traits and more successful life outcomes to attractive people. Similarly, race can
play a role, depending on how you conduct the interview. In one study, for example, the white
members of a racially balanced interview panel rated white candidates higher, while the black
interviewers rated black candidates higher. But in all cases, structured interviews produced less
of a difference between minority and white interviewees than did unstructured ones.
Interviewers’ reactions to minority stereotypes are complex. In one study, the researchers
dressed the “applicants” in either traditional Muslim attire (black scarf and full-length black
robe) or simple two-piece black pantsuits. Both applicants got the same number of job offers.
However, interactions were shorter and more interpersonally negative when applicants wore
the Muslim attire. In general, candidates evidencing various attributes and disabilities (such as
child-care demands, HIV-positive status, or being wheelchair-bound) have less chance of
obtaining a positive decision, even when they performed well in the structured interview. The
following expands on this.

Advantages and disadvantages of interview:

Advantages of interview Disadvantages of interview
 Provide opportunities for  Can lack validity as a
interviewers to ask probing
questions about the
means of making sound
candidate’s experience and to predictions of
explore the extent to which the performance, and lack
candidate’s competencies reliability in the sense
match those specific for the job
 Enable interviewers to describe of measuring the same
the job (a ‘realistic job things for different
preview’) and the organization candidates
in more detail, providing some
indication of the terms of the
 Rely on the skill of the
psychological contract interviewer – many
 Provide opportunities for people are poor at
candidates to ask questions interviewing, although
about the job and to clarify
issues concerning training, most think that they
career prospects, the are good at it
organization and terms and  Can lead to biased and
conditions of employment
 Give the candidate the same
subjective judgements
opportunity to assess the by interviewers
organization, the interviewer Disadvantages
and the job