CHAPTER Interview and Group Discussion Nature and Types of Interview Interview Procedure Facing the Interview Board Group Discus Procedure of Group Discussion (251 nature AND TYPES OF INTERVIEW According to Jucius Michael, “An interview is a face-to-face, oral, observational and personal appraisal method”. Usually, it is more than a means of getting information. It involves (i) giving information that will help the applicant make up his mind about the company, and (ii) giving advice that may serve to change the mental or emotional attitude to the interviewee. Since talking with others is such a familiar experience, perhaps the interview is apparently a simple, but essentially a very difficult and intricate part of the selection procedure. Interviewing the candidates is an important aspect of the selection procedure. The final selection is partly based on the performance of the candidate in different tests and partly on his performance in the final interview. In interview, the candidate has to appear before the 6.1tervi The candidate's eee is Nd, more. questi a ard or a gr minutes or even ions a, interviewe Dont A may last fOr 1010 le rnowledge, capacity and SO On. The sef"*% judge his abi viewing technique is used in ayy .,°%e,’ the inter ate in ordet ; ro the cand jected afer SH interview ited, Howeven selecion not mp! cant ries of staff £0 ent tests, previous lus. and in the Cast Chee cee rades received 0 the eee final selection ore i dependens on the a erence checks are Iso important 1 cang it the candidate, am Interview j i esse interview varies from firm to firm and firm job to job. It may be cong, ‘The nature of inte f 4 the following forms + + In this interview, 2 series Of questions, red Interview : i @ Patterned oF Seren ificant aspects of the applicant's background are stand, hy hese questions are compared with a critical score ang,” 4, During the interview, the standard que,” in advance. ‘Answers to t be varied but not the phrasing i mining Who is to be selecte in oeed me they are written; the order may questions. ‘The interviewer May occasionally depart put other questions, but the important chara‘ one of questioning and active participation by the int? supposed only to answer the questions put by the interviewer. (@) Unstructured or Non-directed Interview. The interviewer does not ask direc x: specific questions. He tries to create an atmosphere in which the candidate fe, free to talk on the subject selected by the interviewer. The interviewer is basicaly; passive listener as he avoids making value judgement interrupting the candidatesx: revealing his personal opinion. (i) Preliminary or Background Information Interview. This type of intervier: conducted when the history of the applicant has to be known in terms of experience, education, health, interests, likes, dislikes, etc. It is more or Jess likete preliminary interview. (i) Stress Interview. ‘The applicant is intentionally put under a stress by interrupt peer his pay ee and keeping silent after he has finished speakit ess interview requires that the interviewer must be tactful Jcilful. It is used selection to higher posts. tact and sil Tiss vy) Group Interview. It i i i A i ” oF re a iew, It is an interview of a number of applicants in a group. Reactio® applicants in dealing with each other can b i i isu 0 conan ts nor bow the candidates babave in interviewers BS e candidates behave in groups. [22I interview ProceDurE Interview procedure and techni ques vary from isati isati se upon the pu i i eee ‘ er ee the interview. The first point to hold eee ‘oe ; 'o be called for the interview and preparin; ates : oe g a schedule oF from the prepared list of questions ,. cteristic of structured interview ren, by the interviewer. The interviewee; a INTERVIEW AND Group oso 4the interview. For this purpose, the applications submitted by the candidates and th results of tests conducted by the personnel department may be used. Thus, all pertine: information is assembled and an analysis is made to decide whether or not a particular applicant is worth interviewing. And if he is, the interview should be planned with him in the light of information supplied on the application form. This will save time and effort of the interviewers and enable them to sketch in advance at least a general picture of the candidate. Every selector needs to match the facts supplied on the application form with the requirements of the Job specifications—covering such obvious points, as age, sex, marital status, educational qualifications and experience, He also needs to cheek the dates on the form to see that they provide a connected and coherent life history and he has to relate the data to the prea Sage at the time to assess has suitability for the job under consideration. a tae rh 1 interviewer should match people to jobs by concentrating on under (i) The extent to which the applicant's the post to be filled in, (i) The applicant's social background, education and achievements. ii) The applicant's normal working tempo. (iv) The applicant's initiative and decision-making skill (v) The applicant’s attitude towards authority and discipline. While matching the people to the job, it is necessary that the interviewer rust have the detailed knowledge of the requirements of the job and qualities required to fulfill these requirements. For this purpose, he should go through very carefully the job descriptions and the job specifications drawn out by the personal department. This will help him in reconciling the requirements of the job and the qualities possessed by the individuals, Setting for the Interview Proper physical arrangements for the interview are of great importance. They enhance the reputation of the organisation in the eyes of the candidates. The interview should be conducted in a room free of disturbance, noise and interruptions so that interview may be held confidentially and in a quiet environment. The main physical condition for successful interviewing is that the interviewers should look ready for the meeting and the room look ready for a private discussion. Privacy and comfort are generally recognised as aids to free talk. People generally speak freely and frankly when they are at ease. Keeping to time is another important factor. A candidate who is called for an interview should not be expected to wait for too long. Waiting for an interview irritates many candidates more than any other single factor in the selection process. If unavoidable delays do develop, it is better to cut one interview short and risk injustice to one applicant than to fall further and further behind in schedule and risk injustice to many who may become nervous or annoyed. The applicant should be made to sit and wait in the waiting room only. Good organisations also offer cold or hot drinks to keep them fresh. Thus, the candidates should not be made to feel that they are beggars who can wait anywhere and indefinitely. Since the interviewer Previous work experience resembles the work in INTERVIEW AND GROUP DISCUSSIONON who has a job to offer is in a better position than an applicant who is Seeking has come to present his life history to obtain it, the interviewer should ty tg - ag : : ; rts conditions which are as convenient as possible. eat There are two methods of conducting employment interviews, One methog ist panel interview under which the applicant is seen and questioned by four oF five, org, people. Another method is to arrange a series of ne and to make each inte Tesponsible for studying some aspect of the applicant's personality ana xpetien generally a panel interview method is preferred because it is designed to Protect the ang | from personal prejudice of the interviewers. Another advantage claimed for this jg thay . all members of the panel put questions to the applicant, they have the effect of prom, "% reminding each other to obtain all relevant information from the candidate. Ba Conducting the Interview An important consideration to conduct a successful interview is that the candidate Shouly, made to have a feeling of comfort. He will not be able to answer properly if he feels thar, being hurried through the question-answer period. Under ideal conditions, an interviey, @ be conducted within 20 to 30 minutes. But even then an expert interviewer should Mang to convey the impression that he has plenty of time. Leisure is a state of mind rather than, matter of minutes. Right at the start, the candidate should be given to understand that hej not taking an examination, but is being called into give further information about himsel Unless the candidate is put at ease, it is very difficult and doubtful whether a right assessmen can be made of his capabilities. So the interviewers must remember that he represents the organisation and the impression he gives is vitally important. The candidate's reactions to the interviewers will also deeply affect the grading of the interviewers, For some candidates a job may mean salvation—rescue from financial disaster, they are bound to feel a certain diffidence, but a few candidates are teleased and self-assured from the start. So it should be kept in mind that nervousness of the candidate will conceal his true character and personality. Some types of people will maintain silence Punctuated only by ayes or no to even the easiest questions. Other types in the same situation will over-compensate by excessive volubility. But such people may be perfectly balanced and confident in d i a other people in their general life. Every candidate has typical tension curve. Tt j lealing " get the candidate onthe downward slope as soon as posible to avoid un oe An interviewer cannot conduct an entirely useful interview if hehas not gu : i for that. He must have the knowledge of important points about the candi, Prepared himsel had from the application form and other records supplied by the ne,enrei7A"®, Which can be the basis of the knowledge of various facts, he can chalk out the beg el department, On each candidate. Interviewers may sometimes find it helpful to Put q, ns 0 be asked from to which they want specific answers. They should try to listen the candy lst of questions and silence, An interviewer's attentive silence may be his best contin Ate with due care interview. ution to a Successful RC SUP DISGuSSioNMany interview experts advise against taking notes during the interview because it might unnecessarily irritate the candidate. Notes should never be taken until after a satisfactory relationship has been established. At that time, note -taking may produce a favourable effect on the candidate. If the candidate is not in a position to provide answer to a question, the interviewers should help him to answer the question, At the end of the interview, the Chairman of the Interview Board should conclude the interview by thanking the candidate for attendig the interview. There are generally more than one candidate for any new position in the organisation, so it is important to make an assessment of cach candidate immediately after he has left the interview room, This may be committed to paper, recording his exceptional abilities and past experience, any training he might need and an assessment of his potential. An interview assessment form may be used for this purpose. Proforma of such a form is given below Interview Assessment Form Confidential ‘Candidate's Abilities Personal Data : Name, age, sex, etc. Health Manner and appearance Education Experience Intelligence Administrative ability Social ability Emotional stability Initiative Motivation or career goals Remarks After the interview is over, every interviewer should review his notes and consider what he has accomplished. The completed interview notes form an important part of a case record. They are valuable for all kinds of reference, e.g., to review before another interview with the same person. All the members of the interview committee or the selection board will deliberate on the matter and shall prepare a panel of candidates recommended for selection in order of preference. Guidelines for Interviewers for Holding Effective Interviews Since interview is the most complex selection technique and is dependent on several factors, some essential guidelines are given below : 1. Interviewers should be of a certain status, standing and experience. They should NTERVIEW AND GROUP DISCUSSION adynamics, motivation, etc. a eat oneraty itteguines . 2. Skilful interviewing is an art and, readies Bese "ing It is learnt better by practice cs yt ae viel 7 3 Interviewers should ati ee Sasa en ° ‘Porough Sty relevant data contained in the candi ; ‘, 4. An interviewer should know the traits that need to be assesseq du, namely, intelligence, ability to present ideas, emotional balan, ce, 5. eee should not be consumed in collecting routine records and documents from school, institution, etc. 6. The candidate should be allowed to talk extensively so that he BIS a room ts his views without any hesitation. An interviewer should avoid too muc ‘ possess the working knowledge of such topics as individual Althea, Cog ( 28 i It Teadlng ; 'nformat, | h tay i i interview is to talk for not more than 25% of th 7 good working ratio for an listen for 75% of the time.’ 7. An interviewer should refrain from passing a quick judgement before all the tee, facts have been gathered and evaluated. 8. The interviewers should guard themselves against being unduly coloured by their own personality or set theories. Their own feelings irrespective of job requirements should not be allowed to influence th their feelings about religion or community, affect their. ‘judgement about It is desirable that the decision should be fair and impartial, FACING THE INTERVIEW BOARD The selection interview is not a mere question and answer session which is meant to te your knowledge in a particular subject or discipline. The interviewer will be assessing, 1 merely the level of your knowledge but also your Personality traits or leadership quali tine Prejudice and Standa, 1M Nor shy the Condidy ties traits are important: @ Intelligence or Mental Abilities : meaning of the question and its implications, Wh quick on the uptake, can discern the problem. (® Dynamism + Livelines, keenness, urge, enthusiasm, determination, commitments, tesoluteness, dedication, s of opportunities and so forth, Ability to grasp, Perce : ive and ether the cana understand the ndidate is sharp, is » initiagy taming a Selfconfidence, "“nterprise, utilisation-— i) Hovinl Attribute, Adnplability, enpneity to mix with strangers 006 ments A ppOwile RK, YNTTINN, SILENLY, Culp nniy nature, HeAdiness to help, wander tan 6 aymypalline, aveinbility, loyalty, consideration and duty before wit, Wich tele We individual te function wuecewstally in any wind surrounding. (i) Ability to Botluence Othern s Capacity to manirate ethers, AAA tO er ile Wear 9 to others, set exp HED, Use WHEL, persunde, Comsince anid Win Other 2 908 HAY a inking: (i) Onmantnational Capabiity 5 Ability 10 mobilive the revmurces and we 1 opium advantiyy, determining prionitios, ewiing, system, procebutes, Ai time, avoiding, contusion, deleystion and control, In other words, doing, the wo efficiently, methodically and punctually, m to Guidelines for the Interviewers jloview information about the organisation and your position ax a joo weaker wes in advance OF the Interview, Be prepared to talk about your assets and ho they relate to the opanisation and the position on offer, Vor greater effectiveness, the intervienee should consider the following, guidelines ¢ 1, Be comfortable discussing everything on your resume, vome interviewers may Oe it as their only guide for the interview, 2, Dress appropriately, A positive first impression yets the interview off to a good start. 4, Carry your material (certificates, testiminals, etc.) in a professional looking, portfolio, folder or briefcase and carry extra copies of your resume. 4, Be positive, Make a positive first impression by greeting, the interviewer with a smile. Keep answers to questions positive and upbeat, do not dwell on negatives. 4, Utilise non-verbal communication to show your interest. This may include maintaining appropriate eye contact, smiling, nodding your head, and sitting upright in your chair, 6, Listen attentively to the interviewer, If you do not understand a question, ask to have Mt restated, 7, Let the interviewer control the questions while you control the answers. Controlling. the answers means that you will be deciding what to say and what examples to give. 8, If you do not know the answer to a question, do not be afraid to admit it. If you think your answer may have been too short, ask the interviewer if you answered the question adequately or if he or she would like additional details. 9, Get directly to the point. Ask the interviewer if he would like you to go into great detail before you do #0, INTERVIEW AND GROUP DISCUSSION10. Pause before answering to consider all facts that may SUbatantia You, 11, Do not open yourself to areas of questioning that could Powe Althea, by ; " 4 12, Focus and re-focus attention on your strong points, Soy , EB crowr piscussion Group discussion is primarily used to know social framework, Perionaliy interests and various social traits of a number of candidate simi Y, ultancoussy, In Where leadership ability is an important factor, group interviews, are COnducteg * from the information supplied in the application form, it is not roe DO! Possible yy 4 instances where the candidates held positi because of the circumstances that th Opportunity 4, in situations wherein the role of leader i is i to draw conclusions Concerning th inadequate evidence, Of variations in the findi it in i ferent interview adequate Predictio, i iaeeeee iii) The 8roup inte;can be recorded in an objective way by recording the number of times an aggressive or co- operative behaviour is displayed by different individuals. During the group discussion, an observer must see the interaction of each individual in a group. It is certain that some individuals are active participants while others are not. The jnteraction in a group occurs in two ways due to : @ Interaction occuring due to objective relationships; and (ii) Interaction occuring from personal relationships. The observer should make observations regarding the number of times each member addresses the other members of the group. Analysis of certain remarks made during group discussions can be helpful in determining the behaviour of the individuals in the real situation. Guidelines for Effective Participation in Group Discussion The following guidelines are helpful for effective Participation in group discussions : () Develop and sharpen your speaking and interpersonal skills. Clear thinking good expression and other verbal and non-verbal skills are important for a group discussion. (ii) Prepare yourself and have a thorough understanding of the important topics under current affairs. This can be done by reading daily newspapers, magazines and watching news and discussions on TV. (ii) Learn how to analyse the subject, argue your case while adhering to the time limit. (iv) A person participating in a group discussion should carry a pen and a paper unless asked otherwise. It is better to think through the main issues in the topic of discussion before speaking. (v) Unless you are fully prepared on the topic, allow someone else to start the discussion. One can get noticed even when one is not first to speak. (vi) Listen carefully to what other participants are saying. You may quote others while supporting and criticising them. (vii) There is more than one way of entering the discussion. You may begin by appreciating a point made earlier. Alternatively, you may express disagreement with someone’s argument and mould the discussion in your own way. (vii) Maintain your cool while speaking. Losing temper does not yield good results. Therefore, be normal and talk naturally. (xi) A group discussion requires cooperation and coordination on the part of all the participants. Any kind of hostile attitude by any one of the participants is against the spirit of cooperation and would hamper effective discussion. Therefore, every participant has to subordinate his ego to the larger objective of working together and completing the discussion of the topic assigned to the group within the specified time. > (x) Summarise the discussion at the end by restating your views as well as dissenting views. Do not force a consensus. NTERVIEW AND GROUP DISCUSSION zaOF GROUP DISCUSSION DO'S AND DON'TS e ing offered. Liston, not only to the words but to the rationale being jo: . if information. 2. Pursue your point and be persstene Hf you have good iors tha ae being at 3. Manage your time effectively, relative to the num es = oe a 4. Involve all team members to ensure use of their knowledge experience. 5. symptoms, Do not : ; a |. Argue for the sake of winning your point. You may learn something by remaining open. minded. 2. Give up on your conclusion simply to avoid conflict. Let objective reasons or coung information Prevail. 3. Allow the group to get hung-up on a specific item—move on and come back later. 4. Compete by assuming that someone must win and someone must lose. 5. Resort to voting. This tends to split the group into winners and losers. | What is meant by interview ? Discuss its advantages and limitations, Discuss various types of interviews used in selection of employees. Design a suitable procedure for interviewing candidates forthe post of a junior executive. How should the interviewers conduct the employment interviews? Discuss, Give suitable guidelines for the interviewers for conducting effective interviews, Offer practical guidelines to help the interviewees in facing the interview board, What is group discussion. What are its merits and limitations? Discuss the procedure of group discussion in brief. '® Na Aeey avoids dealing only wa | Strive for the best answer. Thinking in cause-and-effect terms reg onty vr, |