INTERVIEWING SKILLS

INTERVIEW
• The word interview comes from Latin and middle
French words meaning to “see between’ or “see
each other”.
• Generally, an interview means a private meeting
between people when questions are asked and
answered.
• The person who answers the questions of an
interview is called in the interviewee.
• The person who asks the questions of our
interview is called an interviewer.
• According to Thill and Bovee, “An interview is
any planed conversation with a specific
purpose involving two or more people”.
 SKILLS INVOLVED IN INTERVIEWS
• Interviews involve two separate skill sets:
– Interviewer skills
– Interviewee skills

• Both play important role in the life of an

individual who is career oriented
 INTERVIEWER SKILLS
• ROLE, RESPONSIBILITIES AND QUALIFICATIONS FOR
INTERVIEWERS
The person assigned by the company to interview the candidates for selection and
recruitment, should have the following traits:
1. Good knowledge of the job for which recruitment is being done. Ideally, a copy of a
detailed “Job Analysis” should be available indicating the followings:
• Duties and responsibilities
• Qualifications and training required
• Work experience
• Technical requirements
• Working conditions
• Acquired knowledge and skill
• Mental and soft skill requirements
2. Be objective in approach and not swayed by pity, compassion or biases
3. Is warm by nature and quick in winning the confidence of candidates
4. Is good listener and keen observer of candidates‟ body language
5. Have the experience of interviewing for selection and placement
6. Have the maturity and poise to impress candidates with his sincerity
7. Have good interaction with persons of the age group being interviewed
 (2) Conduct during the interview
(i) Make candidates comfortable so that they talk freely
(ii) Let the applicants do most of the talking
(iii) Use brief interludes like, „Tell us more‟, „what happened then‟ etc
(iv) Pay attention to candidates by supportive gestures, expressions and postures
(v) Use silence or long (but not lengthy) pauses as tools to check out if candidates
want to share more information. (Nature abhors silence during conversation)
(vi) Respect the feelings of candidates even when they are wrong
(vii) Accept what candidates say without frown, surprise and disapproval
(viii) Avoid impulsive or abrupt change in the topic
(ix) Never argue with candidates
(x) Be informal – if it is one-to-one session, interviewer can sit on the same side
of a desk or on a sofa
(xi) Do not pretend; be yourselves throughout the interaction
(xii) Try understanding candidates with empathetic approach
 (3) Preparing for interviewing
 Decide the areas to focus in the interview
 Think about how candidates can demonstrate their skills
and qualities
 Ask about their experience – what have they done?
 Ask about their interest and hobbies – what they like to do?
 Ask about their life goals – what they feel strongly about?
 Ask about their career plans – Where do they see
themselves in 5 years?
 Ask about salary expectations – What are the expectations
now and in 5 years?
Interviewer should be able to obtain as much information
about candidates as possible.
 (4) Conducting the interview
• (i) Deciding place of interview
• (ii) Warming up period
• (iii) Eliciting information for evaluation
• (iv) Taking notes during interview
• (v) Telling about your company
• (vi) Parting
 5) Evaluation for selection
• (i) Cues from the interview
SL POSITIVE CUES
1 Arrives early
2 Alert, responsive
3 Relaxed
4 Smiles
5 Clear voice
6 Sticks to the point
7 Relevant responses
8 Well organized presentation
9 Spontaneous replies
10 Speaking well of others
11 Appropriate use of humour
12 Incisive, precise
NEGATIVE CUES
Arrives late
Inattentive, slow and dull
Tense
Frowns
Mumbles, unclear voice
Changes subject often
Ir-relevant responses
Disorganized presentation
Long pauses before replying
Critical of others
Makes fun of others
Wordy; gives too many details
(ii) Criteria for selection
• The criteria can vary from one firm to another but the
followings represent a good range:
– Appearance and poise
– Communication skills
– Self-confidence
– Intelligence
– Integrity
– Inter-personal relations
– Experience
– Maturity
– Sense of responsibility
– Leadership potential
 (6) Five types of interviewers
(i) Sympathetic interviewers
They prefer to spend time with civilized and cooperative candidates and
show interest in candidates‟:
They establish friendly atmosphere and they remain in self-control.
(ii) Bully interviewers
They usually cross-examine the candidate and are usually anxious to
discover their weaknesses. Their manners are provoking and they leave
the candidate more stressed. The interviewees must remain calm and
answer even provocative questions pleasantly.
(iii) Psycho interviewers
They try to analyze the candidate in different situations on psychological
grounds. They are rather confusing for the candidate for there is no clear
right or wrong answer.
Five types of interviewers (Conti…)
(iv) Techno interviewers
They are busting with technical knowledge and are out to establish their
superiority. If the candidate fails, which is most likely, they will willingly
furnish the correct answers too. Such persons are usually young and can
easily fall in the trap of flattery. Their immaturity is easily influenced by
sympathy and praise.
(v) Professional interviewers
They are seasoned interviewers. They have often juicy set of questions
which they rapid fire to probe skill and personality of the candidates.
Candidates have to be active and alert with these interviewers. These
persons are always on the look out for:
1. Contradictions in candidates‟ statements
2. Signs of laziness and lack of motivation
3. Signs of arrogance
4. Tendency to criticize others
5. Tendency of irresponsibility, insubordination etc
 INTERVIEWEE SKILLS
• Writing effective resume for applying for the
job is the first and critical step for securing a
call for the interview
• Once the applicant knows that he has to face
a personal interview for selection and
placement in a new organization, he has to do
the followings:
 Things to Do
• (1) Knowing about the future employer
• (2) Preparing for the interview
(i) Knowing yourself
(ii) Knowing your resume
(iii) Knowing job profile being interviewed for
(iv) Knowing the venue of the interview, date and time
(v) Knowing the basic salary ranges applicable
(vi) Knowing appearance and first impression count
(vii) Knowing body language rarely lies and speaks loudly
(viii) Knowing oral communication reflects ones‟ personality
(ix) Knowing answers to frequently asked questions in the
interview
(x) Rehearsing for interviews leads to positive results
• (3) Interview process
• (4) Reasons why persons are not hired
• (5) Ten frequently asked questions
1 What exactly you want from the job?
2 Why did you leave your last job?
3 Why are you switching careers?
4 Where do you want to be in five years‟ from now?
5 What is your greatest accomplishment?
6 What are your strengths?
7 What are your weaknesses?
8 What about a time you failed?
9 Will you get along with your potential boss?
10 Are you likely to marry soon? How old are your children?
• (6) Positive behaviours during interview
• (7) Negative behaviours during interview
 Five types of candidates
• (i) Shy candidates
• (ii) Talkative candidates
• (iii) Nervous candidates
• (iv) Cunning candidates
• (v) Centipede candidates