📋 Chapter 7: Interviewing Candidates — Full Explanation
1. What is an Interview?
An interview is a formal conversation where an employer asks questions
(verbally) and gets verbal answers from a job candidate to decide if they're
suitable for a role. It's not just a casual chat — it's a structured process to
gather important information.
Example: When you apply for a job at a bank, the HR manager sits with you
and asks about your background, skills, and how you'd handle certain
situations. That's an interview.
2. Basic Types of Interviews
Interviews are classified in three major ways:
By structure (how organized they are)
By content (what kinds of questions are asked)
By administration (how they are conducted)
3. Interview Formats (Structure)
🔹 Unstructured (Nondirective) Interview
The interviewer has no fixed set of questions. The conversation flows
naturally, and the interviewer follows up on whatever comes up.
Example: The interviewer asks "Tell me about yourself" and then just keeps
digging into whatever you say — no planned script.
Most common type in real life
More conversational and flexible
But can be inconsistent — different candidates get different
questions, making comparison unfair
🔹 Structured (Directive) Interview
The interviewer has a pre-set list of job-related questions with
predetermined "good" and "bad" answers. Every candidate gets the same
questions.
Example: A retail company asks every applicant: "How would you handle an
angry customer?" They have a scoring guide for ideal answers.
More fair and consistent
Easier to compare candidates
Reduces bias and is legally safer
Helps even less-experienced interviewers do a good job
4. Interview Content (Types of Questions)
🔹 Situational Interview
Asks candidates: "What would you do IF...?" — hypothetical future
situations based on the job.
Example: "Suppose a team member refuses to follow company safety rules.
What would you do?"
🔹 Behavioral Interview
Asks candidates: "Tell me about a time when you..." — focuses on real
past behavior, because past behavior predicts future behavior.
Example: "Can you describe a time you had to meet a very tight deadline?
How did you handle it?"
🔹 Job-Related Interview
Asks questions related to past job experiences relevant to the role.
Example: "Which courses did you enjoy most during your business degree
and why?"
🔹 Stress Interview
The interviewer is deliberately rude or challenging to see how
candidates handle pressure.
Example: Interviewer says: "That answer was terrible. Are you really
qualified for this job?" — just to see if you stay calm or fall apart.
Used to identify people who can't handle pressure
Also tests for hyper-sensitivity
🔹 Puzzle Questions
Used especially in tech and finance roles to test creative thinking.
Example: "How many golf balls can fit in a school bus?" — There's no
"correct" answer; they want to see your reasoning process.
5. How Interviews Are Administered
🔸 Unstructured Sequential Interview
Multiple interviewers meet with the candidate one by one — but each asks
different questions and forms their own independent opinion.
🔸 Structured Sequential Interview
Multiple interviewers also meet one by one, but they all ask the same
standard questions and rate the candidate on a standard form.
🔸 Panel Interview
A group of interviewers all sit together and interview one candidate at the
same time. Their ratings are combined at the end.
Example: You walk into a room with 3 people — HR manager, department
head, and a team lead — all interviewing you together.
🔸 Mass Interview
A panel interviews multiple candidates simultaneously — they put all
applicants in one room and watch how they interact, debate, or solve
problems.
Example: A consultancy firm puts 8 candidates in a room and gives them a
business case to solve together, while interviewers observe.
🔸 Phone & Video Interviews
Done remotely — useful for initial screening before bringing candidates in
person.
🔸 Computerized Interview
The candidate answers questions on a computer (text, audio, or video
prompts). The software evaluates responses.
6. What Makes an Interview Useful?
Three things make an interview genuinely valuable:
1. Structure the interview — Structured interviews (especially
situational ones) are much better predictors of job performance
than unstructured ones.
2. Carefully choose what traits to assess — Interviews are better at
measuring some things (like personality and communication) than
others. For example, interviewers can easily detect extroversion and
agreeableness.
3. Avoid interviewing errors — Many common mistakes can make an
interview completely useless.
7. Common Interviewing Errors (What Can Ruin an Interview)
❌ 1. First Impressions / Snap Judgments
Interviewers often form opinions in the first few minutes — or even before
the interview begins (based on looks or resume appearance).
Example: A study found that in 85% of cases, interviewers had already
made up their minds before the interview began based on a candidate's
appearance or application.
→ Problem: Unfavorable information sticks more than favorable — so one
bad first impression can kill a candidate's chances unfairly.
❌ 2. Interviewer Doesn't Understand the Job
If the interviewer doesn't truly understand what the job requires, they'll hire
based on stereotypes of what a "good employee" looks like, not actual job
needs.
Example: An interviewer who doesn't know the technical needs of a
software developer role might reject a highly skilled introverted candidate
and hire a confident but less skilled one.
❌ 3. Candidate-Order (Contrast) Error
The order in which you interview candidates affects your rating of each one.
Example: If you interview 5 very weak candidates, and then a mediocre
one, the mediocre one suddenly seems great by comparison — and you rate
them too highly.
Also: If HR is under pressure to fill a position quickly, they tend to
overrate candidates. If there's no rush, they underrate them.
❌ 4. Nonverbal Behavior & Impression Management
Candidates who smile, make eye contact, sit upright, and appear
energetic are rated more highly — even if their actual answers aren't better.
Impression Management: Some candidates cleverly praise the
interviewer or agree with everything they say to make them like them.
Example: A candidate says, "I've heard you built this department from
scratch — that's incredibly impressive." This flattery can bias the interviewer
in their favor.
❌ 5. Effect of Personal Characteristics (Bias)
Physical attractiveness, gender, race, or disability can unfairly affect how
candidates are evaluated.
Employment Discrimination Testers: Some organizations send fake
applicants (who have no intention of taking the job) just to see if employers
discriminate based on race or gender.
❌ 6. Interviewer's Own Behavior
Interviewers sometimes accidentally signal the right answer.
Example: "This job involves a lot of stress — you can handle that, can't
you?" — The question itself tells the candidate to say "yes."
Even a subtle nod or smile when a candidate says something can signal
they're on the right track, biasing the rest of the answer.
8. How to Design an Effective Structured Situational Interview
Follow these 5 steps:
Step Action
Step Analyze the job — understand exactly what it requires
Step Action
Step
Rate the job's main duties — figure out what's most important
2
Step
Create interview questions — based on real job tasks
3
Step Create benchmark answers — decide what a "great," "average," and
4 "poor" answer looks like
Step
Appoint a panel and conduct the interviews consistently
5
9. Tips for Conducting an Effective Interview
Even if you can't build a full structured interview, here are best practices:
Know the job before you interview — understand exactly what skills
and traits are needed
Structure the interview — at minimum, use the same questions for
all candidates
Get organized — prepare your questions in advance
Establish rapport — make the candidate comfortable so they open
up naturally
Ask the right questions — situational, behavioral, or job knowledge-
based
Take brief notes — don't trust your memory
Close properly — tell them the next steps
Review after — evaluate while it's still fresh
10. Sample Interview Questions (from the slides)
Type Example Question
Situational "A coworker ignores standard procedures and claims their way
Type Example Question
is better. What would you do?"
"You're giving a sales presentation and can't answer a technical
Situational
question. What do you do?"
"Tell me about the most significant way you've ever helped a
Behavioral
coworker."
"Describe a time you made a highly effective sales
Behavioral
presentation."
Backgroun
"What experience do you have working in team environments?"
d
Job "What steps would you follow to conduct a brainstorming
Knowledge session on workplace safety?"
🔑 Key Takeaways
1. Interviews come in many formats — the structured situational
interview is the most reliable predictor of job success.
2. Most interviewers make serious errors without realizing it — snap
judgments, bias, and order effects are very common.
3. A good interviewer knows the job well, prepares questions in
advance, and evaluates all candidates equally.
4. Nonverbal cues and first impressions heavily influence decisions —
being aware of this makes you a fairer interviewer.