Chapter 7
Interviewing Candidates
Copyright © 2017, 2015, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Basic Types of Interviews
• A selection interview is a selection procedure designed to predict future job performance
based on applicants’ oral responses to oral inquiries.
• We can classify selection interviews according to
1. How structured they are.
2. Their “content”—the types of questions they contain.
3. How the firm administers the interviews (for instance, one-on-one or via a committee).
Copyright © 2017, 2015, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Structured vs Unstructured Interviews
• Unstructured (or nondirective) interview
▪ An unstructured conversational-style interview in which the interviewer pursues points
of interest as they come up in response to questions.
oThe manager follows no set format.
oQuestions are usually not set in advance.
oTypical questions might include
o“Tell me about yourself”
o“Why do you think you’d do a good job here?”
o“What would you say are your main strengths and weaknesses?”
Copyright © 2017, 2015, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Structured vs Unstructured Interviews
• Unstructured (or nondirective) interview
• Pros: Because the atmosphere is informal and flexible, it feels more genuine and less intimidating.
• It is highly effective for observing interpersonal skills, adaptability, and how candidates naturally
converse.
• Cons: Without a standardized format, different candidates are asked different questions.
• This can introduce unconscious bias into the hiring process and makes comparing candidates
objectively much more difficult.
Copyright © 2017, 2015, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Copyright © 2017, 2015, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Structured vs Unstructured Interviews
• Structured (or directive) interview
▪ An interview following a set sequence of questions.
▪ Employer lists questions ahead of time, and may even weight possible alternative
answers for appropriateness.
▪ Structured interviews are generally best.
▪ All interviewers generally ask all applicants the same questions.
▪ Interviews tend to be more consistent, reliable, and valid.
▪ Having a standardized list of questions can also help less talented interviewers conduct
better interviews.
Copyright © 2017, 2015, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Copyright © 2017, 2015, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Structured vs Unstructured Interviews
• Structured (or directive) interview
▪ A structured interview gives clear benefits by making the hiring process consistent, efficient, and
objectively fair.
▪ Reduce bias. Sticking with the same questionnaire for everyone puts all candidates on a level playing
field. You can focus on their answers and qualifications without relying on a gut feeling or general
personal impression.
▪ Simplify candidate comparisons. With everyone answering the same questions, you can compare each
candidate's answers and see who stands out.
▪ Improve preparation. You are less likely to miss a key topic or skill area when using predetermined
questions.
▪ Save time. Structured interviews tend to move along quickly and stay on track, making the best use of
time.
Copyright © 2017, 2015, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Structured vs Unstructured Interviews
• Structured interviews bring fairness and consistency to hiring process.
• Unstructured interviews are ideal for taking a deep dive into topics, following up on ideas
that come up in the conversation, and measuring cultural fit, personality, leadership, and
the ability to think on the spot.
• Research has shown that structured interviews perform better for finding high-performing
talent and complying with legal requirements around non-discrimination.
• The future of hiring is likely to be a mix, blending the best of both approaches with
structured questions and open-ended dialogue.
Copyright © 2017, 2015, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Interview Content
• Situational interview
▪ A series of job-related questions that focus on how the candidate would behave in a
given situation.
▪ 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.
Copyright © 2017, 2015, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Interview Content
• Situational interview
▪ Situational interviews in hiring ask candidates to explain how they would handle hypothetical,
future-oriented workplace scenarios.
▪ This technique helps hiring managers evaluate a candidate's critical thinking, problem-solving
abilities, and decision-making processes under pressure.
▪ Unlike behavioral questions (which focus on past experiences), situational questions test a
candidate's ability to "think on their feet" and apply their skills to unfamiliar or challenging
situations.
Copyright © 2017, 2015, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Interview Content
• Situational interview
▪ Interviewers typically tailor scenarios to the specific role and industry. Common themes include:
▪ Handling Conflict: "What would you do if you strongly disagreed with a coworker's approach to a
project?"
▪ Managing Priorities: "How would you handle a situation where you have two major deadlines at the same
time and are suddenly assigned an urgent task by your manager?"
▪ Dealing with Difficult Clients: "What would you do if a client was unhappy with a product or service and
demanded an immediate refund that you aren't authorized to give?"
Copyright © 2017, 2015, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Interview Content
• Situational interview
▪ Interviewers typically tailor scenarios to the specific role and industry. Common themes include:
▪ Handling Conflict: "What would you do if you strongly disagreed with a coworker's approach to a
project?"
▪ Managing Priorities: "How would you handle a situation where you have two major deadlines at the same
time and are suddenly assigned an urgent task by your manager?"
▪ Dealing with Difficult Clients: "What would you do if a client was unhappy with a product or service and
demanded an immediate refund that you aren't authorized to give?"
Copyright © 2017, 2015, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Interview Content
• Behavioral interview
▪ A series of job-related questions that focus on how the candidate reacted to actual
situations in the past.
▪ Situational interviews ask applicants to describe how they would react to a hypothetical
situation today or tomorrow.
▪ Behavioral interviews ask applicants to describe how they reacted to actual situations in
the past.
▪ “Tell me about a time you were speaking with an irate person, and how you turned the
situation around.”
Copyright © 2017, 2015, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Interview Content
• Behavioral interview
▪ Behavioral interviewing is an assessment technique based on the premise that past
behavior is the best predictor of future performance.
▪ Instead of asking theoretical questions, interviewers ask candidates to recount specific
real-world experiences to evaluate their soft skills, problem-solving, and decision-
making abilities.
▪ During a behavioral interview, questions typically begin with phrases like "Tell me
about a time when..." or "Give me an example of...".
Copyright © 2017, 2015, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Interview Content
• Behavioral interview
▪ This approach is designed to:
▪ Mitigate Bias: By focusing on concrete facts rather than general impressions, it provides
consistent criteria for evaluating candidates.
▪ Assess Culture Add: It helps employers determine if a candidate's actual working style
and values align with the company's daily environment.
▪ Prevent "Canned" Answers: It is much harder to rehearse generic responses for specific,
impromptu scenarios.
Copyright © 2017, 2015, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Interview Content
• Behavioral interview
▪ Conflict Resolution: "Tell me about a time you had a conflict with a team member."
▪ Mistakes and Growth: "Describe a time you made a mistake at work and how you
handled it."
▪ Handling Pressure: "Give me an example of a time you managed multiple competing
deadlines."
Copyright © 2017, 2015, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Interview Content
• Job-related interview
▪ A series of job-related questions that focus on relevant past job-related behaviors.
▪ The questions here don’t revolve around hypothetical or actual situations or scenarios.
▪ Instead, the interviewer asks questions such as, “Which courses did you like best in
business school?”.
▪ The aim is to draw conclusions about, say, the candidate’s ability to handle the financial
aspects of the job in question.
Copyright © 2017, 2015, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Interview Content
• Job-related interview
▪ Job Knowledge Questions: These test understanding of industry-specific terms, tools,
methodologies, and regulations.
▪ Situational Questions: These ask how candidate would handle a hypothetical workspace
scenario (e.g., "If our server crashes during peak hours, what is your first step?").
▪ Task Performance: They closely map to the everyday realities of the role to ensure
candidate can deliver results from day one.
Copyright © 2017, 2015, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Interview Content
• Stress interview
▪ A stress interview is a deliberate job interview tactic used to put candidates under
pressure.
▪ Interviewers use aggressive questions, long silences, or dismissive attitudes to test your
emotional resilience, criical thinking, and ability to remain professional when things get
difficult.
▪ A stress interview is a method a company uses to understand more about a candidate
experiencing large amounts of stress.
Copyright © 2017, 2015, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Interview Content
• Stress interview
▪ An interview in which the applicant is made uncomfortable by a series of often rude
questions.
▪ Helps identify hypersensitive applicants and those with low or high stress tolerance.
▪ Candidate for a customer relations manager position who 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.
Copyright © 2017, 2015, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Interview Content
• Stress interview
▪ If the formerly tranquil applicant reacts explosively, the interviewer might deduce that
the person has a low tolerance for stress.
▪ Invasive and ethically dubious nature demands that the interviewer be skilled.
▪ Definitely not an approach for amateur interrogators or for those without the skills to
keep the interview under control.
Copyright © 2017, 2015, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Interview Content
• Stress interview
▪ Intimidating questions: This type of interview involves upfront questions that might be difficult to
answer. Some questions this type of interview might include, "Why were you fired from your last job?" or
"Was your last job too hard for your to handle?"
▪ Aggressive behavior: An interview involving aggressive behavior might involve interviewers acting
dismissive, uninterested or aggressive, which can cause candidates to feel uncomfortable.
▪ Some interviewers might demand that the candidate to tell them why they're a good fit for the role or
might offer critical feedback about previous work accomplishments.
▪ Unexpected responses: Sometimes interviewers ask the same question multiple times throughout an
interview or might ask the same question in a slightly different way. This might cause candidates to get
frustrated or change their answers.
Copyright © 2017, 2015, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Interview Content
• Stress interview
▪ Brainteasers: These types of questions in an interview might often seem impossible to
answer and can help hiring managers to understand your critical thinking skills.
▪ Some questions involved in this type of interview might include, "How many potatoes
do Bangladeshis consume every day?" or "How many birds fly south for the winter?"
▪ "Your resume shows a lot of short stints. Why should we waste time training you if you
are just going to leave in a year?"
▪ "You have never managed a team of this size before. What makes you think you won’t
completely drown in this role?"
Copyright © 2017, 2015, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Interview Content
• Stress interview
▪ "HR is often seen as a department that just pushes paperwork and slows down business. How do you
justify your salary to the CEO?"
▪ "Give me an example of a time you completely failed an employee. Why did you let that happen?"
▪ "If you had to choose between protecting the company from a legal threat or protecting a vulnerable
employee, which one wins?"
▪ "We need to lay off 15% of our workforce tomorrow morning, and you have to deliver the news. How do
you stop a mass panic?"
▪ "We have interviewed three other candidates today who have much stronger corporate policy
backgrounds than you. Convince me in 30 seconds why I shouldn't just hire one of them."
Copyright © 2017, 2015, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Interview Content
• Puzzle interview
▪ Recruiters see how candidates think under pressure.
▪ For example, an interviewer at Microsoft asked a tech service applicant this: “Mike and
Todd have $21 between them. Mike has $20 more than Todd does. How much money
has Mike, and how much money has Todd?
Copyright © 2017, 2015, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Interview Content
• Puzzle interview
▪ A client wants to launch a luxury ice cream brand in a region with 85% lactose
intolerance. How do you price and target the product?"
▪ An employee submits an anonymous grievance alleging toxic behavior by their
manager. Two days later, that same manager approaches you requesting to immediately
fire that specific employee for performance reasons, unaware of the anonymous
complaint. How do you untangle this timeline?"
Copyright © 2017, 2015, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
How Should We Conduct The Interview
▪ In a one-on-one interview, two people meet alone, and one interviews the other by
seeking oral responses to oral inquiries.
▪ In a sequential (or serial) interview, several persons interview the applicant, in sequence,
one-on-one, and then make their hiring decision.
▪ In an unstructured sequential interview, each interviewer generally just asks questions as
they come to mind.
▪ In a structured sequential interview, each interviewer rates the candidates on a standard
evaluation form, using standardized questions.
▪ The hiring manager then reviews these ratings before deciding whom to hire.
Copyright © 2017, 2015, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
How Should We Conduct The Interview
• Panel Interview
▪ An interview in which a group of interviewers questions the applicant.
▪ Also known as a board interview.
▪ Conducted by a team of interviewers (usually two to three), who together question each
candidate and then combine their ratings of each candidate’s answers into a final panel
score.
▪ Mass Interview
▪ Panel interviews several candidates simultaneously.
▪ The panel pose a problem, and then watches which candidate takes the lead in
formulating an answer.
Copyright © 2017, 2015, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
How Should We Conduct The Interview
• Phone Interview
▪ Employers also conduct interviews via phone.
▪ Can actually be more useful than face-to-face interviews for judging one’s
conscientiousness, intelligence, and interpersonal skills.
▪ Needn’t worry about appearance or handshakes, each party can focus on answers.
▪ Candidates—somewhat surprised by an unplanned call from the recruiter— give more
spontaneous answers.
Copyright © 2017, 2015, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
How Should We Conduct The Interview
• Computerized Job Interview
▪ A job candidate’s oral and/or keyed replies are obtained in response to computerized
oral, visual, or written questions and/or situations.
▪ Present a series of multiple-choice questions regarding background, experience,
education, skills, knowledge, and work attitudes.
▪ Some confront candidates with realistic scenarios (such as irate customers) to which
they must respond.
Copyright © 2017, 2015, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Avoiding Errors
• Fast Impressions (Snap Judgment)
▪ Interviewers tend to jump to conclusions— make snap judgments—about candidates
during the first few minutes of the interview (or even before the interview starts, based
on test scores or résumé data).
▪ For the interviewee who starts out poorly, it’s almost impossible to overcome that first
bad impression.
▪ The interviewer will size up your posture, handshake, smile, and “captivating aura.”
▪ It’s difficult to overcome that first impression.
Copyright © 2017, 2015, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Avoiding Errors
• Candidate Order (Contrast) Error
▪ Interviewer error due to interviewing one or more very good or very bad candidates just
before the interview in question.
▪ Interviewers score an average candidate more favorably than they might otherwise.
▪ In contrast to the unfavorable candidates, the average one looked better than he/she
actually was.
Copyright © 2017, 2015, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Avoiding Errors
• Nonverbal Behavior
▪ Smiling
▪ Avoiding/Meeting the gaze
▪ Strong Handshake
▪ Posture
▪ The applicant’s nonverbal behavior can also have a surprisingly large impact on his or
her rating.
▪ Nonverbal behaviors are probably so important because interviewers infer your
personality from the way you act in the interview.
Copyright © 2017, 2015, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
How to Design and Conduct an Effective Interview
• Structured situational interview—a series of job relevant questions with
predetermined answers that interviewers ask of all applicants for the job
produces superior results.
• The basic idea is to (1) write situational (what would you do), behavioral
(what did you do), or job knowledge questions, and (2) have job experts (like
those supervising the job) write several answers for each of these questions,
rating the answers from good to poor.
• A knowledge question for a social media marketing job would be: “How
would you measure the success of your social campaigns?”
Copyright © 2017, 2015, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
How to Design and Conduct an Effective Interview
• A situational question would be, “There’s a crisis on one of our social
media channels. How do you handle it?”
• A behavioral question is, “Tell me about a successful social campaign
you’ve run.”)
• The people (usually a panel of two to three) who interview the applicants
then use rating sheets anchored with examples of good or bad answers to
rate interviewees’ answers.
Copyright © 2017, 2015, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Designing a Structured Situational Interview
• Step 1. Analyze the job. Write a job description including: a list of job
duties; required knowledge, skills, and abilities; and other worker
qualifications.
• Step 2. Rate the job’s main duties. Rate each job duty, say from 1 to 5,
based on how important it is to the job.
• Step 3. Create interview questions. Create situational, behavioral, and
job knowledge interview questions for each job duty, with more
questions for the important duties. For example, to probe for
conscientiousness, the interviewer might ask this situational question:
Copyright © 2017, 2015, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Designing a Structured Situational Interview
• Your spouse and two teenage children are sick in bed with colds. There
are no relatives or friends available to look in on them. Your office starts
in 3 hours. What would you do?
• Step 4. Create benchmark answers. Next, for each question, develop
ideal (benchmark) answers for good (a 5 rating), marginal (a 3 rating),
and poor (a 1 rating) answers.
• Step 5. Appoint the interview panel and conduct interviews. Employers
generally conduct structured situational interviews using a panel, rather
than one-on-one.
Copyright © 2017, 2015, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Designing a Structured Situational Interview
• Panels usually consist of two or three members, preferably those who
wrote the questions and answers.
• They may also include the job’s supervisor and/or incumbent, and an
HR representative. The same panel interviews all candidates for the job.
Copyright © 2017, 2015, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
The Toyota Way
Step 1: An in-depth online application (20–30
minutes)
Step 2: A 2–5-hour computer-based assessment
Step 3: A 6–8-hour work simulation assessment
Step 4: A face-to-face interview
Step 5: A background check, drug screen, and
medical check
Step 6: Job offer
Copyright © 2017, 2015, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Developing and Extending The Job Offer
• The employer will base the actual offer on the candidate’s apparent attractiveness as a
prospective employee, the level of the position, and pay rates for similar positions.
• Next the employer extends an actual job offer to the candidate verbally.
• Job offer parameters generally include
▪ Pay rates
▪ Benefits
▪ Actual job duties.
• There may be some negotiations.
• Then, once agreement is reached, the employer will extend a written job offer to the
candidate.
Copyright © 2017, 2015, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Developing and Extending The Job Offer
• In a job offer letter, the employer lists the offer’s basic information.
• Typically starts with a welcome sentence.
• Then includes job-specific information: details on salary and pay, benefits information,
paid leave information, and terms of employment - successful completion of job testing
and physical exams.
• Next is a closing statement welcoming the employee, mentions who the employer’s point
person is if any questions arise, and instructs the candidate to sign the letter of offer if it is
acceptable.
Copyright © 2017, 2015, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Developing and Extending The Job Offer
• For many positions (such as executive) a contract is in order.
• An employment contract may have a duration (such as 3 years).
• The contract will also describe grounds for termination or resignation, and
severance provisions.
• The contract will almost always also include terms regarding confidentiality,
nondisclosure requirements.
Copyright © 2017, 2015, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved