Essential Interview Training Tips
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onyinoEssential Interview Training Tips
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onyinoInterview Training
Module
Interviewing Tips
Read job description
Review the resume
Pick competencies that you want to assess
Prepare questions in advance
Be organized
Be attentive when the candidate is speaking.
Remember you are representing the company
Know that the candidate is also interviewing you
Contact the candidate after for clarification if
needed
Common Selection Problems
Interviewers miss important information
Interviewers overlook job motivation and
organizational fit
Interviewers ask illegal and/or non-job-related
questions
Interviewers cover the same areas
Biases and stereotypes affect judgment
Interviewers take insufficient notes
Interviewers misinterpret candidate information
Pressure to fill a position affects judgment
Questioning Techniques
Wording should be open-ended. Respondents should be
able to choose their own terms when answering questions.
Questions should be as neutral as possible. Avoid
wording that might influence answers, e.g., evocative,
judgmental wording.
Questions should be asked one at a time.
Questions should be worded clearly. This includes
knowing any terms particular to the program or the
respondents' culture.
Be careful asking "why" questions. This type of question
infers a cause-effect relationship that may not truly exist.
These questions may also cause respondents to feel
defensive, e.g., that they have to justify their response,
which may inhibit their responses to this and future
questions.
Questioning Techniques
Behavioral
“Tell
me about a tough decision you
made recently and the analysis you did.”
Open
“What was the biggest challenge for
you?”
Probing
“How did you go about overcoming this
challenge?”
Checking
“What software did you say that you used
at your previous company?”
Questions to Avoid
Multiple - Can you tell me about a time you
worked on a project? Can you describe your
interaction with your teammates? Can you discuss
any difficulties you faced?
Limiting - “Do you prefer working independently or
as part of a team?”
Leading - “Do you work well under pressure?”
Hypothetical - “How would you respond to a
colleague with an idea you didn’t agree with?”
Potentially Risky Interview Topics
Age
Race
Religion
Housing
Child care
Arrest record
Health details
Family details
National origin
Sexual preference
Health or disability status
Type of military discharge
Ensure that your topics specifically concern a candidate’s experience and the job at hand.
Review the Managerial Resources related to legal interview questions and ADA
compliance that are available on the Kettering Human Resources Website.
Risky Questions
Ask This Not That
Affiliations
Do you belong to any professional To what clubs and organization do you
organizations that you consider belong?
relevant tot his job?
Nationality
Are you authorized to work in the Are you a United States citizen? Where
United States? were you born?
Disabilities
Are you able to perform the functions May I ask you to discuss your
as described in the job description with disabilities and how they affect you in
or without reasonable the workplace?
accommodations?
Personal
Would you be willing to relocate? I see you have a wedding band, how
Would you be willing to travel as would your wife feel about you
needed by the job? Would you be traveling? Do you have kids? What are
willing to work overtime as needed for you child care arrangements?
the job?
Managing the Interview
Direct the discussion to areas you want to cover
Prevent confusion, misunderstandings, and the
need to go back and clarify details
Manage time so you can cover each section of the
interview completely
If a candidate reveals information you are not
allowed to discuss do not purse the topic further
On the Interview
Welcome
Thank the candidate for his time
Make the candidate feel important
Gathering Information about the Candidate
The facts
Knowledge and skills
Job Related Competencies
Values and Motivation
On the Interview
Giving Information
Provide a summary of the position
Offer additional information about how
the role related to the bottom line of the
company
Selling the Company and Closing
See of the candidate is still interested in
the role
Provide information about the process’s
next steps
Thank the candidate for their time
Benefits of Good Note-Taking
Keeps impressions of different candidates from
blurring in your mind
Aids your memory
Gives confidence that hiring decision is fair and
accurate
Note-Taking Tips
Take notes openly
Note only pertinent information
Note behavior observed in the interview
Take notes on sensitive or negative information
carefully
Record key words
Use personal shorthand
Establishing Cultural Fit
It is important that candidate be evaluated not only for
their ability to complete the job but also their ability to fit
into the culture of the company.
Achievement Formal Recognition
Center of High-involvement
Attention Independence
Coaching Others Interaction
Compensation Interpersonal
Complexity Support
Continuous Leading Others
Learning Promotional
Creativity Opportunities
Details Routine
Diverse Task Variety
Perspectives Work Pace
Evaluation Errors
General leniency / A tendency to over or under rate across all
harshness candidates.
Candidate- The tendency to generalize good or bad
specific ‘halo / performance on one competency to other
horns’ competencies.
Contrast effects Rating one candidate against another, instead
of
against the competency definition.
Central tendency The tendency to avoid extreme ratings.
First impressions The recency effect is opposite to first
/ recency impressions since it is when one remembers the
last things the candidate
does or says.
Stereotyping Judging a candidate based on unfair
generalizations.