Selection III: Interviewing
© 2013 by Nelson Education
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Chapter Learning Outcomes

After reading this chapter you should:
◦ Understand the purposes and uses of
employment interviews
◦ Know the multiple phases of the employment
interview and the factors affecting employment
interview decisions
◦ Appreciate the selection errors associated with
traditional approaches to employment
interviewing
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Chapter Learning Outcomes
(continued)
◦ Understand the elements of employment
interview structuring
◦ Be aware of different structured interviewing
techniques and their relative advantages and
disadvantages
◦ Appreciate the legal and predictive advantages of
structured employment interviewing methods
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Chapter Learning Outcomes
(continued)
◦ Begin developing competence in the design of
effective interview questions and scoring guides
◦ Know about innovations and future directions in
interview research and practice
◦ Appreciate the role of employment interviews in
the changing organizational environment
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Purposes and Uses of the Interview
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Interviews: used at the beginning or end of
the selection process
Used to explore and expand information
from the resume/application form
Employs standard questions during the
interview process
Panel interviews include the HR professional
Used to sell the job to the applicant
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Purposes and Uses of the Interview
(continued)
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Best suited to the assessment of noncognitive attributes
Provides the applicant a chance to ask
questions about the job and organization
Provides an opportunity to see if there is a
suitable fit
Used in the termination of employees
Used to determine who is best qualified
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The Cost of Interviewing
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Time preparing for the interview
(Supervisor/Managers)
Actual interviewing time
Time spent by clerical staff on interviewrelated tasks
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The Cost of Interviewing
(continued)
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Use of office space and equipment
Time spent developing interview questions
and scoring guides
Travel time
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Typical Screening Interview
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Screening interviews: preliminary interviews
designed to fill gaps left on the candidate’s
application form or resume; sometimes
serving recruitment as well as selection
functions
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Screening Interview Format
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Follow a set of pre-planned questions
during the interview
Review the applicant’s file before the
interview
Begin with some opening remarks by
recruiter to put the applicant at ease
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Screening Interview Format
(continued)
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Design questions to focus on applicant’s
previous work experience, educational
background
Closing: gives applicant an opportunity to
ask questions about the job and the
organization
◦ Recruiter discusses timeframe of when they are
getting back to applicant

Review the applicant with a rating form
© 2013 by Nelson Education
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Recruitment and Selection Today
9.3
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Interviewee Behaviours That Influence
Positive Interviewer Impressions
◦ Be on time for the interview
◦ Be prepared for the interview by having done
homework on the company Make direct eye
contact with the interviewer
◦ Remain confident and determined throughout the
interview, regardless of how the interviewer’s
cues suggest the interview is going
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Recruitment and Selection Today
9.3 (continued)
◦ Provide positive information about oneself when
answering questions
◦ Answer questions quickly and intelligently
◦ Demonstrate interest in the position and
organization
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Recruitment and Selection Today
9.3 (continued)
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Interviewee Behaviours That Influence
Negative Interviewer Impressions
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Present a poor personal appearance or grooming
Display an overly aggressive, know-it-all attitude
Fail to communicate clearly
Lack career goals or career planning
Overemphasize monetary issues
Be evasive
Show a lack of maturity, tact, and courtesy
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Speed Interviewing
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Speed interviewing: typically consists of a
series of short (5-15 minute) consecutive
interviews
◦ Used by recruiters who need to fill several
positions quickly and cost effective
◦ Ascertains a candidate’s fit with position
requirements
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© 2013 by Nelson Education
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A Model of Information
Processing/Decision Making
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Prior Information and Interviewer and
Candidate Expectations
Knowledge Structures
The Social Interaction of Interviewer and
Candidate
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A Model of Information
Processing/Decision Making
(continued)
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Interviewer and Candidate Information
Processing and Assessments
Interviewer and Applicant Decisions
The Context of the Interview
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Unstructured Interviews
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Unstructured interview: a traditional
method of interviewing that involves no
constraints on the questions asked
◦ No requirements for standardization
◦ A subjective assessment of the candidate (feeling
or hunch about the candidate)
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Recruitment and Selection Today
9.4
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Commonly Used Interview Questions
1. Why did you leave your last job? Why do you
want to leave your current job?
2. What do you consider to be your strengths?
What are your weaknesses?
3. What were your strongest/weakest subjects at
school? What did you learn in school that you
could use in this job?
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Recruitment and Selection Today
9.4 (continued)
4. How would other people (or someone who
knows you or worked with you) describe you as
an individual?
5. What is your greatest accomplishment (or most
meaningful work experience)?
6. What were the most enjoyable aspects of your
last job? What were the least enjoyable aspects?
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Recruitment and Selection Today
9.4 (continued)
7. Why do you want this job? What are you looking
for from this job (or from us)?
8. Why should we hire you? What can you do for
us?
9. What are your long-range plans or goals?
10. Tell me about yourself.
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Structured Interview
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Structured interview: consists of a
standardized set of job-relevant questions;
a scoring guide is used
◦ Remains popular with employers
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Structured Employment Interviews
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Interview questions are derived from a job
analysis
Interview questions are standardized (all
applicants are asked the same questions)
Prompting, follow-up questioning, probing
and/or elaboration on questions are limited
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Structured Employment Interviews
(continued)
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Interview questions focus on behaviours or
work samples rather than opinions or selfevaluations
Interviewer access to ancillary information
Questions from the candidate are not
allowed until after the interview
Each answer is rated during the interview
using a rating scale tailored to the question
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Structured Employment Interviews
(continued)
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Rating scales are “anchored” with
behavioural examples to illustrate scale
points
Total interview score is obtained by
summing across scores for each of the
questions
Detailed notes are taken during the
interview
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Recruitment and Selection
Notebook 9.3
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The Structured Interviewing Process
◦ Preparing for the interview:
1.Determine the amount of time available and how
many questions you can ask without rushing
2.Make a standardized list of interview questions to
ask all applicants in the same order
3.Develop a scoring guide with benchmark or sample
answers
4.Use a space where you can have privacy, freedom
from distractions, and quiet
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Recruitment and Selection
Notebook 9.3 (continued)
4. Schedule the interviews with sufficient time for a
brief break between interviews and to allow for
some interviews to run a little over
5. Arrange to hold all calls and prevent interruptions
during the interview
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Recruitment and Selection
Notebook 9.3 (continued)
◦
Conducting the interview:
1. Spend a few minutes at the beginning of the
interview putting the applicant at ease
2. Ask each question in turn without omitting or
skipping any
3. Take detailed notes, focusing on recording what
the applicant says
4. Allow the applicant to ask questions at the end of
the interview and answer them to the best of your
ability
5. Follow the same procedures for each applicant and
retain interview documentation for future reference
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Recruitment and Selection
Notebook 9.3 (continued)
◦ Closing the interview:
1. Tell the candidate when and how he should expect
to hear from you
2. Tell the candidate if you will be contacting
references or conducting a second interview
3. Thank the applicant for coming
4. Review your notes and make your ratings
5. Make sure you inform all candidates of your
decision when you have made it
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Class Activity
1.
2.
Have you experienced structured and/or
unstructured interviews?
How did you feel about the process?
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Panel and Serial Interviews
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Panel interview: an interview conducted by
two or more interviewers together at one
time
Serial interviews: a series of interviews
where the applicant is interviewed
separately by each of two or more
interviewers
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Situational Interview
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Situational interview: a highly structured
interview in which important or decisive
situations employees are likely to encounter
on the job are described
◦ Applicants are asked what they would do in these
situations
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Scoring Guide
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Scoring guide: a behavioural rating scale
consisting of sample answers to each
question that is used by the interviewer to
evaluate and score the applicant’s answers
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Behaviour Description Interview
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Behaviour description interview: a
structured interview in which the applicant
is asked to describe what he did in given
situation in the past
Probes: follow-up questions or prompts
used by the interviewer to guide the
applicant’s descriptions of situations to
provide scorable elaboration of answers
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Other Approaches to Interviewing
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Long-distance Interviews
Puzzle Interviews
Multi-mini Interviews
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Summary
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Employment interviews are the most
popular selection procedure
Use behavioural interviews
Ask interviewing questions that tie directly
to the job
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Discussion Questions
1.
2.
What factors affect employment interview
decisions?
What are the different errors or biases that
commonly occur as part of a traditional
employment interview?
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Discussion Questions (continued)
3.
4.
Why is a scoring guide crucial to the
success of a structured interview?
Why do many employers resist using
structured interviews? How would you
encourage more employers to use
structured interview techniques?
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