Conducting an
Effective Selection
Interview
Michael Hackney and Brian H. Kleiner
How to Acquire Applicants
An important part of the selection
process is attracting amiable, qualified
people for the open position. There is
not one right, guaranteed method used
to accomplish this goal. The following
is a list of common avenues taken to
acquire or attract strong candidates for
the position[1].
●
Local newspaper advertisement
(e.g., Daily Breeze).
●
Major Newspaper advertisement
(e.g., Sunday LA Times).
●
Professional recruiting agency;
●
Advertisement in professional
magazines.
●
Word-of-mouth.
●
Promotion from within the
company.
●
Temporary to permanent.
●
College recruiting.
●
Family referral.
●
Employee referral (friends of an
existing employee).
●
Walk-in applicant.
There is no clear advantage for using
any one method. Before choosing a
method, the employer must take into
consideration the nature of the open
position, the amount of money it will
cost to acquire candidates, and the time
frame given to fill the position. The
most popular methods used to acquire
candidates for interviewing is to
advertise in newspapers, gather refer8 Work Study
rals, and promote from within. For
many positions, employee recommendation of a friend or previous co-worker
is preferred. In theory, an employee
would not recommend someone they
think would do poorly on the job
because they would want their opinion
to be respected in the future. One
company is so “radical” about this
belief that the CEO refuses to hire
anyone unless an employee already
knows that person[2]. This is a clever
way to create a strong workforce
because employees will hold each other
accountable. In other positions, using
an employment agency may be most
desired. No matter which method is
chosen, all the above have potential in
helping employers acquire candidates.
Figuring the Cost of Hiring
How much does it cost to hire someone?
Much more than one may originally
think. It not only costs in actual, real
dollars but also in employee time.
Outlined below are cost (time and
dollars) areas to consider[1].
(1) Recruiting cost:
●
newspaper advertisement;
●
agency;
●
temporary agency;
●
employee referral reward.
(2) Interviewing process:
●
Vol. 43 No. 7, 1994, pp. pp. 8-13, © MCB University Press, 0043-8022
time spent on personnel
screening and testing;
●
time spent on interviewing;
●
time spent
checking.
on
reference
The cost of hiring and training
solidifies the importance of hiring the
right person for the position the first
time because this will save the
company in future rehiring and
retraining costs. It is imperative that
the hiring process be performed
thoroughly and accurately.
The cost to advertise in a local
Sunday paper ranges from $100 to
$300. The Sunday Times will range
from $1,000 to $1,400 for a simple “no
frills” advertisement. Hiring someone
referred from an agency costs from
$8,000 to $15,000[1]. A temporary to
permanent “buyout” ranges from
$1,000 to $2,200. These dollar figures
do not account for interview, hiring,
and training costs, which far exceed
interview acquisition costs.
Preparing for the Interview
The most important aspect of hiring,
next to the interview itself is
preparation.
The following two steps will
prepare the employer for affective
interviewing. When done properly,
these steps work in conjunction with
each other. They are:
(1) Analysing of résumés;
(2) Pre-planning the interview.
Analysing Résumés
Before discussion begins on how to
analyse résumés, one must consider
how much emphasis the résumé plays
in the hiring process. The résumé is a
tool only to be used as an attentiongetter and a means for allowing an
applicant to get his/her foot into the
door. It can be considered a reflection
of the candidate’s true person, but the
interview should be the real test[2].
Many an executive (some with help)
knows how to prepare an impressive
résumé. But in face-to-face confrontation
(interview) it may become apparent to a
perceptive manager that he totally lacks
the attributes required for a particular
position…an application or résumé gives
a knowledgeable interviewer an accurate
picture of the person he/she will shortly
see…what an applicant does not say
about himself may be far more revealing
than what he/she does say [in the
interview] if you know how to find
it…interview is your basic method of
securing the information you need to
make a final judgment[3, p. 46].
So what do you do with those 75
résumés received after advertising in
the LA Times? At the very minimum
half of these résumés should be
eliminated; otherwise, you will place a
tremendous burden on the personnel
department to screen through countless
applicants. On the other side of the
coin, you do not want to eliminate a
good candidate by passing over his/her
résumé. The next few paragraphs give
guidelines on how to discriminate
between the good and the bad résumés.
Before analysing the résumé, the most
important task to perform is to decide
what type of employee you are looking
for and what will be their minimum
qualifications[2]. After determining
minimum qualifications, you can
measure each résumé against the
following list. If a résumé meets or
exceeds these qualifications, it has
passed the initial test; otherwise, the
résumé should be “screened out”.
Listed below is a list of things to
consider when analysing a résumé or
application.
(1) Be aware of “functional” résumés
– very general, no dates of
employment, etc.
(2) Be aware of “qualifiers” – phrases
such as “knowledge of”, “assisted
with”[4].
(3) Be sensitive to sour grapes –
résumés
which
indicates
bitterness about past jobs[5].
(4) Notice sloppiness – misspelled
words, a copy of the résumé (not
an original)[4].
(5) Do not read more into a résumé
than is already there. If a skill is
not listed on the résumé, it means
the applicant lacks that skill[4].
(6) Look for a willingness to work
hard[4].
(7) Be careful with an employee that
distributes an overly long
résumé[5].
(8) Be careful when a candidate
issues an unusual size or color of
résumé[5].
(9) Do not consider a candidate who
issues their résumé on company
stationery[5].
(10) Note the skill and logic they
demonstrate in providing
information on an application[4].
(11) The ability to write intelligently
on an application and résumé[3,
p. 49].
(12) Search for signs of self-reliance
and initiative[3, p. 49].
(13) Review reasons for leaving the
last job[3, p. 50].
(14) Evaluate
intelligence
as
indicated by his/her application
or résumé[3, p. 50].
(15) Weigh candidate’s educational
background[3, p. 50].
(16) Do not pass final judgement in
advance[3, p. 50].
(17) Check
the
applicant’s
employment history. Look for job
hopping, similarities of career[3,
p. 50].
Pre-planning the Interview
Analysing the résumés and choosing
the right applicants to interview is not
enough to guarantee successful interviews. An interview thoroughly
planned ahead of time can increase the
odds of selecting the right person for
the job.
Preplanning for the interview begins
the same way as résumé analysis –
knowing the desired qualities of the
person you want to hire. Résumé
analysis only allows you to look for
tangible qualities (education, work
background, etc.), whereas the interview allows an opportunity to look
beyond the tangible – attitudes, work
ethics, personality, etc.
Before going further you must spend
time thinking of the tangible and
intangible qualities you are looking for
in the eventual employee. Make a list
of all tangible qualities desired: college
degree, computer hardware and
software knowledge and skills,
management background, market/
product knowledge, etc. Next, look at
your existing personnel within your
department and company. Ask yourself, what type of person would best fit
in that position? One with an
aggressive personality or more
passive? Does the position require an
outspoken person? Conservative
versus liberal? Many times these
principles are overlooked. Tangible
qualities (or lack of) are easier to train
or retrain than trying to change a
person’s ingrained personalities and
ideals.
Let’s be realistic. You will rarely
find a candidate who meets all the
requirements on your list. A candidate
must possess the absolute qualities
necessary to carry out the job at hand.
In retrospect, a candidate lacking only
trivial characteristics should not
necessarily be rejected.
The next step in preplanning the
interview is to determine what
questions to ask during the interview.
When developing the list of questions,
you should go back and review your
qualifications list. The questions asked
should be phrased in such a way that
when responded to, will clearly let you
know if the candidate will meet a
certain qualification from your list.
Appendix 1 lists a sample pool of
questions which could be used in an
interview. Questions should vary
depending on the position you are
hiring.
After the list of interview questions
are developed, it is a good idea to write
under each question the response
expected from the applicant.
Everything flows back to your
qualifications list. What kind of
response to the question asked would
generally meet your qualifications? For
example, a question might be, “Pick
something technical you learned
recently. Describe specifically how you
learned this”. You might be looking for
a person who is a “go getter”, self
teaching. Therefore, the response
would be, “looking for learning
methodology, e.g. self-taught rather
than depending on instruction from
others”[2].
A well-rounded interview will
include some sort of testing. Testing is
another step which, if used properly,
WS November, 1994 9
will help to uncover unspoken talents
and clarify if a person can meet specific
tangible job requirements. For
example, you might administer a typing
test to a potential secretary, a writing
assignment to a potential technical
writer, or a small programming
algorithm assignment to a software
engineer. Find a test which best suits a
“technical qualification” of the job.
Design the test where it would take an
average qualified applicant seven-toten minutes to complete. Appendix 2
represents a sample programmer’s
test[2].
Lastly, develop an evaluation sheet
to keep score of each applicant. There
are numerous scoring systems which
can be devised. The evaluation check
list should be tied somehow to your
original qualifications sheet. Some of
the areas to cover within the check list
are education, job experience, individual characteristics (appearance,
personality, communication skills),
specific technical skills, management
skills, etc. Again, your evaluation list
should correlate with desired tangible
and intangible qualities. Appendix 3
illustrates a sample check list. Ratings
are based on an “excellent” to “unsatisfactory” scale with “excellent” weighing more heavily on the scale (5 : 1). If
used correctly, the evaluation check list
should directly correlate with the
person you decide to hire.
When all of these steps have been
followed, you are ready to administer
the interview. This last section will
cover the dos and the don’ts, the whens
and the hows of selection interviewing.
The Selection Interview
The goal of the selection interview is
to find the best suitable person for the
job through a series of questions/
answers, discussions, and testing. If
you have done your work beforehand
(preplanning),the interview itself will
be much easier and the proper selection decision much more likely.
Review the qualifications that you
have set for the future employee to
have. Always keep your questions
centred on the qualifications of the
candidate. There is no set time for
which an interview should last
although an average interview will
last from 20 to 50 minutes.
In order to ensure yourself a successful interview, you must set the right
atmosphere. In the relatively short time
which is available to hear the applicant’s story, you must quickly establish
10 Work Study
a pleasant, relaxed atmosphere in
which the applicant, sure of your
interest and attention, is encouraged to
talk about him/herself. Your manner
and tone of voice are most important in
creating the proper interview climate.
Also, you must be able to concentrate
entirely on the discussion. Privacy is
vital, so take steps to avoid any
possible interruptions. For example,
hold the interview behind closed doors
and have your secretary hold your
calls. Any interference with conversational continuity destroys the effectiveness of the interview.
“Look for
something you
have in
common
with the
”
applicant
Just as important as creating the right
atmosphere for the interview is
“breaking the ice” or making the
applicant feel comfortable from the
start. How is this accomplished? Most
agree that you immediately look for
something you have in common with
the applicant. Whether it is a distinguishing clothes item or something
unique discovered in their résumé, lock
onto this for a short time to break any
barriers and to calm the applicant’s
nerves.
…always introduce myself to the applicant when he enters my office. Many are
nervous and everything seems to fly
from their memories. I have to put them
at ease, so I begin the discussion by
mentioning some mutual experience that
I have learned about from my study of
the application blank or résumé. Nearly
always the response is favorable and
much of the applicant’s nervous tension
is removed. He begins to talk pleasantly
about a subject with which we are both
familiar. If you can break the ice quickly,
and get the interview rolling, you are on
the right track”[3, p. 54].
Don’ts of Interviewing
Before discussing the “dos” of an
interview, a list of “don’ts” will be
addressed. This list was compiled
through the reading of research documentation, interviews and personal
experience[3, pp. 71-3].
(1) Do not be too formal – if you are
“too formal” a cold atmosphere
may be created and the applicant
could freeze up.
(2) Do not use a pencil too often –
you can throw the applicant off
stride if they see you are
recording every word of the
conversation.
(3) Do not let manner, tone of voice
or gesture reveal your thinking.
(4) Do not be bogged down by bias (a
subject to be discussed further in
this article).
(5) Do not be impatient. Leave plenty
of time open for the interview, so
you will not be in a hurry to run to
something else.
(6) Do not tell applicants you are
rejecting them for personal
reasons.
(7) Do not oversell the position to
persuade someone to take it.
(8) Do not ask multiple questions.
Make them short and simple.
(9) Do not fail to match the job to the
man/woman. If you think an
applicant is overqualified for a
job, rule him/her out.
(10) Do not prolong an interview. If
the applicant is clearly not
qualified, then cut it short.
(11) Be careful about asking personal
questions: age, marital status,
number of children, religion, etc.
Most questions related to these
issues are by law not to be a part
of the decision process.
(12) Do not talk about yourself. Give
all the attention to the candidate.
(13) Do not start off the interview by
describing the functions of the
position. Wait until the end, when
and only if you feel that candidate
is qualified to fill the position.
The employee might “tune”
his/her answers to your questions
if he/she knows about the job
functions beforehand.
Stick to the Game Plan
In order to guarantee (as much as one
can in this situation) a fair interview
with each applicant resulting in hiring
the “right” person, you must stick with
the established game plan. Which game
plan is that? The one you develop
before the first interview: qualifications
list, interview questions, test materials,
etc. One manager admitted he later
regretted hiring certain persons. When
asked what happened, his reply was
“that he didn’t stick to his game plan”.
In one case he was overly impressed
with the candidate’s educational background and that the test and some
questions were bypassed[2]. Even if
you deviate from the questions on your
sheet for a short time, always come
back to the list to guarantee all areas are
covered.
Be careful not to be so rigid with the
questions that the interview does not
run smoothly. “It is the mark of an
experienced interviewer to adapt his
method to the man and individualize
his techniques”[3, p. 34].
“The language used in questioning
from the standpoint of vocabulary and
terminology should be geared to the
educational attainments, experience,
and knowledge of the prospect; communications should be at eye-level and
ear-level both ways. A skilful interviewer knows how to appear natural
to the applicant; he neither talks up nor
down and carefully avoids technical
phrases or expressions that may not be
understood… intelligent flexibility is
an interviewing requisite”[3, p. 50].
New questions will arise from the
applicants’ responses to preset
questions. Let the interview flow in
this manner, always keeping in mind
your qualifications. “Actually your
object is to encourage the applicant to
talk, and so long as he is giving you
pertinent information, all you have to
do is sit back and listen. If he strays
from the subject, you can ask another
question to steer him back into the
proper conversational direction. When
you are satisfied that you have heard
enough about a certain topic, simply
wait for an appropriate pause, and then
ask a question on the next item you
wish to discuss”[3, p. 30].
Your goal is to determine whether
the applicant will meet your requirements for the position. Sticking to the
game plan should bring you to this
conclusion.
Beginning the Interview
A good way to begin an interview is to
allow the applicant to speak about
him/herself. “Tell me about yourself.”’
This type of question from the start will
reveal the applicants’ ability to
communicate, while you learn the basic
abilities of this person. Another reference suggests “a sensible beginning is to
select some aspect of the applicant’s
experience and ask a direct question
about it. “I see you were employed at
the ZX company for five years…tell me
about your job there…these are kinds of
questions that generally get the
applicant talking”[3, p. 39].
Taking Interview Notes
As stated before in the “don’ts of an
interview”, you do not want to be
caught writing too many notes. This
can break the flow of the interview and
cause the candidate to “freeze up”.
Your questionnaire and evaluation
sheet should be designed in such a way
that only a check mark or short
sentence will describe the candidates’
capabilities.
“Do not get
caught in the trap
of writing
too little and
relying on
”
memory
At the same time do not get caught in
the trap of writing too little and relying
too much on memory. You can avoid
getting applicants’ qualities mixed up
after several interviews. It is suggested
that Appendices 1 and 3 be used for
questionnaire and evaluation lists.
These lists were designed for quick and
easy note taking.
Listening
During an interview, employers can be
guilty of not listening. Lack of concentration can lead someone straight to
his/her forthcoming vacation in the
Hawaiian Islands leaving the applicant
far behind. It is imperative to work out
ways which ensure that your full
attention is focused on the applicant
during the interview. You not only need
to listen to what the applicant is saying,
but also to what they are not saying,
and what they actually mean.
The book How to Get Results from
Interviewing suggests several listening
principles in interviewing[3, pp. 41-5].
(1) Provide an environment that
permits concentration…you
require the privacy and quiet of a
comfortable relaxing room. You
should also do everything
possible to prevent distractions or
interruptions.
(2) Give the applicant your full
interest – if you are not interested
in what a speaker is saying, it is
difficult to listen to him/her.
(3) Ask questions in proper sequence.
Never skip backwards and
forwards without plan or pattern.
(4) Organize what you hear. If you
have prepared yourself properly
for the interview and developed
your powers of concentration to
the point where you can listen
attentively for a long period of
time, if you have asked the
questions in proper sequence…
you have organized the interview
in such a way that you can listen
with interpretive perception. In a
sense you have heard behind
his/her words and are therefore
able to make shrewd inferences
form the interview as a whole as
to his/her motives, and interests.
(5) Develop the discipline of
concentration.
(6) Listen for the meaning behind the
words. If an applicant uses a word
or an expression which is not the
one you would have chosen to
explain what you think is his/her
idea, do not take it for granted you
understand his meaning, ask for
clarification.
(7) Avoid the fast rebuttal. Listen
objectively, give him/her time to
reply and think.
(8) Use questions as a spur to
concentration. If you find your
attention is straying from the
trend of the discussions, wait for
the right moment and ask a
suitable question to pull back
your attention.
(9) Listen for basic ideas. Cut
through the smoke screen of
superficialities and superfluous
detail to hear the heart of ideas.
(10) The pause in the interview. Do not
worry if there is a pause in the
WS November, 1994 11
interview. The pause may mean
the applicant is further thinking
about his response. Give the
applicant plenty of time to think
through and respond. Jumping in
with another question at every
pause will only leave you with an
incomplete interview.
Interview Bias
A challenge for the interviewer is to
keep bias out of the interview. One
manager said that it was difficult to
deal with just because of physical
preference. Another manager claimed,
“Everyone seems to be biased in some
way or another”[1]. To avoid biased
decisions
(e.g.
beauty
over
qualifications), stick to the “game
plan”. Ask all the questions, and
administer the test no matter how
beautiful the applicant may be.
“A challenge
for the interviewer
is to keep
bias out
of the
”
interview
Do not deviate! This way the
qualifications of the applicant will
shine brighter than any specific trait
which might cause biased feelings.
How Many People Should Interview
There is no hard and fast rule regarding
the number of company personnel to be
involved in applicant interviews. The
general rule is, involve as few persons
as possible while still guaranteeing a
good decision. If you have done your
homework, less people will need to be
involved in the process. The chosen
applicant will be directly working for
you, no one else. Only allow your
superior to interview your top few
candidates. If the job is somewhat
technical and you are not qualified to
determine if the applicant possesses
that particular skill, then request that a
qualified company employee deter12 Work Study
mine that for you. Send the “top”
candidates to the technical person for
further evaluation. Before interviews
begin, decide which people will need
to be involved in the interview process.
Interview Evaluation
Once the interview is completed, it is
time to evaluate the applicant’s
suitability for employment. All things
should be considered: how did they
answer your questions, how well did
they do on the applied test, did their
qualifications meet those on your list?
How to Get Results from Interviewing
summarizes the evaluation process well.
“Your questioning has given you some
insight into his motives, intelligence,
and attitudes. You have knowledge of
his educational attainments and his past
experience…You can also make
estimates of his attributes and short
comings”[3, p. 68-70]. The following
guidelines may be useful:.
(1) Look at the whole man. All
humans are a mixture of faults,
virtues, strengths and weaknesses.
Simply because you have uncovered some of the applicants
defects, do not permit this to
distort your judgement.
(2) Use checks and balances. Try to
avoid building a mold into which
the applicant must fit before you
will consider him/her. Compensatory qualities, experiences, or
abilities often make up for
deficiencies.
(3) Seek the successful combination.
Since no two people are alike,
flexibility in judgement is required
in selecting a job applicant.
(4) Pay attention to essentials.
Past performances are still
the best predictor of future
accomplishments.
(5) Analyse the significance of the
information. Every word the
applicant has spoken during the
interview – even what he/she has
left unsaid – is an indication of
the type of person he/she is.
References
1. Interview with Hans Assarian,
Personnel Manager, American
Magnetics Corp., 740 Watsoncenter
Rd, Carson, CA 90745, 25 April 1991.
2. Interview with Tom Hessler, Software
Engineering Director, American
Magnetics Corp., 740 Watsoncenter
Rd, Carson, CA 90745, 18 April 1991.
3. Black, J.M., How to Get Results from
Interviewing, Robert E. Krieger
Publishing Company, Malabar, FL,
1982.
4. Half, R., “10 tips for Analyzing a
Résumé”, The Practical Accountant,
July 1987, p. 77.
5. Davison, J.P., “How to Read between
the Lines of a Résumé”, The Practical
Accountant, August 1985, pp. 68-9.
Further Reading
Daniel, C., “Science, System, or Hunch:
Alternative Approaches to Improving
Employee Selection”, Public Personnel
Management, Vol. 15 No. 1, Spring
1986, pp. 1-9.
Dvorak, D.F., “References, Résumés, and
other Lies”, Executive Exchange, June
1987, p. 25.
McDade, S.M., “Interviewing Savvy”,
Management Solutions, February 1988,
pp. 21-22.
Appendix 1: Interview Questionsa
Are you still considering a move from your
present job? Why?
Have you worked on a project team before?
Describe your role and duties on the team.
Pick your best work attribute. Describe how
it affected a recent project.
Pick your worst attribute.
Pick something technical you learned
recently. Describe specifically how you
learned.
Describe a specific situation in which your
perspective or philosophy differed
significantly from that of your manager.
Describe how you handled the situation.
How would you handle it now?
When are you available for work?
Conclusion
Do you have a computer at home?
Enough cannot be said about the
importance of the selection interview.
When carried out properly, there is a
strong probability that the right
applicant will be hired. A company full
of the “right” employees in the “right”
positions will create the makings of a
very successful firm. It all begins with
a well-constructed selection interview.
When do you say a project is “done”,
“finished?”
Describe some activities you were involved
in on a typical day.
Describe some problems you encountered.
How did you resolve them?
Describe your one major contribution to the
company
Describe your major strength, your major
weakness
What area do you seek to improve or
develop?
Appendix 2: Example Test Question
Problem Outline
We wish to develop a flow chart for a
program which will merge two sequential
files.
What do you like about your current boss?
What do you dislike about him/her?
How would your boss describe you?
What can you add about yourself that
would convince me to hire you?
In your application you say you majored in
English at Utah State. Why did you select
English?
What college courses gave you the most
trouble?
In which ones did you do the best?
What extracurricular activities interested
you most?
Did you enjoy college life?
Input
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An ASCII number in the range 0-999999
File 2: A non-continuous sequence of
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In what accomplishments on your last job
did you take most pride?
For what kind of company do you think you
can do your best work?
Did you ever become involved in
emergency situations and work long hours
under pressure? Tell me about such an
experience.
Suppose you take this job. What are your
long-range ambitions? In other words, what
job would you like to have ten years from
now?
aQuestions samples derived from[1,2 and 3].
a. Education completed
b. Applicable prior work
experience
c. Education in progress
2. Personal characteristics
a. Appearance
b. Assertive
c. Positive
d. Initiative
e. Poised
3. Skills level
a. Accuracy
b. Verbal communication
c. Written presentation
d. Detailed minded
e. Organized
4. Other observations
If you had to do it over again would you
major in English?
In your application you aren’t too clear
about why you left your last job. How about
telling me some of the reasons?
Rating
1. Résumé/job application data
Appendix 3: Candidate Interview
Evaluation
Candidate name:
a. Within reasonable
travel distance
b. Likelihood of staying
c. Self-presentation
Interviewer name:
d. Promotable
Date/time:
e. Punctuality
f. Other
Position applied for:
Rating scale:
5 = Excellent
5. Comments
a. Would you hire candidate
(yes = 5, no = 1)
4 = Very good
3 = Acceptable
2 = Fair
1 = Unsatisfactory
Michael Hackney and Brian H. Kleiner are
based in the Department of Management,
School of Business Administration and
Economics, California State University,
Fullerton, California, USA.
Blank = not evaluated
WS November, 1994 13