Leadership Skills Training: Interviewing

TAKE NOTE! This Word file contains ALL of the Key Points contained in the Interviewing training module.

Reminders

Key points from the Interviewing Basics section.

Interviews can be used for the purpose of:

  • Selecting Individuals.
  • Promoting Individuals.
  • Conducting Research/Gathering Information.

Some common interview formats include:

  • In-person.
  • Telephone.
  • Virtual.

Interviews may be conducted by:

  • A Single Interviewer.
  • An interview panel or team.

There are several interview types, including:

  • Traditional.
  • Stress/Pressure.
  • Situational.
  • Behavioral.

There are many opening stems for behavioral questions. Several of these are:

  • Tell me about…
  • Describe a situation in which you…
  • Describe the most significant…
  • Share a story in which you…
  • What did you do the last time…
  • Give me an example of a situation in which you…
  • Describe an opportunity/challenge that you faced…

For the purpose of selection, we suggest that you use:

  • An in-person format when possible to allow evaluation of verbal and non-verbal behavior.
  • An interview team, of between two and four interviewers with appropriate backgrounds.
  • A completely structured interview to ensure fairness to interviewees and to allow valid comparisons to be made.
  • A behavioral interview, as the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior.

Key Points from the Interview Preparation Section

There are several types of questions you can develop, including:

  • Open Behavioral Questions
  • Contrary-evidence questions.
  • Continuum questions.
  • Self-appraisal questions.

Here are some examples of elaboration prompts you may choose to use:

  • Tell me more.
  • What happened then?
  • Please go on.
  • Will you tell me more about that?

Here are some examples of follow-up questions you may choose to ask:

  • I’d like to return to my original question, which was…
  • Tell me more about when you…
  • Will you explain…
  • I’d like to hear more about how you…
  • Help me to better understand…

The seven steps to developing interview questions are:

1. Select a criterion behavior about which you would like to develop a question.

2. Select an item stem.

3. Decide on the item type.

4. Write the question.

5. Evaluate the question.

6. Revise the question if needed.

7. Repeat until you have developed several questions.

When you evaluate a question, ask yourself the following:

  • Does the question address a particular behavior or set of behaviors?
  • Is a behavior in the criterion behavior list being explicitly addressed?
  • Does the behavior relate to the program or organizational criteria?
  • Is the question open-ended?
  • Does the question address an off-limit topic? (More information on this is presented later in the training module.)
  • Is the question appropriate for the experience level of the interviewees?
  • Can all interviewees answer the question?

To structure an interview, you should:

  • Only write open-ended behavioral questions.
  • Narrow the list to a select few questions you will ask of each interviewee.
  • Determine the order in which each question will consistently be asked.
  • Determine who will consistently ask each question.
  • Develop a consistent interview structure.

An interview is composed of three distinct stages, including:

  • The opening.
  • The information exchange.
  • The closing.

Avoid questions that concern:

  • Age
  • Birthplace/National Origin
  • Race/Color/Ethnicity
  • Religion
  • Heath/Disability
  • Sexual Orientation
  • Arrests
  • Credit
  • Personal Information (height, weight, etc.)

Key Points for Conducting Interviews

Just before an interview begins, conduct an interview team meeting in which you:

  • Agree on and review interview format and structure
  • Agree on and review interview questions
  • Discuss individual interviewee information

During the opening:

  • Be warm and inviting to interviewees.
  • Use open body language, including open posturing and smiling.
  • Introduce to the interviewee.
  • Tell the interviewee what will happen during the interview.
  • Resist the temptation to ask personal, irrelevant questions!

During the information exchange:

  • Ask questions in the same order for each candidate.
  • A single interviewer should ask a particular question among interviews.
  • Allow each interviewer to ask at least one question.
  • Allow the interviewee to talk 80% of the time during this stage.
  • Ask easier questions first.
  • Allow periods of silence.
  • Give sufficient time for the interviewee to respond fully.
  • Take specific notes about each response given.

During the closing:

  • Tell the interviewee what will be happening next.
  • Do not rush to conclude the interview.
  • Thank the interviewee for their time and effort.
  • Ask the candidate if they have any questions.
  • To end the interview, offer a handshake.

Interviewees have given a complete response when they have:

  • Described a specific situation that is in accordance with what they were asked.
  • Explained which actions they took in the situation to solve the problem, complete the task or resolve a difficulty.
  • Discussed the results of their actions.

Look out for the following response types:

  • The change the topic response.
  • The short response.
  • The general response.

The best interviewers talk about the interviewees in a three-step process:

1)They first share who they consider to be at the bottom, at the top, and in the middle. If there is general agreement on the bottom and top then you do not need to spend a lot of time on them.

2)If there is disagreement, then it is helpful to simply identify in your comments the source of disagreement (e.g. I think she is confident but my teammate perceived her as egotistical).

3)Finally, spend time identifying strengths and weakness of those in the middle.

When making your final evaluation of candidates, you should:

  • Use a consistent scale with behavioral anchors.
  • Base your ratings on your comments for each criterion rather than on your general impression of the interviewee.
  • Try to avoid making common rating errors (discussed in next section).
  • Do not share your actual ratings with others.

Key Points for Avoid Common Interviewing Mistakes

The most common interviewer mistakes include:

  • Inappropriate Questioning.
  • Abandoning Structure.
  • Disparate Treatment.
  • Disparate Impact.
  • Inhibiting Responses.
  • Giving up Control.
  • Comparing Interviewees.
  • Acting on “Hunches.”

The verbal inhibiting responses we often make include:

  • Rejection.
  • Criticism.
  • Moralistic responses.
  • Belittling responses.
  • Sarcasm.
  • Impatience.
  • Distraction.
  • Self-disclosures.

The non-verbal inhibiting responses we often make include:

  • Displaying closed body language.
  • Avoiding eye contact.
  • Failing to use active listening techniques.

Bias can be problematic when we:

  • Treat groups of people differently.
  • Make evaluations for groups of people differently.
  • Ask questions of people that favor one group.
  • Act on “hunches” or “gut feelings.”
  • Ask inappropriate questions.