Effective interview skills

Interview
Skills
Prepared By:
Dr. Marwa Obeid
Consultant, Management Development & Training

Selection
&Recruitment
Overview

A process of matching individual skills and job
requirements
Recruitment & Selection

Bases of Selection Process
The selection process has to be based on:
• HR Planning
• Job Description
 Includes; tasks, duties and responsibilities that the job entails
• Job Specifications
 Includes; knowledge, skills, and abilities required of the job
holder

Types of Recruitment
Internal Recruiting
Hiring a person from within the organization (transfer /
promotion) – through internal posting.
Advantages
Raising morale
Internal career ladder
Reduce recruitment costs
Reduce training costs
Disadvantages
Morale problems among
those skipped over
Political overtones
Can create critical gap in
another department
Bias play a role

Cont …
External Recruiting
Hiring a person from outside the organization
Advantages
 New blood
 New perspective on
competitors
 Cheaper than training
 Avoid political problems
 Advertising for the
company
Disadvantages
 Difficult to find a good fit
 Discourage internal progress
 Job orientation takes longer
 Lower productivity in the
short run
 Possibility of personality
conflicts

Completion of application form
Preliminary screening
Employment tests
Employment interview
Background investigation
Verification of references
Job offering
Medical exam Note:
An applicant may be
rejected after any step
in the process.
Reception of applicants
Hiring
Steps of The Selection Process

Interview
Formal / in-depth conversation where interviewer and
applicant exchange information
The most widely used selection procedure/tool

Interview Purpose
To determine if the candidate;
• Can do the job
• Can do the job well
• Fits into the team
• Fits into the organization
Whataretheadvantages&thedisadvantages
ofinterviews?

How To Insure The Interview
Success ?
Interviewers are the basic elements of the
interview
To assure the success of an interview, all
interviewers should be trained to use the best
available interviewing techniques.

Advantages
More reliable and accurate
Best for determining organizational fit and interpersonal skills.
Objective evaluation - More valid as there’s no scope for
subjectivity
Help inexperienced interviewers to conduct useful interviews
Obtains Decision Making Facts
Eliminates Discrimination
Disadvantages
One size may not fit all
Structured Interview
Includes a set of standardized, closed, short & clearly-worded
questions (Checklist of questions )

Advantages
Candidates are more comfortable
Encourages applicant to do much of the talking
Lots of data are collected for better evaluation of the
knowledge, skills, attitude, feelings, ….etc.
Disadvantages
Non-standardized
Subjective evaluation
Often time-consuming
More likely used for top management
Unstructured Interview
An interview in which the applicant is allowed the maximum
amount of freedom in determining the course of the discussion

Behavioral Description
Interview (BDI)
An interview in which an applicant is asked questions about
what he/she actually “did” in prior job situations that are
similar to situations they may encounter on the job.
Research indicates that behavioral interviews are nearly eight
times more effective than other interview formats.

Situational Interview
An interview in which an applicant is given action situations
that might be encountered on the job and asked how he/she
“would” respond to it.

Video Interview
Using video conference technologies to evaluate job
candidates’ technical abilities, skills and appearance
Advantages
Less cost than the face-to-face interview

One-to-One Interview
Applicant meets an interviewer
Disadvantage
Bias could be occurred
Highly subjective

Conducted by two or more interviewers from various
departments
Panel or Board Interviews
Advantages
It overcomes any biases that individual
interviewers might have.
Reduces subjectivity.
Improve interactions for better assessment.

Several interviewees (3-10) together in a group discussion at
one time
Take the form of a problem-solving exercise
Group Interviews
Disadvantages
Needs highly skilled interviewers / moderators
Expensive
“Loud-mouths” may control

I. Review
1. Review applicant’s job application & résumé
2. Review the job description & job requirements

II. Prepare
1. Prepare the evaluation form
2. Prepare the plan
3. Prepare the place

(2)
Developing
Interview
Questions

Designing Questions
 Base questions on actual job duties
 Develop questions related to 3-4 important qualities required
 Design questions which probe experience and seek evidence
 Standardize the types of questions asked.
 Test the questions to ensure they can be answered
 Train the interviewers to rate the answers
 Prepare straightforward questions
 Develop several questions;
 Open Ended Questions
 Closed Ended Questions (Yes/No questions)

Questions about content or skills if already obvious
Personal private questions
Non-job-relevant questions
Poor questions …… example?
 We think long-term relationships are important; how long
do you expect to remain in this position?
Questions to be Avoided

Group Work
- Perform Teams
- Assign a Position for each team
- Develop Questions
- Design Evaluation Form

Anatomy of the Interview
Part I
Welcome
Chronological review of the resume
Collecting information
Use probing phrases
Part II
Sell the job and the organization
Providing Information
Close the interview

Probing Phrases
Why?
What happened next?
Please continue
So…..???
Yes….?
Go on
Please be more specific
And….?
Uh huh….
That’s interesting
Really?
Give me another example
Hmmmmmm
What were you thinking?
Why was that important?

(4)
Problems in
Conducting
Interviews

Related to Interviewers
 Inexperienced interviewers
 Untrained interviewers
 Closed minded interviewers
 Not knowing the job
 Poor communication skills
 Poor listening skills
 Influenced by candidates nonverbal behavior
 Affected by first impression
 Believe on their ability to “read” a candidate
 Snap judgment
 Not taking notes – You’ll forget interview’s content within minutes

Related to Procedures
 Unstructured
 Unorganized
 Unplanned
 Too formal or too informal
 Questions are not job-related
 Some valuable information is not considered
 Engaging in friendly chitchat with candidates
 Pressured to hire

Biases in Interviews
 Personal bias
 Same sex bias
 Prior knowledge about the applicant.
 An interviewer’s tendency to favor applicants who share his own
attitudes.

(5)
Tips for
Successful
Interview

General Guidelines
 Establish an interview plan
 Set specific objectives and scope of each interview.
 Know the job well
 Use questions effectively & assure consistency
 Use the same questions with all candidates
 Ask more open-ended questions
 Avoid aggressive and/or private question
 Standardize the interview process & questions for a certain job
 Give careful attention to the selection of the interviewers.
 Train interviewers

Cont …
 Use panel interviews (recommended)
 Establish and maintain rapport (links).
 Allow enough time
 Control interview discussion & time – avoid candidate leading
the process
 Minimize biases and stereotypes
 Avoid the influence of “beautyism.”
 Provide information as freely and honestly as possible.
 Put the applicant at ease
 Pay attention to body language / nonverbal communication.

Cont …
 Encourage the applicant to do most of the talking
 Listen actively & attentively
 Don’t make snap decisions
 Take brief notes during the interview immediately
 Record facts not emotions
 Review your interview notes & evaluate immediately
 Review & evaluate “after” NOT “during”
 Evaluate yourself & the interview process

Evaluate Yourself After the
Interview
 Goal is to develop your performance in conducting interviews
 Did you arrive on time?
 Did you dress professionally?
 Did you plan & organize the interview properly?
 Did you communicate effectively?
 Did you set properly & maintain your body language?
 Did you maintain eye contact & smile?
 Did you develop questions effectively & consistently?
 Did you ask questions correctly?
 Did you listen effectively?
 Did you gain more experience?
 What are good and/or bad things happened?
 Did you close the interview properly?

Communication Skills
Communication is the process of sending and receiving
messages between “Sender” & “Receiver”
It is EFFECTIVE only when
The message is clear & understood
It stimulates feedback
Your ability to communicate effectively with the
interviewee increases the interview effectiveness.

Cont …
Communication forms used in the interview;
 Verbal Communication
Talking (Oral)
Listening (Audio)
 Non-Verbal
Body language (Visual)

Analyze your time in Interview
45% Listening
30% Talking
16% Reading
9% Writing

Principles of an Effective
Interviewer
Responsible
Interviewer is responsible for success or failure of interview
Professionals accept responsibility
Organized
Organize interviewers roles
Organize your documents
Organize your speech
Have the appropriate attitude
Be warm, accepting, understanding, open minded, honest,
fair, smiley, friendly….etc
Have a professional appearance

Case Study
- Watch the Videos
- Evaluate the Interviewer skills

0564042226
3mobeid@gmail.com
@Marwaobeid
For Communication
Marwa Obeid

Effective interview skills

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