Interviewing Candidates

 Interviews are defined as face to face communication method for knowing
some information about the potential job candidates.
 Objectives of Interview
1. First, it is the only way to see an applicant in action – how he looks, his
manner, his bearing.
2. Second, it is the only way to witness how he interacts and how he responds,
his way of thinking, the effect of his personality on others.
3. Third, helps establish mutual understanding between the company and the
candidate and build the company’s image.
 Limitations of the Interview
 Interview can help judge the personality of the candidate but not his ability for
the job.
 The biases of interviewers may cloud the objectivity of interview.
 Basic Features of Interviews
 Types of interviews
1. Screening interview
2. Selection interview
3. Appraisal interview
4. Exit interview
 Interviews formats
1. Structured
2. Unstructured
 Types of Interviews (Under Basic Feature)
 SCREENING INTERVIEWS: Candidate’s first interview with a company will

often be a screening interview.The purpose of a screening interview is to
ensure that prospective candidates meet the basic qualifications for a given
position. It may take place in person or on the telephone.If the candidate
meets the basic qualifications, expresses interest in the position, and makes a
positive impression on the interviewer, the candidate will likely be selected for
a selection interview.
 Selection interview: Selection interviews are typically conducted onsite at the
hiring company.The purpose of a selection interview is to determine whether a
candidate will be selected for the position he or she is interviewing for.A
selection interview is typically more difficult than a screening interview.At this
point, a company is trying to decide whether or not the candidate should
either be moved to the next step in the hiring process or an offer is going to
be extended, so there will be more scrutiny than with a screening interview.
 Appraisal interview: A discussion which is part of a performance evaluation,

in which supervisor and employee discuss the employee’s performance in
the firm and possible ways to improve performance (corrective actions)
 Exit interview: An interview conducted on an employee who is leaving the

firm to gather information about what’s wrong with the firm, it’s policies and
practices etc. i.e. why is the employee leaving, what could be improved etc?
 Formats of Interviews (Under Basic Feature)
 Structured or directive interview: An interview following a fixed sequence of

questions.In a structured interview, each candidate is asked similar questions
in a prearranged format. Typically, the interviewer records your answers.
 Unstructured or nondirective interview: An unstructured conversational-

style interview in which the interviewer pursues points of interest as they come
up in response to questions.Unstructured interviews flow like an everyday
conversation and tend to be more informal and open-ended.
 Interview Content: Nature of Interview
 Situational interview: An interview that asks how a candidate would behave

in a particular situation in the future, i.e. what course of action he or she would
take. Ex- you might ask a managerial candidate how he or she would behave if
an employee under him came to work late 3 days in a row
 Behavioral interview: An interview that asks how a candidate behaved in a

particular situation in the past, i.e. what course of action he or she took. Ex- asking
a managerial candidate how they behaved when employees under them came
to work late 3 days in a row. Did they give a warning, or immediately suspend
for a week? STAR technique : Situation, Task, Action, Result
 Stress interview: An interview which deliberately tries to expose the

weaknesses of the candidate and make him or her uncomfortable (by being a
bit insensitive and perhaps rude as well). The objective is to find out how the
candidate behaves when faced with “stress”, i.e. criticism, verbal abuse or
impolite language from the interviewer.If he or she breaks down, the
candidate has a low stress tolerance. If they maintain their composure, then
stress tolerance is high. Some jobs require these skills (high stress tolerance,
thick skin, ability to handle criticism) such as call center operators, customer
service agents, door-to-door salesmen etc.
 Puzzle questions: Analytical questions which require candidates to think and

give a calculated answer. Interview puzzles are one of the ways a hiring
manager can test your problem-solving and thinking skills. These types of
questions are commonly presented to programmers, analysts and coders, but
any candidate should be prepared as these types of questions can show up in
any interview. The most notable example of “puzzle interview” which was
popularized by Microsoft in the 1990s
 Interview Structure
1. One-on-one Interview: An interview conducted by a single interviewer on a

single candidate
2. Panel Interview: An interview where a group of interviewers (usually two to

three or more) interview a candidate simultaneously (also called a board
interview)
3. Sequential Interview: An interview in which a candidate goes through a series

of interviews (one by one), with different interviewers each time. Each
interviewer gives a different score to the candidate. Can be Structured or
Unstructured: In an unstructured sequential interview, each interviewer asks
his own questions (whatever he thinks is appropriate). In a structured
sequential interview, each interviewer uses a standard questioning form and
asks only those questions
4. Group interview: A group interview is a screening process where

you interview multiple candidates at the same time. The point of a
group interview is to see how candidates choose to stand out from each
other, how well candidates function in a group of people they do not know
and if candidates show the teamwork attributes that you need.Interviewer can
be one or more than one but candidates will be multiple
5. Telephone Interview: Calling candidates and taking interviews over the phone.:
Strengths: Candidate does not have to worry about appearance or other
physical factors, therefore can focus on the questions.Weakness: Interviewer
cannot use body language, less visual information obtained about candidate
(height, weight, posture etc….needed for some jobs, such as army or police)
6. Computerized interview: An interview where the candidate is given questions
on a computer screen and asked to respond either electronically (through the
computer) or through voice (which is recorded)..Strengths:Managers don’t
waste time interviewing useless candidates.Candidates are more honest with
computers (no shyness, because computers don’t judge)voids interviewer bias
(snap judgements). Weaknesses:However, candidates may feel dissatisfied
(mechanical nature of the interview, no emotional satisfaction of giving a
good interview)
 Designing and Conducting a good Interview
 The best interview type is the structured situational interview
1. Because reliability and validity are guaranteed
2. If I have 10 questions to ask (i.e. structured), then I will get 10 answers every
time, so it is consistent in it’s responses (reliable)
3. If I create the questions beforehand (before doing the interview), then I can
choose them carefully so that they are job-related (valid)
4. Also, situational interviews are applicable to all candidates (what would you
do?) compared to behavioral interviews (what did you do?)
5. Behavioral interviews limit the responses to the candidates’ own experience,

but situational interviews can be applied to all candidates
 Difference between Cv and Resume
 Conversation with an industry expert

Interviewing Candidates

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 Interviews are defined as face to face communication method for knowing

some information about the potential job candidates.

 Limitations of the Interview

 The biases of interviewers may cloud the objectivity of interview.

 Basic Features of Interviews

 Types of Interviews (Under Basic Feature)

 SCREENING INTERVIEWS: Candidate’s first interview with a company will

 Appraisal interview: A discussion which is part of a performance evaluation,

 Exit interview: An interview conducted on an employee who is leaving the

 Formats of Interviews (Under Basic Feature)

 Structured or directive interview: An interview following a fixed sequence of

 Unstructured or nondirective interview: An unstructured conversational-

 Interview Content: Nature of Interview

 Situational interview: An interview that asks how a candidate would behave

 Behavioral interview: An interview that asks how a candidate behaved in a

 Stress interview: An interview which deliberately tries to expose the

 Puzzle questions: Analytical questions which require candidates to think and

1. One-on-one Interview: An interview conducted by a single interviewer on a

2. Panel Interview: An interview where a group of interviewers (usually two to

3. Sequential Interview: An interview in which a candidate goes through a series

4. Group interview: A group interview is a screening process where

 Designing and Conducting a good Interview

 The best interview type is the structured situational interview

1. Because reliability and validity are guaranteed

5. Behavioral interviews limit the responses to the candidates’ own experience,

 Difference between Cv and Resume

 Conversation with an industry expert

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