Interviewing 101

Presented By

Jessica Terwilliger
Recruitment and Staffing Coordinator
Human Resources
 Key to a good interview
• The key to a good interview will always lie in
your ability to avoid common hiring
mistakes and assess potential talent in the
interview process.
• But keep in mind that more new hires fail due
to personality-culture mismatch than technical
skills mismatch, so keep a keen eye out for
compatible styles  in terms of communication,
pace, constructive criticism, and work hour
commitments in candidates’ responses.
 Assess the Candidate’s Desire Factor

• Did the candidate research your company, its achievements,

competitors, and challenges prior to an interview. Still,
some will go out of their way to articulate their
understanding of who you are and why they’re so excited
about joining your firm. Try questions like these to isolate
those who are hungriest for the opportunity that you offer: 
• Why would you want to work here, and what do you know
about our organization?
• What makes us stand out in your mind from our
competitors?
• How would this role with our company provide a link to
your future career progression?
 Behavioral Interviews
• A behavioral question (behavior-based interview questions) is a
question that aims at learning about your past “behaviors” in
specific work situations.  
• How you have “behaved” in certain situations in the past will give
them clues on how you’ll behave in those same situations when
working for them in the future.

Tell me about a time…..

Situation
Behavior
Outcome
Common Behavior Based
Question Categories

 Teamwork oriented
 Problem solving
 Initiative/Leadership
 Interpersonal Skills
 Challenge/stress/pressure
 Behavioral Interview Questions
• “Describe a Situation Where You Disagreed With a Supervisor.”
• “Tell me about a time you had a conflict at work.”
• “Tell me about a situation where you had to solve a difficult problem.”
• “Describe a project or idea (not necessarily your own) that was
implemented primarily because of your efforts.”
• “Do you feel you work well under pressure? If so, describe a time when
you have done so…”
• “Give me an example of a time when you motivated others.”
• “Tell me about a time where you had to delegate tasks during a project”
• “Give me an example of when you showed initiative and took the lead.”
• “Tell me about a time when you missed an obvious solution to a
problem.”
• “Tell me about your proudest professional accomplishment.”
 INTERVIEWING QUESTIONS GUIDELINES

Ca te g o ry Unla wful La wful

Ag e  Ho w o ld a re yo u ?  O n th e a p p lic a tio n , if th e y d id n o t c o m p le te ,
 Wh a t is yo u r d a te o f b irth ? yo u c a n a sk th e m if th e y a re 18 ye a rs o f a g e o r
 Ma y I se e yo u r b irth c e rtific a te o r b a p tism a l o ld e r?
re c o rd s?
Arre st/ Co nvic tio n Re c o rd  Ha ve yo u e ve r b e e n a rre ste d ?  If th e a p p lic a n t d id n o t c h e c k o r c o m p le te o n
th e a p p lic a tio n th e c rim in a l re c o rd p o rtio n , yo u
m a y a sk if th e y h a ve e ve r b e e n c o n vic te d o f a
c rim e .
 If so , w h e n , w h e re a n d w h a t w a s th e n a tu re o f
th e c rim e – h a ve th e m c o m p le te
 Are th e re a n y fe lo n y c h a rg e s p e n d in g a g a in st
yo u ?
Ma rita l Sta tus  Are yo u m a rrie d , se p a ra te d , d ivo rc e d ,  Do yo u h a ve a n y c o m m itm e n ts th a t m ig h t
w id o w e d o r sin g le ? h in d e r yo u r a tte n d a n c e a t w o rk?
 Ha ve yo u e ve r b e e n m a rrie d , se p a ra te d ,  Are yo u a va ila b le to w o rk th e d a y (o r n ig h t)
d ivo rc e d ? sh ift?
 Wh a t is yo u r sp o u se s n a m e a n d w h a t d o e s h e
do?
 Do yo u h a ve c h ild re n ?
Se x  Are yo u m a le o r fe m a le ?  No n e
 Are yo u p re g n a n t?
 Are yo u p la n n in g o n h a vin g c h ild re n o r m o re
c h ild re n ?
 Do yo u u se b irth c o n tro l?
Se xua l Orie nta tio n  Wh a t is yo u r se xu a l p re fe re n c e ?  No n e
 Are yo u h o m o se xu a l, tra n sse xu a l, le sb ia n o r
b ise xu a l?
 Are yo u g a y?
Use o f la wful p ro d uc ts  Do yo u sm o ke ?  Q u o te C o m p a n ie s p o lic y o n “sm o ke -fre e a n d
 Do yo u u se to b a c c o p ro d u c ts? d ru g -fre e e n viro n m e n t o n ly”
 Do yo u d rin k?
 INTERVIEWING QUESTIONS GUIDELINES

Ca te g o ry Unla wful La wful

Ra c e  Wh a t is yo u r ra c e ?  No n e
 Are yo u Afric a n -Am e ric a n , C a u c a sia n , Na tive
Am e ric a n , Asia n ?
 Wh a t ra c e a re yo u r p a re n ts? C h ild re n ?
Sp o u se ?
Re lig io n  Wh a t re lig io n a re yo u ?  No n e
 Do yo u g o to c h u rc h ?
 Fo r w h a t re lig io u s h o lid a ys w ill yo u b e
u n a va ila b le to w o rk?
 Do e s yo u r re lig io n p re ve n t yo u fro m w o rkin g
w e e ke n d s o r h o lid a ys?
 Wh o is yo u r p a sto r?
Pe rso na l Ap p e a ra nc e  Ho w ta ll a re yo u ?  Q u o te th e “Dre ss C o d e ” p o lic y if th e re is o n e
 Ho w m u c h d o yo u w e ig h ?
 Wh a t c o lo r is yo u r h a ir?
 Do yo u h a ve a n y ta tto o s?
Na tio na l Orig in/ Anc e stry  Wh e re w e re yo u b o rn ?  No n e
 Ma y I se e yo u r b irth c e rtific a te ?
 Wh e re w e re yo u r p a re n ts/ g ra n d p a re n ts b o rn ?
 Wh a t is yo u r first la n g u a g e ?
 Wh a t la n g u a g e d o yo u sp e a k a t h o m e ?
Citize nship  Are yo u a n a tu ra lize d o r n a tive -b o rn c itize n ?  Are yo u a U.S. c itize n ?
 Wh e n d id yo u b e c o m e a c itize n ?  Are yo u le g a lly p e rm itte d to w o rk in th e U.S.
 Are yo u r p a re n ts c itize n s?
 Do yo u in te n d in b e c o m in g a n Am e ric a n
C itize n ?
Fina nc ia l Info rma tio n  Ha ve yo u e ve r d e c la re d b a n kru p tc y?  No n e
 Ha s yo u r p a y e ve r b e e n g a rn ish e d ?
 Are yo u o b lig a te d to p a y c h ild su p p o rt?
 Are yo u re c e ivin g p u b lic a ssista n c e ?
 Do yo u re n t o r o w n yo u r h o m e ?
 Do yo u o w n a c a r?
 Why A Phone Interview?
Phone interviews can be a great method to get
knowledge about a candidate before making a decision
to get them in for an interview in person. With the help
of phone interviews, hiring managers, employers and
HR professionals are able to improve their
opportunities of discovering the ideal employee by
finding out candidates that stand out and filtering out
those who are not the right fit even before a face to face
interview which is particularly time consuming. Follow
below tips for conducting phone interviews effectively.
 Let’s Get Started …
1. Get all the tools ready:
Make sure you have consistent and good connection, if recording do a test run. Do
maintain a notebook, pen and other noting tools. Make sure you have the phone
number and any other contact details with you.

2. Prepare:
It is important to learn about a candidate as much as possible prior to an interview.
You should have in front of you: the resume and any additional details that have
been provided, through online application or such. Even make sure that you have
the description in front of you of the job title you are hiring for, to ask them
questions related to the experience they have mentioned in the provided
information.

3. Know your interview questions in advance:

Know what you wish to ask and generate questions to ask at interview to acquire
complete knowledge about the candidate. Keep it short and direct.
4. Send the candidate complete details:
Make the preparation for the candidate easy, for the interview send them
complete details about the company, of the people they will be speaking to and
the related phone numbers. Sharing the plan can be beneficial and helpful as
well.

5. Avoid distractions:
Phone interviewing is not the moment where you can text message someone or
can check e-mails. You need to eliminate any kind of distractions that you are
aware can disturb you and try to focus on the interview.

6. Avoid talking too much:

A number of people are comfortable speaking in person and some on the phone.
You must maintain the face to face interview principles, ask short questions and
listen to the candidate throughout. This is a filtering system for both candidate
and the interviewer. Keep it short and detailed so that you leave room for the in
person interview to ask more questions.
7. Plan a structure for the interview:
It is good to have a structure for the interview, so that you do not miss out on
anything, ask all the questions you wished to ask and give the candidate time for
questions.

8. Create checklist:
You can even create a checklist to make sure you are on track with the structure
you have prepared. It will even help you to not miss out on any part during the
phone call. As you gradually conduct and get done with each step you can mark
off the step from the list. Note taking is also a great idea.

9. Ideal Structure:
The ideal structure for an interview can be by starting with an introduction of
you or anyone else that may be involved in the call and then follow by thanking
them for their time and look for any initial concerns. Provide them with a short
but sufficient introduction about the company and the role and then let them
give overview about themselves. Have a transparent discussion with
opportunities to clear all concerns and close it with providing details about
further actions.
10. Be Ready for the unexpected:
Job seekers may never know when the Interviewer may ask them certain
question that will be unique and odd during an interview. It goes the same for
that Interviewer as the candidate during the phone interview might pop up
some question out of the ordinary or says something alarming or surprising.
Preparing for job interview in advance will be beneficial to give away the right
and appropriate answer to any rare situations arising.

11. Maintain flexibility:

An interview is a two way process. It is as crucial to selling you and the job as
much it is about assessing the candidate’s eligibility. Competent candidates will
have numerous offers and options to choose from and hence be flexible from
the beginning itself to make it painless for them to speak to you.
 Interviewing Tips for the Interviewer

• Have your list of questions prepared

• Use those behavioral questions
• Review the candidates Resume/credentials
• Extend professional courtesies, ex water..
• Watch those nonverbal signals
• Keep polite and professional
• Follow up
Questions to Avoid
Building Rapport
Choose who you
would like to offer!
• Evaluate specific evidence which the candidate
shared, be sure you are not bringing in any
biases
• Gage there behavioral traits and skills
• Avoid the charisma trap
• High value on attitude, work ethic and
motivation
• Learn from your personal past hiring processes
Why the Right Hire is Important

Replacement of an employee
can range from two to seven
times his/her salary