Chapter 7

Interviewing Candidates

7–1
 After

studying this
chapter,
you should be able to:
1. List the main types of selection interviews.
2. Explain and illustrate at least six factors that affect
the usefulness of interviews.
3. Explain and illustrate each guideline for being a
more effective interviewer.
4. Effectively interview a job candidate.
 7–2
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Basic Features of Interviews

➢ An interview
– A procedure designed to obtain information from a

person through oral responses to oral inquiries ➢

Types of interviews
– Selection interview
– Appraisal interview
– Exit interview

➢ Interviews formats
– Structured
 – Unstructured

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Types of Interviews

➢ Selection interview
– A selection procedure designed to predict future
job performance on the basis of applicants’ oral
responses to oral inquiries.

➢ Appraisal interview
– A discussion, following a performance appraisal, in
which supervisor and employee discuss the employee’s
rating and possible remedial actions.
 ➢ Exit interview
– An interview to elicit information about the job or
related matters to the employer some insight into
what’s right or wrong about the firm.
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Formats of Interviews

➢ 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.

➢ Structured or directive interview

 – An interview following a set sequence of
questions.

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Interview Content: Types of Questions

➢ Situational interview
– A series of job-related questions that focus on
how the candidate would behave in a given
situation.
➢ Behavioral interview
– A series of job-related questions that focus on

how they reacted to actual situations in the past. ➢

Job-related interview
– A series of job-related questions that focus on
relevant past job-related behaviors.

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 Structured
Interview
Guide

Source: Copyright 1992. The

Dartnell Corporation, Chicago, IL.
Adapted with permission.

Figure 7–1a
7–7

Structured
 Interview
Guide
(cont’d)

Source: Copyright 1992. The

Dartnell Corporation, Chicago, IL.
Adapted with permission.

Figure 7–1b
7–8

Structured
Interview
 Guide
(cont’d)

Source: Copyright 1992. The

Dartnell Corporation, Chicago, IL.
Adapted with permission.

Figure 7–1c
7–9

HR Scorecard
for Hotel Paris
International
 Corporation*

Note: *(An abbreviated example showing selected

HR practices and outcomes aimed at implementing
the competitive strategy, “To use superior guest
services to differentiate the Hotel Paris properties
and thus increase the length of stays and the return
rate of guests and thus boost revenues and
profitability”)

Figure 7–2
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Interview Content: Types of Questions

➢ Stress interview
 – An interview in which the interviewer seeks to
make the applicant uncomfortable with
occasionally rude questions that supposedly to
spot sensitive applicants and those with low or
high stress tolerance.

➢ Puzzle questions
– Recruiters for technical, finance, and other types
of jobs use questions to pose problems requiring
unique (“out-of-the-box”) solutions to see how
candidates think under pressure.

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Personal or Individual Interviews

➢ Unstructured sequential interview – An
interview in which each interviewer forms an
independent opinion after asking different
questions.

➢ Structured sequential interview

– An interview in which the applicant is interviewed
sequentially by several persons; each rates the
applicant on a standard form.

➢ Panel interview
– An interview in which a group of interviewers
questions the applicant.

7–12
Personal or Individual Interviews

➢ Panel (broad) interview

– An interview in which a group of interviewers
questions the applicant.

➢ Mass interview
– A panel interviews several candidates
simultaneously.
 7–13

Computerized Interviews

➢ Computerized selection interview

– An interview in which a job candidate’s oral and/or
computerized replies are obtained in response to
computerized oral, visual, or written questions
and/or situations.

➢ Characteristics
– Reduces amount of time managers devote to
interviewing unacceptable candidates.
– Applicants are more honest with computers –
Avoids problems of interpersonal interviews –
Mechanical nature of computer-aided interview
 can leave an applicant dissatisfied.
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Factors Affecting Interviews

➢ First impressions
– The tendency for interviewers to jump to
conclusions—make snap judgments—about
candidates during the first few minutes of the
interview.
– Negative bias: unfavorable information about an
applicant influences interviewers more than does
positive information.
 7–15

Factors Affecting Interviews (cont’d)

➢ Misunderstanding the job

– Not knowing precisely what the job entails and
what sort of candidate is best suited causes
interviewers to make decisions based on incorrect
stereotypes of what a good applicant is.

➢ Candidate-order error
– An error of judgment on the part of the
interviewer due to interviewing one or more very
good or very bad candidates just before the
interview in question.
 7–16

Factors Affecting Interviews (cont’d)

➢ Nonverbal behavior and impression

management
– Interviewers’ inferences of the interviewee’s
personality from the way he or she acts in the
interview have a large impact on the interviewer’s
rating of the interviewee.
– Clever interviewees attempt to manage the
impression they present to persuade interviewers
to view them more favorably.
 7–17

Factors Affecting Interviews (cont’d)

➢ Effect of personal characteristics:

attractiveness, gender, race
– Interviewers tend have a less favorable view of
candidates who are:
• Physically unattractive
• Female
• Of a different racial background
• Disabled
 7–18

Factors Affecting Interviews (cont’d)

➢ Interviewer behaviors affecting interview

outcomes
– Inadvertently telegraphing expected answers. –
Talking so much that applicants have no time to
answer questions.
– Letting the applicant dominate the interview. –
Acting more positively toward a favored (or similar
to the interviewer) applicant.
 7–19

Designing and Conducting the

Interview ➢ The structured situational

interview
– Use either situational questions (preferred) or
behavioral questions that yield high criteria-related
validities.
– Step 1: Job Analysis
– Step 2: Rate the Job’s Main Duties
– Step 3: Create Interview Questions
– Step 4: Create Benchmark Answers
 – Step 5: Appoint the Interview Panel and Conduct
Interviews

7–20

How to Conduct an Effective Interview

➢ Structure your interview:

1. Base questions on actual job duties.
2. Use job knowledge, situational, or behaviorally oriented
questions and objective criteria to evaluate the
interviewee’s responses.
3. Train interviewers.
4. Use the same questions with all candidates.
5. Use descriptive rating scales (excellent, fair, poor) to rate
answers.
6. Use multiple interviewers or panel interviews.
7. If possible, use a standardized interview form.
 8. Control the interview.
9. Take brief, unobtrusive notes during the interview.

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Examples of Questions That Provide Structure

Situational Questions:
1. Suppose a co-worker was not following standard work procedures. The co-worker was
more experienced than you and claimed the new procedure was better. Would you use the
new procedure?
2. Suppose you were giving a sales presentation and a difficult technical question arose that
you could not answer. What would you do?
Past Behavior Questions:
3. Based on your past work experience, what is the most significant action you have ever taken
to help out a co-worker?
4. Can you provide an example of a specific instance where you developed a sales
presentation that was highly effective?
Background Questions:
5. What work experiences, training, or other qualifications do you have for working in a
teamwork environment?
6. What experience have you had with direct point-of-purchase sales?
Job Knowledge Questions:
7. What steps would you follow to conduct a brainstorming session with a group of employees
on safety?
8. What factors should you consider when developing a television advertising campaign?
 Note: So that direct comparisons can be made, an example is presented to assess
both teamwork (1,3,5,7) and sales attributes (2,4,6,8) for each type of question.

Source: Michael Campion, David Palmer, and James Campion, “A Review of Figure 7–3
Structure in the Selection Interview,” Personnel Psychology (1997), p. 668.

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How to Conduct an Effective Interview

(cont’d)
➢ Prepare for the interview
– Secure a private room to minimize interruptions.
– Review the candidate’s application and résumé.
– Review the job specifications

➢ Establish rapport
– Put the person at ease.

➢ Ask questions
– Follow your list of questions.
– Don’t ask questions that can be answered yes or
no.
7–23

Key Terms

Unstructured or
nondirective Interview
Structured or directive
interview Situational interview
Behavioral interviews
Job-related interview
Stress interview
Unstructured sequential
interview Structured sequential
interview Panel interview
Mass interview
Candidate-order error

7–24

Thanks…

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