Interview Skills

 

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Interview skill is another very important skill in business communication. It is important

because it helps an organization in making right decision concerning various issues that

affect growth of the organization. Some of such issues are recruitment of employee for

the organization, getting the best contractor for a supply and so on. This note will explain

the necessary interview skills in business communication

2.0 OBJECTIVES OF THE NOTE

On completion of this note, you should be able to:

· Have an overview of interview skills for recruitment purpose

· Explain the necessary interview skills that an interviewer should possess

· Describe the structure of an interview

· Protect the types of questions that should be asked by an interviewer

· Project, give suggestions of what is expected from the interviewee by the

Interviewer

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 Interview skills

The interview is, perhaps, the most nerve-wracking aspect of the recruitment process, not

just for the candidate but also for the interviewer. If an interview is conducted

competently, it is a useful opportunity for a candidate to prove that he or she will be an

asset to a prospective employer. It is, however, also an opportunity for an employer to

promote organization and therefore attract the best employees.

3.2 The interviewer

Given that people are the most important resource in any organization, recruiting the

wrong ones can be costly. In fact, replacing an employee can cost up to 5o percent of that

employee’s annual salary. It is far better to invest your time in fine-tuning your interview

skills that spend time on damage limitation after discovering that you have employed the

wrong person. The interview is your opportunity to get the right employee, and a good

preparation is essential.

3.2.1 Structure of interviews:

In recruitment the process starts from the moment you have a shortlist of applicants and a

pile of application forms or Curricula vitae in front of you. The interview is essentially a

meeting to put the proverbial flesh on the bones of information provided by a candidate

on their application form of CV. Your purpose is to satisfy yourself that the candidate

meets the requirement for the job and fit in with the culture of your organization.

You need to prepare questions in advance. Effective questions come from knowing what

skills and attitudes a job requires. You should have already defined the job criteria before

advertising a position and these criteria can be used as a basis for generating questions.

Scan through application forms or CVs carefully and make a note of any point that

emerged. These could be achievements or successful in a particular area of work or you

may require clarification on some aspect of the candidates’ application. For example, is

there an unexplained gap in their employment history?

Decide on or agree with colleague the areas that you wish to discuss during an interview.

Having done this, you need to draw up an agenda. If you are going to ‘panel interview’

with colleague, identify in advance that will raise specific questions and at what point

during the interview. Remember that you want to present your employee as Organized and

efficient. If you appear disOrganized at interview, you will send out a negative message to

a prospective employee.

The whole process needs to be carefully managed so that you allow sufficient time for the

interview itself and also time between a summary while the interview is still fresh in your

mind, especially if you have many interviewees.

Remember to give the interviewee an opportunity to ask questions. This serves two

purposes: it helps the applicant to decide if your organization is right for him or her is a

chance for you to evaluate his or her knowledge of your organization and ability to ask

questions effectively.

3.2.2 Environment and atmosphere

Preparation for the interview also includes getting the environment right. Interviews are

stressful enough without candidate being made to feel intimidated by the layout of the

room. For example try using a round rather than rectangular table, or seat the candidate at

an angle rather than directly in front of you. Layouts that allow candidate to feel equal

rather than the victim are best. In order to manage time discreetly, make sure that your

watch is either on the desk in an unobtrusive spot or, better still; use a clock which is

positioned on the wall behind the candidate.

It is important for all your staff to be kept informed about when the interviews are taking

place. It helps them to feel involved and makes them aware that their attitude and

disposition, if they meet candidate, could influence a good candidate’s decision to accept

or reject a job offer.

3.2.3 Welcoming the interviewee

Use the first few minutes of the interview as a “meet and greet” opportnunity. Make the

candidates feel at ease by shaking hands and by making small talk. Next, outline the

structure of the interview and perhaps restate the objectives, for example what you are

looking for in a candidate and why. Make it clear that the interview is a two-way process

and is equally about the candidate making a decision about whether they wish to work for

you as it is about you making a decision about them.

3.2.4 Competent questioning

The best questions to ask during interviews are open question rather that closed or

leading questions. However, because in everyday speech we get into the habit of poor

questioning, it takes effort to get it at interview. For checking, you may need to use

closed questions but for probing and analysis use question such as:

· Tell me about …….?

· What would you say if …….?

· How would you react if ……?

· What would you do if ……?

· What are your opinions on ……?

Behavioral or competence based interviewing is perhaps the most commonly used

interview method. Interviewers use this method to try to determine how a candidate

would behave or has behaved in a given situation. Quite often candidate are asked to give

an example of a situation where they demonstrated a particular skill. For example, they

may be asked:” can you give me an example of how you dealt with a difficult situation at

work?”

The purpose of interview is to find out whether the candidate really can do the job they

claim that they can on their application form or CV, which is why asking questions that

are directly related to the job being offered is useful. You also need to determine whether

the candidate really wants the job. For example how enthusiastic and committed do they

appear?

3.2.5 Active listening

If an interview works well, the candidate should be doing about 70 percent of the talking

and you should is spending most of your time listening. And you should be actively

rather than just passively listening to what candidates are saying. In ‘the interview’s

pocketbook’, author John Townsend gives the following g tips for people who want to

become better listeners:

· Maintain sensitive eye contact

· Try to mirror the speaker’s body posture and talking speed

· Encourage the speaker to continue when you want more information

· Paraphrase regularly

· Clarify information

· Give regular feedback on how you feel

Use positive body language as you listen, if only to help the candidate feel more at ease.

For example, nodding occasionally, smiling or using open handed gestures should

encourage a candidate to continue speaking. You may also need to give some attention to

your paralinguistic skills, which is not so much about what you say but speech, pitch

variation, volume and vocal quality. It matters because the way you speak often affects

the message that you send. Do you, for example, use any inflection in your voice as you

speak, or do you speak rather loudly?

3.2.6 Equal opportnoteies

One costly mistake that has occurred during interviews is when the wrong questions have

been asked and have led feeling of discrimination. As an interviewer you must avoid

asking questions that contravene equal opportunities such as sex discrimination. You

should avoid asking questions about any of the following

· Marital status

· Number or age of children

· Husband employment

· Living arrangement

· Parent occupation

· Boyfriend

· Plan to get engaged or to marry

As an interviewer your task is to asses solely on the basis of a person’s qualifications and

suitability for the job. The same standard should apply when assessing men and women.

Criteria adopted for assessment of candidates should not discriminate indirectly against

women.

You also need to make sure that you do not use subtle discrimination based on you

prejudices about what you perceive to be the relative characteristics, lifestyles or abilities

of men and women. For example, do not assume that a woman may not be prepared to

travel in her job because of domestic responsibilities

3.2.7 Evaluate your performance

Always evaluate your performance after an interview. This can be self-evaluation or, if

you share interviewing with colleague, peer-evaluation might be more appropriate. Try to

assess whether you achieved your objectives as an interviewer and try to use the

information about your interviewing skills to improve your technique for the subsequent

interviews you conduct.

3.3 The interviewee

Because many people will aspire to get a new job or change the present place of

employment during their career, good interviewee skills are also necessary. Having

looked at what an interviewer should be doing during an interview not hard to asses what

need to be done if you are on the other side of the table. Your task is to self-promote and

self-market to make your interviewer believe that you are the best for the job. In ‘kick

start your career’, the author recommends the 4Ps methods for succeeding at interviews:

· Preparation

· Presentation

· Personality

· Positive mental attitude

3.3.1 Preparation

Appearance and first impressions really do count. Dress smartly and present yourself at

interview as someone who looks like they already work at the organization or company in

question

Prepare for interview by first of all convincing yourself that you really are the best person

for the job. You will have been selected for interview because your prospective employer

believes that you have at least satisfied, if not exceeded, the minimum requirements for

the job. The challenge you face is that other people will also have met

Those minimum requirements. You therefore have to demonstrate that you offer added

value.

Your preparation should also include finding out as much as can about your potential

employer and noting down anything relevant that you could raise during the interview. It

could be something interesting about the company or organization or you may need to

raise a question of clarification.

Review your copies of your application form and CV and be preparing to talk about

anything you have mentioned. For example, if you claim to be an excellent problem

solver, go to the interview armed with examples of when you successfully solve a

problem. In addition, pre-empt the type of questions that you will be asked at interview

and rehearse the answers out aloud. It really helps to practice with a friend. Try to

understand what it is that the interviewer is really trying to find out. For example, the

answer to question “what are you goals for the next five years?” usually demonstrates

how motivated you are. Although some questions tend to be variations on theme.

Frequently asked questions include:

· Tell me little about your previous experience as a worker?

· How do you think your colleagues would describe you?

· What is the most challenging issue you have faced at work?

· What specific experience do you feel you can bring to the job?

· Why do you think you are best person for the job?

· What do you see as the key issues facing the industry in the future?

· How would you deal with difficult member of staff?

· What would you describe as your main strength?

· What would you say motivates you at work?

3.3.2 During interview

In spite of your nerves, try to maintain a friendly, positive disposition throughout the

interview. And remember that your task is to sell yourself. Enthusiasm pays dividends

especially when you are up against another candidate who on paper is equally qualified.

As well as answering questions at interview, it is also important to ask questions, for

example about training or opportunity for career progression.

3.3.3 After interview

Whether you are offered the job or not, always try to get feedback about your interview.

It will boost your confidence if you are offered the job and, if you were not, you might

learn something about yourself or interview technique that will be helpful for the next

interview

4.0 CONCLUSION

As explained above, the outcome of interviews that is conducted by a business

organization goes a long to determine the future of such company. The most important

factor in the success of any business is its human resource. Therefore, the process of

recruitment should be taking very serious. More time should be devoted to preparation

for any interview process.

5.0 SUMMARY

In this note, you have learnt about the necessary things that an interviewer and

interviewee should do before embarking on a job interview. The knowledge of this is

necessary to have balanced business communication skills

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