There are two types of group interviews—a candidate group and a panel group. In a candidate group interview, a candidate is in a room with other job applicants who may be applying for the same position.
Each candidate listens to information about the company and the position and may be asked to answer questions or participate in group exercises. Candidate group interviews are less common than panel group interviews.
In a panel group interview a candidate is interviewed individually by a panel of two or more people. This type of group interview is usually a question-and-answer session, but a candidate may also be asked to participate in an exercise or test. Panel interviews can be either structured or unstructured. When organized properly, a panel interview can create a broader picture of the candidate than a one-on-one interview would produce.
Even weaker interviewers can learn by observing. Panel interviews can also help less-experienced employees get involved in the hiring process. The panel should include no more than four or five people; a larger panel could be intimidating and unwieldy. One interviewer should serve as the leader, and other participants should serve in support roles. While all the interviewers need to be involved throughout the interview, the difference in the two roles needs to be very clear.
To help ensure the validity and effectiveness of employment interviews, the interviewer must prepare in advance. Before implementing the interview process for a given position, the HR professional who will be asking the questions should complete the following preparations:. Interviewers must know how to elicit desired information from job candidates.
It doesn't require a sophisticated technique, but it does require more than just asking candidates if they possess the required skills and attributes.
The most recent thinking on how to conduct job interviews recommends that employers ask applicants about specific incidents in the workplace. Therefore, questions should be designed to show how the candidate has displayed the required skills in specific situations during his or her career. Responses to such questions can provide enhanced glimpses into applicants' actual experiences.
For both the employer and the candidate to get the most out of an interview, it is essential to carefully consider the type of questions to ask.
Despite the importance of preparing questions in advance, the employer should not go into an interview with a list of ideal answers in mind. It is unlikely that any applicant would come close to providing such answers. A better approach is to keep in mind ideal characteristics that a successful candidate would possess.
See Sample Interview Questions. Questioning should elicit information that will shed light on a candidate's ability to perform the job effectively. Many experts say it is best to ask open-ended questions "Tell me about your relationship with your previous manager; how could it have been improved? Interview for Emotional Intelligence.
Open-ended questions encourage candidates to provide longer answers and to expand on their knowledge, strengths and job experiences. For interviewers, such questions can provide greater insight into a candidate's personality. They can also help employers gauge an applicant's ability to articulate his or her work experience, level of motivation, communication skills, ability to solve problems and degree of interest in the job. Open-ended questions can provide a sense of an applicant's potential and whether the person would be a cultural fit.
Following are some examples of open-ended questions:. Closed-ended job interview questions can enable the employer to receive direct responses and specific information from the candidate, and they can help the interviewer control the direction of the interview.
But such questions can have drawbacks:. Along with choosing an interview approach and shaping the questions ahead of time, the interviewer should become familiar with the types of questions and statements that must be avoided in any interview. For example, interviewers should not make statements that could be construed as creating a contract of employment. When describing the job, it is best to avoid using terms such as "permanent," "career job opportunity," or "long term.
In addition, to minimize the risk of discrimination lawsuits, interviewers must familiarize themselves with topics that are not permissible as interview questions.
Provisions of various federal laws affect the types of questions that organizations may ask an applicant during an employment interview.
For example, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of prohibits discrimination based on race, sex, color, national origin and religion. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of prohibits questions about a person's age. The wide-ranging Americans with Disabilities Act of ADA protects qualified individuals with disabilities from discrimination in employment. The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of prohibits employers from collecting and using genetic information.
The Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures of , though not in and of themselves legislation or law, have been given deference by the courts in litigation concerning employment issues. Questions relating either directly or indirectly to age, sex, race, color, national origin, religion, genetics or disabilities should be avoided entirely.
If information needed about an applicant might fall into any of those categories, the interviewer should make sure that the question relates to a bona fide occupational qualification or is required by federal or state law to be asked.
Employers should also be aware of some of the specific prohibitions contained in the ADA. Employers may never ask if an applicant has a disability. They may ask only if there is anything that precludes the applicant from performing—with or without a reasonable accommodation—the essential functions of the position for which he or she is applying. State laws can be broader in scope than federal laws. For example, federal law does not cover sexual orientation, but many states do. In addition , all states have enacted at least one law pertaining to employment discrimination.
Whether a particular state's law would apply to a particular organization, however, could depend on the size of its workforce. In some states, employers with just one employee are subject to the state's anti-discrimination laws.
By comparison, only employers with 15 or more employees are subject to the most complex and comprehensive federal anti-discrimination laws.
Thus, in some states an employer could be exempt from a federal law yet still be subject to a similar provision under state law. It is important for interviewers to be familiar with the employment laws of the state in which they are operating and to be well versed in the federal and state legal provisions regulating the types of questions permissible in an employment interview.
Some questions that appear innocent on the surface may be considered discriminatory. The way they are phrased is key. Employers should determine in advance of the interview if the information sought by each question is really necessary for assessing an applicant's competence or qualifications for the job. Even if a particular question would not be barred under federal or state law, it should be omitted it if it is not essential. Asking irrelevant questions may offend an applicant or damage the organization's reputation.
Following are examples of questions not to ask during an employment interview:. In addition, the interviewer should not ask questions about arrests that did not result in a conviction. Some states also prohibit employers from asking candidates about marijuana-related convictions that are two or more years old.
And employers should never ask an applicant to submit a photograph—even if the request makes clear that providing a photo is optional, not mandatory. Interview training presentation.
Guidelines on Interview and Employment Application Questions. Federal Laws Prohibiting Job Discrimination. The manner in which human resource professionals and hiring managers interview applicants can be pivotal in identifying the top candidates for a job. A successful and effective interview is one in which both the interviewer and the interviewee receive accurate information and can make informed decisions about the applicant's suitability for the job.
See Basics for Effective Interviews training presentation. The interview process can be stressful for both the interviewer and the interviewee. It is normal for an applicant to be nervous, so interviewers should try to put the person at ease from the moment he or she enters the room. By helping the interviewee feel relaxed and comfortable, the interviewer stands a better chance of obtaining a clear idea of the applicant's abilities and personality.
Before commencing with prepared questions, the interviewer could ease tensions by encouraging the applicant to talk about a particular interest—perhaps something on the person's resume. At this point the interviewer might also want to recap the position and what it entails. This can help the applicant answer questions more knowledgeably and consider again whether he or she is genuinely interested in the job.
For an interview to be as useful as possible in the employment-decision process, the interviewer must maintain complete control over the interview at all times. Establishing and maintaining control requires, in addition to good questioning techniques, effective listening skills.
Effective listening is challenging, partly because people are often more focused on what they're saying than on what they're hearing. The key for the interviewer is to speak as little as possible.
One approach to effective listening is a paraphrase of the golden rule: Listen to others as you would have them listen to you. Here are some tips for listening effectively:.
To gain as much information as possible from an applicant, the interviewer should create an atmosphere that promotes communication.
Following are suggestions for building rapport and fostering discussion:. Asking follow-up questions—also called probing—can be necessary when the interviewer does not fully understand a response, when answers are vague or ambiguous, or when the interviewer require more specific information from the applicant. Probing questions inviting more detail often begin with "what" or "how. Reflection questions are designed to help the interviewer achieve a deeper understanding of the applicant's responses.
Such questions rarely evoke defensiveness; applicants want the interviewer to understand their responses. Reflection questions might begin with phrases such as:. A popular method of closing the interview is to say the interview is ending and to offer the candidate the opportunity to ask questions. This will enable the candidate to gain clarification on aspects of the position and on employment conditions such as hours, salary and benefits.
The interviewer should answer the candidate's questions as frankly as possible. If it is not an appropriate time to discuss compensation—perhaps others are present—the interviewer can suggest a follow-up discussion.
Interviewers should be prepared to provide documents describing the company and its benefits. Such steps can ensure the applicant is left with a positive impression of the interviewer and the organization. After interviews, the interviewer should update the assessment grids for all active candidates.
See Candidate Evaluation Form. In addition to the general aspects of preparing for and conducting employment interviews already discussed, a few other issues bear consideration. These include the possibility that a candidate can be over prepared for an interview, thus affecting the impressions he or she creates; the question of whether and how to take notes during an interview; and methods of following up with candidates after initial interviews.
The overly prepared applicant can be a puzzle for hiring managers who are trying to determine if the applicant would be a good fit for the position and the organization. Job seekers can learn from books, magazine articles and websites not only what questions to expect but also what answers to give to those questions.
Determining whether an applicant is providing a truthful response to specific questions can be equally as challenging for interviewers. There are, however, several techniques that may be useful:. There are various schools of thought on note taking during employment interviews. Some experts say it distracts the interviewer; others say that notes should be made both during and after the interview for documentation purposes.
While there seems to be no consensus on this topic, many experts do advise employers to avoid the practice of writing notes directly on applications or resumes because they might be used to support an applicant's claim of discrimination.
Notes about an applicant's skills or experience that are related to the job in question can be recorded on a separate interview evaluation sheet to accomplish the goal of accurately recording information from an interview.
However, notes should never be made about the physical characteristics or appearance of an applicant or any other area of potential legal liability. Note taking should be restricted to unobtrusive commentary about the applicant's qualifications and skills relative to the position. Organizations often bring certain applicants back for second or even third interviews for a number of reasons.
Sometimes the employer may want to confirm that an applicant is the ideal candidate for the position, or the employer may be trying to decide between two or more qualified applicants. An interviewer conducts first interviews to screen applicants based on their general qualifications. Once the interviewer narrows the selection to specific candidates, he or she then needs to apply additional screening methods at a follow-up interview level to further ascertain a candidate's specific qualities and potential cultural fit.
A follow-up interview is also an opportunity for candidates to do further research on whether the company is an organization they want to work for. During the follow-up interview phase, the interviewer should have specific goals in mind and may want to invite other staff members to take part in the interview. The follow-up interview is usually the final step before extending an offer of employment to a candidate. If the candidate passes muster, the employer will then extend an offer orally and in writing.
The interview is typically conducted by one or two people from the organisation. Depending on the role, interviews may be followed by second interviews possibly with a selection panel , candidates making presentations, assessment centres and reference checks.
These later stages are very variable and should be tailored to the demands of the job. The initial selection interview is clearly critical, so getting good at interviews is key to getting through a candidate selection process. During your job interview, you should ask a question related to the workplace environment. When you report for your interview, take note of whether employees seem happy, or bored and disengaged.
If you accept a marketing job thinking you will be working with people but find yourself working in a cubicle analyzing quantitative data that you barely understand, you may regret taking the job.
Carefully analyze all the information you gather from these observations and the responses to your questions. The interviewer will also be analyzing your responses to her questions and reading your body language to determine how passionate you are about the position, and how well-suited you are as a candidate.
Employers often ask about applicants' career goals to assess whether they are motivated and ambitious or more comfortable with the status quo. Many employers have a career ladder and offer management-training programs for ambitious, results-oriented workers who aspire to career advancement. If your interviewer does not discuss career advancement, you should ask about the possibilities. Do you offer in-service training or employee development seminars on topics related to work like enhancing leadership or supervisory skills?
Are there rewards or incentives for seeking additional certification and training after hire? Inquiring about salary can feel awkward but starting salary along with earning potential and benefits may be significant considerations when weighing a job offer.
0コメント