Chapter 7: Basic Information for All Types of Interviews

1. Chapter 7: Basic Information for All Types of Interviews An interview is all types of planned, face-to-face encounters in which at least one of the participants have a specific objective in mind.

2. Types of Interviews • Counseling interview is to help the interviewee uncover and solve “career-related personal or interpersonal problems.” • The employment interview is one of the most important types because in it some of the most critical organizational and personal decisions are made. • Exit interviews require careful listening and reading between the lines because many people will only hint at their real reason for leaving.

3. Types of Interviews • The grievance or confrontation interview is any type of one-to-one encounter involving conflict and its resolution. • Group Interviews • The panel interview has more interviewees than interviewers; board interviews have has more interviewers than interviewees. • Informational interviews give or seek information. In an information-giving, the interviewer wants to impart important information; In an information seeking the interviewer wants information from the interviewee.

4. Type of Interviews • Interrogation interviews usually involve some type of offense involved. • Performance reviews accurately and consistently evaluates the performance of employees. • Persuasive interviews are persuasive in nature. • As cost of transportation increases, companies are using telephone interviews.

5. Basic Interview Organization • Opening Phase- three step process • Rapport • a comfortable, I-respect-you-as-an-individual feeling that makes both participants receptive to the interview. • Orientation • an overall view of the interview. • Motivation • motivate the interviewee to give straightforward, complete answers

6. Basic Interview Organization • Question-response phase • Heart of the interview; both interviewer and interviewee have the opportunity to ask and respond to questions. • The closing phase • Begins with a summary of the major points covered in the interview and of any conclusions reached • thanking the other for time and consideration.

7. Using Questions Effectively • Open-Ended questions • Broad questions that allow the interviewee maximum freedom in deciding how much and what type of information to give • Hypothetical Open Questions • Maximum freedom to respond to an invented, but possible situation • Direct questions • Require a short answer or simple yes or no • Closed questions • Limit the interviewee’s choice of answers to one of the answers supplied in the question

8. Using Questions Effectively • Loaded Questions • Have no correct answers but are designed to get an _________ response. • Leading Questions • Implies the correct answer • Third-Person Questions • Embarrassing or personal questions phrased in a less threatening way • Verbal and Nonverbal probes • Urge the respondent to add more information to a previous response

9. Ways to Organize Questions • Funnel Sequence • questions move from the general questions to the specific questions (page 195) • Inverted Funnel Sequence • questions move from specific to general (page 196) • Hourglass Sequence • Used when the interviewee’s answer to the question in a funnel sequence isn’t what the interviewer expected; interviewer reopens the question to clarify the missing information (page 196). • Diamond Sequence • Used when the answer to your final question in an inverted funnel sequence is unexpected or unclear (page 197).

10. Chapter 8: The Employment Interview

11. Interviewee: Preparing for the Job Hunt • Investigate the Employment Market • A network is a web of contacts and relationships designed to benefit the participant by providing leads and referrals. • Locate Specific Jobs of Interest • Prepare a resume • Chronological resume • Work experience is highlighted and presented in reverse chronological order; dates are prominent. • Functional resume- • Emphasizes skills rather than work experience; highlights accomplishments • Combination or hybrid resume • Highlights skills, followed with a chronological list of jobs and a brief look at education.

12. Preparing for the Job Hunt • Check resume content for accuracy and honesty • Exaggeration is overstating or presenting facts as more important than they are. • Distortion is misrepresenting or twisting facts, or stating that they are true when they are only partially true.

13. Prepare a Letter of Application • Give enough information about yourself and your capabilities so that the employer will be interested in talking with you personally. • Example on page 212

14. Interviewee: Preparing for the Interview • Have a Positive Attitude • Impression Management • Efforts made to improve how others see you • communicate and dress for the occasion • Two basic impression management styles • Controlling style is where comments are focused on self-promotion. • Submissive style is where comments are focused on the interviewer.

15. Interviewee: Preparing for the Interview • Be prepared for any type of interview • The non-structured interview- interviewer expects you to take most of the initiative during the interview. • The structured interview- interviewer plans everything in advance and gives you much less opportunity to be creative in your responses. • The hostile or stress interview- interviewer delights in constantly evaluating the interviewee, often with belittling or embarrassing comments or questions and subtle nonverbal signals. • The group interview- several interviewers and one interviewee. • The video or virtual interview- screen through video interviews from remote locations.

16. Interviewee: Preparing for the Interview • Carefully plan answers to probable questions • Standard questions are designed to determine basic skills and abilities. • Behavioral questions requires examples of the interviewee’s skills and behaviors. • Be prepared with questions to ask the interviewer • Be prepared to follow-up the interview • Send a Thank-You note or card

17. Interviewer: Planning the Interview • Get to know the interviewee ahead of time • Plan the environment • Organize the interview carefully • Plan the opening phase • Plan the question-response phase • Plan the closing phase

18. Interviewer: Conducting the Interview • Ask only lawful questions • Listen carefully to the interviewee • Clarify and verify responses • Avoid false inferences