1 Interview

• Interact through a question and answer format to achieve a variety of specific goals.
• The specific goals of an interview will guide and structure both its content and its format.
• Both parties in the interview can ask and answer questions, generally the interviewer asks most of the questions and the interviewee answers them.
• Two-Person and Team Interviews
  • Advantage:
    • It gives the audience or the group different viewpoints and perspectives on the person being interviewed.
    • It helps ensure that the interview moves quickly.
  • Disadvantage:
    • Are expensive.
    • May turn into what may appear to be an interrogation.
    • May allocate too much time to those conducting the interview and not enough to the person being interviewed.
• General Interview Structures
  • Informal interview:
    • Resembles conversation,
    • A general theme for the interview is chosen in advance, but the specific questions are formed during the interaction.
    • Used to obtain information informally.
  • Guided interview:
    • Topics are chosen in advance, but specific questions and wordings are guided by the ongoing interaction.
    • Useful because it ensures maximum flexibility and responsiveness to the dynamics of the situation.
  • Standard open interview:
    • Used for interviewing several candidates for a job.
    • Open-ended questions and their order are selected in advance.
    • Useful when standardization is needed.
  • Quantitative interview:
    • A researcher surveys.
    • Questions and their order are selected in advance, as are the possible response categories.
    • Useful when statistical analyses are to be performed and when large amounts of information are to be collected.
• Interview Questions and Answers
  • Understanding the different types of interview questions may help both to be able to respond to questions more effectively and to ask questions more effectively.
  • Ways to analyze questions:
    • Open-Closed
      • Openness in interview questions has to do with the degree of freedom to respond, both in content and format.
      • Closed questions require a yes or no.
      • Between open and closed are short-answer questions.
        • Short-answer = somewhat closed and offer limited freedom in responding.
    • Neutral-Biased
      • Neutrality:
        • = an interview question
        • opposite to bias.
        • questions do not specify any answer as more appropriate than any other.
      • Bias:
        • relates to the extent to which the question provides the answer the interviewer wants from the interviewee.
        • questiona indicate quite clearly the particular answer the interviewer expects or wants.
      • Less is learned from too many biased questions about the interviewee’s talents or experiences.
      • The interviewee should avoid giving the responses an interviewer expects if they’re not what the interviewee believes to be correct or know to be true.
    • Primary—Follow-Up
      • Primary questions introduce a topic.
      • Follow-up questions ask for elaboration on what was just said.
      • Too many primary questions and not enough follow-up questions will often communicate a lack of interest and a failure to listen as effectively as possible.
      • Try for a balance between primary and follow-up questions.
      • A balance occurs when both participants are enjoying the conversation or interview.
      • Use active listening responses.
    • Direct-Indirect
      • The directness or indirectness of interview questions will vary from one culture to another.
      • Appropriate directness variess from culture to culture.
• Types of Interviews
  • The Persuasive Interview
    • Goal:
      • to change an individual’s attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors.
    • Questions may be asked that will lead the interviewee to the desired conclusion, or the interviewee may answer questions in a persuasive way.
    • All interviews contain elements of both information and persuasion.
  • The Appraisal Interview
    • An interviewee’s performance is assessed by leaders.
    • Goal:
      • To discover what the interviewee is doing well and not well and why.
    • Importantance:
      • They help new members of a group see how their performance matches up with the expectations of those making promotion and firing decisions.
  • The Exit Interview
    • Goal:
      • To discover why an interviewee chooses to leave a group and to prevent other valuable members from leaving.
    • To provide a way of making the exit as pleasant and as efficient as possible for both the leader and member.
  • The Counseling Interview
    • To provide guidance.
    • Goal:
      • To help the interviewee deal more effectively with problems, work more effectively, get along better with other, or cope more effectively with day-to-day living.
    • The interviewer must learn a considerable amount about the person for the interviewee to be of any value.
      • The counselor then can try to persuade the person to alter certain aspects of his or her thinking or behaving.

2 Informative Interview

• The interviewer tries to learn something from the interviewee.
• The interviewee usually has a reputation and accomplishment.
• The interviewer asks a series of questions designed to elicit the interviewee’s views, beliefs, insights, perspectives, predictions, life history, and etc.
• Information-gathering interviews:
  • Select the person you wish to interview.
  • Learn something about the chosen person.
  • Secure an appointment
  • Prepare questions
  • Establish rapport with the interviewee
  • Ask permission to tape the interview
  • Ask open-ended questions.
  • Close the interview with an expression of appreciation.
  • Follow-up the interview.

3 Employment Interview

• A lot of information and persuasion will be exchanged.
• Prepare yourself: résumé, analyze and manage the anxiety that accompanies employment interviews.
• Establish goals.
• Prepare answers and questions.
• Make an effective first impression.
• Arrive on time.
• Be sure you know the name of the organization, the job title, and the interviewer’s name.
• Demonstrate effective interpersonal communication.
• Qualities of Effectiveness:
  • Openness
    • Answer questions fully.
    • Avoid one-word answers.
  • Empathy.
    • See the questions from the asker’s point of view.
    • Focus eye contact and orient body toward the interviewer.
    • Lean forward as appropriate.
  • Positiveness.
    • Emphasize positive qualities.
    • Express positive interest in the position.
    • Avoid statements critical to self and others.
  • Immediacy.
    • Connect with the interviewer throughout the interview.
  • Interaction management.
    • Ensure the interviewer’s satisfaction by being positive, complimentary. and generally cooperative.
  • Expressiveness.
    • Let nonverbal behaviors reflect verbal messages and general enthusiasm.
    • Avoid fidgeting and excessive moving about.
    • Vary vocal rate, pitch, and pausing.
  • Other-orientation.
    • Focus on the interviewer and on the company.
    • Express agreement and ask for clarification as appropriate.
  • Avoid behaviors that create negative impressions.
• Acknowledge cultural rules and customs.
• Mentally review the interview.
• Follow-up after.

4 Illegal Questions

• Developed by the federal government and applicable in all fifty states.
• Illegal Information Requests
  • exact age
  • marital status and family matters unrelated to the job
  • race
  • affectional orientation
  • religion
  • nationality
  • citizenship
  • physical condition unrelated to the job
  • arrest and criminal records
• Questions must relate to the applicants ability to perform the job.
• Strategies for Dealing with Unlawful Questions
  • Answer the part that is not objectionable and omit any information that I do not want to give.
  • Be polite and firm.