Preparing for An Interview
Finalising the Job Requirements
When a vacancy arises, the responsibilities and tasks of the position should be detailed in a job description. The skills and experience and type of person needed for the position should then be set out in a job specification.
A job description shall contain the following elements:
- The job title;
- The reporting line of the job;
- The overall responsibilities of the job;
- The specific responsibilities of the job.
Once a job description has been drawn up, the next step is to analyse the skills, qualifications, experience, and attributes needed in the person who will fill the job. This will be the job specification. Be as precise as possible.
Choosing A Method of Recruitment
Recruiting Internally — Candidates have an existing track record with the company and are familiar with its way of working. The recruiter may ask the candidates’ current manager for references.
Placing Advertisement — Advertise in relevant media can reach the right candidates. However, advertising costs can be high.
Using Recommendation — Colleagues or acquaintances may have several contacts in the market, providing a good, informal source. However, rejecting an unsuitable person could be problematic.
Using Local Resources — Colleges and professional associations can be a source of recruits. For entry-level jobs not requiring work experience, colleges can be a good source of candidates.
Using Agencies — Agencies have access to a wide range of candidates and can weed out unsuitable ones. However, there is a cost factor attached to using agencies.
Assessing A Resume
Although most people are truthful when composing their resumes, some may be tempted to omit negative facts or to exaggerate their achievements. Analyse each resume carefully to help select interviewees, and then prepare questions to ask them. The following checklist could be helpful in assessing a resume:
- Note specific points of interest in the resume.
- Look for any inconsistencies in the facts provided.
- Look for gaps in the resume’s chronology.
- Estimate the average amount of time spent in each job.
- Judge whether the candidate is making a logical career move.
- Consider if the style of the resume indicates a well-organised candidate.
Preparing An Interview Strategy
Factual – The main point is to extract factual information. The candidate’s personality is less important. The interviewer shall compile a list of general and specific questions designed to come up with the answers that he / she needs.
Situational — The aim is to see how the candidate handles key parts of the job. The interviewer may prepare open questions such as, "What would you do if…?" to lead interviewees into a full description of the ensuing scenario.
Confrontational — To gauge how the interviewee behaves under work-related stress. The interviewer will plan a confrontation that make attacks on and insinuations about the interviewee’s track record and career progression.
Technical — To establish that the candidates have the skills that they claim to have. The interviewer will set up a practical test, for example selling something to a colleague for sales and marketing candidates.
Preparing Questions
Understanding How to Phrase Questions — A candidate’s answers can be manipulated by phrasing the questions in different ways. Open questions are likely to be the most useful in an interview. They encourage candidates to open up, think, and talk at a length, and enable you to observe a candidate’s communication skills and elicit detailed information. These questions usually start with words such as "What?", "When?", "Why?", and "How?". They may also start with a statement about yourself and then follow with a question. Closed questions lead to a simple affirmative or negative, rather than in-depth reply. They are usually used to clarify unclear point. They are also useful for seeking confirmation of details of a candidate’s resume.
Using A Checklist — It can be useful to have a prepared checklist of questions that the interviewer wants to ask in an interview. However, do not stick too rigidly to either the content or order of the list — an interview is a two-way communication. The main purposes of the checklist are to provide the security that comes from knowing that the interviewer has covered all the ground and to have a list to refer to if necessary.
Building On Questions — The interviewer’s questions must be influenced by the interviewee’s answers. Each question should build on the one before to steer the candidate toward providing the interviewer with the information he / she needs.
