Management skills

Workshop 2

Interviewing Skills and Preparation

Presentation by

Sarah-Louise Weller

Date: w/c 1 Oct 2018

Interviewing Skills

Workshop 2 – Skills and Preparation

Workshops 3 & 4 – Mock interviews

Objectives

1. Explain what are the aims of recruitment

2. Understand how an employer selects an employee for a role

3. Identify the problems with selection interviews

4. Know how to plan and conduct an interview

5. Describe how to give and receive feedback

Aims of Recruitment

• To obtain a pool of suitable candidates for vacant posts

• To use a fair process and be able to demonstrate that the process was fair

• To ensure that all recruitment activities contribute to the organisational goal and a desirable organisational image

• To conduct recruitment activities in an efficient and cost effective manner

(Foot and Hook 2011)

Recruitment Questions

• What is a “suitable candidate”?

• Who decides this?

• How is it decided?

• How do you achieve a fair recruitment process?

Job Analysis

Assessing or defining the components of the post:

• Nature of the work performed

• Associated responsibilities and accountabilities

• Skills and knowledge required

• Working conditions

• Outputs or performance standards expected

(Wilton 2013)

Job Description

Job descriptions relate to the task to be undertaken:

• Job Title

• Location

• Responsible to

• Responsible for

• Main purpose of the job

• Responsibilities/duties

• Working conditions

• Other matters

• Any other duties (Marchington and Wilkinson 2013)

Person Specification

Person specifications outline the attributes required for the position, including:

• Knowledge

• Skills – IT, foreign language,

• Previous experience – in a similar role, company

• Qualifications

• Personal qualities – professionalism, creativity etc.

It represents the selection criteria

Example of a Person Specification

Receptionist

Competency Frameworks

• Competency frameworks focus on the behaviours of job applicants that are required to undertake the role

• Often generic to an organisation rather than specific to a job

• Person based rather than job based

• People analysis rather than job analysis

• A competency framework is a structure that sets out the competencies required by individuals required by individuals working within the organisation.

Competency Frameworks

Most commonly sought:

• Communication skills

• People management

• Team skills

• Customer service skills

• Results-orientation

• Problem solving

(CIPD 2014)

Exercise: what competencies are employers looking for?

Work with a partner:

1. Think of a sector you might consider in the future for a job and/or placement.

2. Think about the kind of roles that might exist.

3. Now add in the attributes or competencies that you would expect to be important in these jobs.

4. Consider how you would evidence that attribute or competency

Your list might look a bit like this……….

Exercise: what competencies are employers looking for?

Group Feedback:

1. What sector did you think that you might consider in the future for a job and/or placement.

2. What role did you consider?

3. What attributes and/or competencies did you decide would to be important in these jobs.

4. Consider how you would evidence that attribute or competency.

Selection methods

1. Interviews

• Telephone interviews

• Face to face interviews (individual, group or panel)

2. Psychometric testing

• Personality profiling

• Aptitude tests

• Technical tests

3. Assessment centres

• Work simulations

• Group exercises

4. References

Why are selection interviews so widely used?

• Opportunity for face to face meeting and mutual preview

• Flexible

• Can be an efficient and practical tool

• Enables information to be provided about job and company

• Opportunity to ‘sell’ the organisation

Problems with selection interviews

• Subjectivity and unfair bias

• Inconsistency

• Lack of structure

• Lack of preparation

• Lack of interviewer skill and concentration

• Interviewer errors in decision making

• Poor outcomes

YouTube clip (Most awkward interview ever – David Brent, The

Office )

Exercise

Discuss the video clip:

• What did David Brent do wrong in the interview?

• How could he improve?

Better interviews…

Planning and preparation

Structuring the interviews

Developing a rapport

Appropriate and effective questioning

Encouraging the candidate to talk and ask questions

Making notes

Having more than one interviewer

Training interviewers

Preparation for a selection interview: employer

• Look at job descriptions, person specifications, competency framework

• Identify key selection criteria

• Prepare areas of questioning

• Look at candidate information (CVs/ application forms)

• Plan the structure of the interview itself

Developing a ‘rapport’ and setting the tone

• Aim to make the interviewee feel at ease

• Smile and warmly shake their hand

• At the beginning make introductions and explain the interview process

• Engage in small talk – travel, weather, etc

• Start with “easy” questions

• Keep body language and tone

of voice neutral

Listening Skills

• Maintain eye contact

• Appropriate physical behavior (don’t fiddle with a pen or hands etc.)

• Be silent!

• Show interest by nodding and using appropriate facial expressions

• Do not interrupt

• Don’t talk too much

Questioning Skills

Use a variety of questions:

• Open questions – encourage people to open up e.g. Why did you leave…How do you feel about…

• Probing – useful in seeking depth and detail e.g. Why did you…What made you ….

• Closed questions – useful in verifying specific information e.g. When did you leave…

Questioning Skills – Funneling technique

Questions

Use: Avoid:

Open questions Closed questions

Probing questions Leading questions

Reflective Multiple questions

Checking/summarizing Sidetracking

Behavioral Personally intrusive

Situational Discriminatory

Exercise: Questioning Skills

Working in pairs, take turns to practice ‘funneling’

• Ask your partner an open question.

• When you have an initial answer, use a series of probing questions to find out more.

• When you have found out as much as you need move on.

• Summarize to check understanding

Feedback

Effective feedback is:

• Tailored to the recipient

• Non personal

• Purposeful

• Documentable

• Descriptive

• Timely

• Interactive

• Constructive and balanced

Feedback process

First ask the feedback recipient to comment on their own performance:

▪ What do you think went well?

▪ What do you think you didn’t do so well?

Then give your feedback:

▪ Focus throughout on the positives

▪ Limit yourself to negative feedback on two aspects

▪ Discuss together how to improve performance

Next week….mock interviews

Plan for next week

Candidates hand in CV’s

• 20 minutes – preparation (employers read CV’s and prepare questions, candidates prepare for interview)

Candidates leave the room and do not return until called in for interview or feedback

• 45 minutes – mock interviews (15 minutes per candidate)

• 10 minutes – employers discuss feedback, candidates complete feedback forms

• 15 minutes – feedback (5 minutes per candidate)

Everyone return to the room

• 15 minutes – closing and discussion of self reflection

Preparation for next week

Managers

o research company

o read placement advert and consider what skills and/or competencies are required

o prepare a list of questions

o plan structure of the interview

Candidates

o read placement advert and consider what skills and/or competencies are required

o prepare your CV (bring 3 printed copies)

o remember tailor it to job advert

o research the company

o prepare some questions

Preparing your CV

• Well written presentable and concise

• Chronological

• No longer than 2 pages

• Keep sentences short and effective

• Honest and accurate

• Relevant and specific to the job

• Read the job description (and person specification if provided)

Essential reading

• Anderson, N. and Shackleton, V. (1993) Successful Selection Interviewing. Blackwell: Oxford (Chapter 3)

• Foot, M. and Hook, C (2011) Introducing Human Resource Management. Essex: Pearson Education Limited. (Chapter 7)

• Torrington D., Hall L., Taylor S. and Atkinson C. (2014) Human Resource Management, 9th ed, FT Prentice Hall: Harlow (Chapter 28)

Further reading • ACAS (2014) Recruitment and Induction. London: ACAS

http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1371

• Carbery, R. and Cross, C. (2013) Human Resource Management. London: Palgrave Macmillian (Chapter 3)

• CIPD. (2014) Competence and competency frameworks. http://www.cipd.co.uk/hr- resources/factsheets/competence-competency-frameworks.aspx

• Foot, M. and Hook, C (2011) Introducing Human Resource Management. Essex: Pearson Education Limited. (Chapter 6)

• Jackman, J.M., & Strober, M.H. (2003). Fear of feedback. Harvard Business Review, 81(4), pp101-107.

• Marchington, M and Wilkinson (2012) Human Resource Management at Work. London: CIPD. (Chapter 8)

• Taylor, S. (2010) Resourcing and Talent Management. 6th ed. London: CIPD. (Chapters 6 and 10)

• Torrington, D., Hall, L., Taylor, T. and Atkinson, C. (2014) Human Resource Management. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited. (Chapters 6, 7 and 28)

• Wilton, N. An introduction to Human Resource Management. London: Sage. (Chapter 6)

Objectives

1. Explain what are the aims of recruitment

2. Understand how an employer selects an employee for a role

3. Identify the problems with selection interviews

4. Know how to plan and conduct an interview

5. Describe how to give and receive feedback

QUESTIONS?