Chapter 7: The Recruiting Interview
Essay
1. Discuss four ways interviewers can avoid EEO (equal employment opportunity) violations
in their questions.
2. Why is creating an applicant profile a critical step in the selection process?
3. Compare and contrast a critical incidents approach and a hypothetical situations approach
with questioning.
4. How can a recruiter involve the applicant during the opening of a selection interview?
5. What information should an interviewer give the applicant during the closing of a
recruiting interview?
6. What does the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibit in recruiting interviews?
7. How can recruiters comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990?
8. What limitations do “honesty tests” have in the selection of employees?
9. Why should a recruiting interview be at least moderately scheduled?
10. What is a bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ)?
11. Discuss the pros and cons of some of the nontraditional interviewing approaches being
used today.
12. What are the two transition questions interviewers should ask prior to giving information?
13. What are the four typical, open-ended questions interviewers should answer when
completing a post-interview evaluation?
14. You are a recruiter for a Fortune 500 company. Discuss the ways in which you would
develop an applicant profile.
15. Outline some suggestions for information giving in the recruitment interview.
16. Which of the following statements is true of the Civil Rights Act of 1964?
a. It requires equal pay for men and women performing work that involves similar
skill, effort, responsibility, and working conditions.
b. It prohibits the selection of employees based on race, color, gender, religion, or
national origin.
c. It prohibits employers of 25 or more persons from discriminating against persons
because of age.
d. It prohibits the discrimination of women during pregnancy and protects job
security during maternity leaves.
17. Which of the following is the best predictor of future performance according to
interviewers?
a. level of education and training
b. past performance
c. motivation
d. past behavior
18. A definite way to make sure you are asking a legal question is to apply the test of _____.
a. fairness
b. comparability
c. job relatedness
d. understanding
19. Which of the following is a feature of millennial applicants?
a. They expect to remain with one organization or one career for long periods of
time.
b. They are more interested in the brand name of an organization than in its
reputation.
c. They are less comfortable with and less used to diversity in society and in the
workplace.
d. They are less concerned with national and geographical boundaries because many
of them have worked abroad.
20. Which of the following question pitfalls is particularly relevant to a selection interview?
a. open-to-closed switch
b. leading push
c. evaluative response
d. yes (no) response
21. Which of the following statements is true of millennial applicants?
a. They reject the notion that an interviewer’s behavior is the best indicator of what
an applicant might expect from an organization.
b. They place a strong emphasis on the communication that takes place during an
interview and on their attraction to an interviewer’s behavior.
c. They appreciate pressure tactics, strict adherence to schedules of questions, and
canned presentations.
d. They prefer interviewers to be veterans rather than young and relatively new
employees.
22. _____ identify the abilities of a potential employee and attempt to predict how well and
quickly a person is likely to learn tasks required in the position an organization wishes to
fill.
a. Honesty tests
b. Basic skills tests
c. Personality tests
d. Aptitude tests
23. Which of the following statements is true of aptitude tests?
a. They are popular because of the serious problems all types of organizations
encounter with dishonest employees.
b. They fail to measure the all-important and elusive variable called “common
sense.”
c. They assess people skills along with personality traits and personality types.
d. They measure mathematics, measurement, reading, and speaking skills.
24. _____ are face-to-face interactions with the primary purpose of assessing the honesty of
potential employees.
a. Screening interviews
b. Placement interviews
c. Persuasive interviews
d. Integrity interviews
25. Which of the following questions is unlawful?
a. How would you react if we decided to transfer you at the end of the first six
months?
b. Tell me about a time when you have had to deal with an irate customer.
c. What does your spouse do for a living?
d. If you observe a fellow employee stealing something from an organization, what
would you do?
26. Identify an accurate statement about truthful applicants in the context of integrity
interviews.
a. They tend to ignore the probability of employee theft.
b. They tend to approve the idea of leniency for dishonesty.
c. They tend to hesitate when replying.
d. They tend to expect favorable test results.
27. Monster.com is an example of a(n) _____.
a. library database
b. job search Web site
c. online general knowledge site
d. entertainment Web site
28. _____ orders federal contractors to hire persons with disabilities, including alcoholism,
asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, and epilepsy.
a. The Civil Rights Act of 1991
b. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967
c. The Rehabilitation Act of 1973
d. The Equal Pay Act of 1963
29. Which of the following does the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 provide?
a. reasonable accommodation
b. hiring quotas
c. specialized tools
d. None of the answers is correct.
30. Bona fide occupational qualifications (BFOQs) include _____.
a. education
b. ethnic groups
c. citizenship
d. age
31. Bona fide occupational qualifications (BFOQs) generally exclude all of the following
EXCEPT _____.
a. physical appearance
b. physical attributes
c. disabilities
d. citizenship
32. Which of the following is probed often even though it is an equal employment
opportunity (EEO) violation?
a. arrest records
b. age
c. marital status
d. All of the answers are correct.
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written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
TB-7 | 5
Ans: d
33. Which of the following terms refers to a situation when interviewers favor applicants
who are most similar to them?
a. behavior-based system
b. birds of a feather syndrome
c. researcher bias
d. All of the answers are correct.
34. According to the behavior-based selection technique, which of the following principles is
true?
a. The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior.
b. Behavior that is not seen must be probed.
c. Behavior that is not observed cannot be read.
d. Job-related behavior in an interview is not a good predictor of future job
performance.
35. Which of the following do today’s applicants NOT prefer from interviewers?
a. reading questions
b. being stuck to a schedule
c. canned presentations
d. All of the answers are correct.
36. Which of the following is an example of a critical incident question?
a. Tell me about your most difficult relationship with a team member. How did you
handle it?
b. Describe a time when you experienced a setback in a class, in a sport, or on the
job. How did you handle it?
c. What do you believe are the most important performance criteria for a project
engineer?
d. Last year there was a lot of strife among our sales staff. If you had been with us,
what would you have done?
37. In which of the following areas do hypothetical question scenarios in integrity tests use
questions?
a. interpersonal deception
b. security violation
c. sexual harassment
d. All of the answers are correct.
38. Which of the following instructions will allow interviewers to build rapport with
interviewees during the opening stage of an interview?
a. Allow applicants to address interviewers by first names, because most applicants
feel comfortable doing so at this stage of the relationship.
b. Greet applicants by name in a warm, friendly manner and with a firm rather than a
crushing handshake.
c. Engage applicants using trite questions or comments about the weather or the
applicant’s travel to the location of the interview.
d. Engage applicants in prolonged small talk because this will lessen their anxiety
and suspense.
39. Which of the following was NOT listed as a technique of conscious transparency?
a. Share information with applicants.
b. Explain the purpose of questions.
c. Promote restricted dialogue.
d. Provide a less defensive climate.
40. Which of the following is a nontraditional interviewing approach?
a. team, panel, or board
b. chain format
c. seminar format
d. All of the answers are correct.
41. In a _____ of recruiting interviews, one recruiter may converse with an applicant for 15
or 20 minutes, perhaps developing a general impression of the applicant’s background,
and then passes the applicant along to a second recruiter who probes into specific job
skills.
a. group format
b. panel format
c. chain format
d. seminar format
42. Which of the following is a salient feature of a seminar format of recruiting interviews?
a. It is more common than other interview formats.
b. It takes more time than single interviews.
c. It fails to provide valuable insights into how applicants might work with one
another as a team.
d. It enables an organization to observe several applicants replying and reacting to
the same questions at the same time.
43. Honesty tests have a very low percentage of error in screening out honest applicants.
a. True
b. False
44. “Tell me about yourself,” is a good opening for a recruitment interview.
a. True
b. False
45. Top interests of the millennial generation applicants do NOT include money but include
flexible schedules and work locations, among others.
a. True
b. False
46. When recruiters ask about actual events that have occurred within their organization to
see how an applicant would handle the problem, these are known as critical incident
questions.
a. True
b. False
47. Millennial generation applicants want and seek extensive information about each position
and organization prior to an interview.
a. True
b. False
48. Applicants choose references that will write favorable letters or respond favorably when
contacted by potential employers.
a. True
b. False
49. Standardized tests have become an integral part of the selection process and may be
particularly effective in combination with behavior-based interviews widely used today.
a. True
b. False
50. Attraction to the interviewer is the strongest predictor of an applicant’s attraction to an
organization.
a. True
b. False
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written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
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51. According to Tom Peters, today “talent rules.”
a. True
b. False
52. A major advantage of a panel format of interviewing is that each member hears the same
questions and answers and may bring a variety of expertise and cultural diversity to the
table.
a. True
b. False
53. Behavior-based questions ask applicants about past experiences in which they have had
to deal with situations closely related to the position they are seeking.
a. True
b. False
54. Asking questions about a person’s spouse during an interview is unlawful.
a. True
b. False
55. Hypothetical questions are most useful when they portray situations applicants have NOT
directly encountered, and, therefore, have NOT prepared answers for in advance.
a. True
b. False
56. A task force of the American Psychological Association concluded that the honesty tests
used currently identify individuals with a high propensity for stealing in the workplace
but NOT those in the moderate to low ranges.
a. True
b. False
57. There are always two applicants in each interview, the real one and the make-believe one.
a. True
b. False
58. It is okay to ask an applicant to call you by your first name during the opening of an
employment interview.
a. True
b. False
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written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
TB-7 | 9
Ans: b
59. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is concerned with intent, NOT
effect.
a. True
b. False
60. An applicant profile reduces the “birds of a feather” syndrome.
a. True
b. False
61. Establishing legally defensible criteria is an important step in avoiding lawsuits.
a. True
b. False