Communicating at Work, 12e (Adler)
Chapter 6 Principles of Interviewing
1) All of the following are typical types of workplace interviews EXCEPT
A) diagnostic interviews.
B) investigative interviews.
C) exit interviews.
D) portfolio interviews.
2) Interviews that gather information from large samples of people in order to learn about
customers’ preferences are called ________ interviews.
A) journalistic
B) survey
C) diagnostic
D) research
3) Kio was injured while performing a safety inspection at the chemical plant he worked for and
was taken to the emergency room. The doctor asked him a number of questions about his injuries
to determine the proper course of action for treatment. Which of the following types of
information-gathering interviews did Kio’s doctor perform?
A) diagnostic
B) research
C) survey
D) exit
4) If a company conducts focus-group interviews with consumers to discover desired
improvements for a product, which type of information-gathering interview are they performing?
A) investigative
B) diagnostic
C) research
D) exit
5) Your text identifies several characteristics that showcase an interview as a special kind of
conversation. Which of the following is NOT a special characteristic of interviews?
A) It has a predetermined purpose, at least for one of the parties involved.
B) There is an element of control, because one of the parties directs the flow of conversation
toward a goal.
C) Only two people will participate.
D) The focus is on questions and answers.
6) According to your text, which of the following is NOT true about interviewing?
A) At least one party has a predetermined reason for participating.
B) An interview is less structured than a typical conversation.
C) Conversation is directed toward a predetermined goal.
D) The interviewee typically does about 70 percent of the talking.
7) Which of the following is true about the interaction that occurs during a formal interview?
A) At least one person has a serious, predetermined reason for participating.
B) The conversation does not have a specific purpose.
C) All participants know the questions ahead of time.
D) All participants know the responses to the questions ahead of time.
8) In most interviews (unlike typical conversations), the ratio of speaking turns is uneven. During a
typical interview, the interviewee will do about ________ percent of the talking.
A) 20
B) 35
C) 70
D) 90
9) Four types of interviews identified by your text as essential for almost every occupation are
A) information-gathering, career research, performance appraisal, and employment.
B) disciplinary, survey, employment, and performance appraisal.
C) career research, investigative, disciplinary, and exit.
D) information-gathering, diagnostic, survey, and research.
10) The first step in conducting an information-gathering interview is to
A) choose the right interviewee.
B) define the interview goals.
C) conduct pre-interview research.
D) write the interview questions.
11) The majority of new job hires obtain their employment offers through
A) Web-based employment sites.
B) advertisements.
C) mass mailings of their résumés.
D) personal contacts.
12) Three purposes of a career research interview are to
A) get references, get referrals, prepare a résumé.
B) be remembered, prepare a résumé, get references.
C) read, remember, write.
D) conduct research, be remembered, get referrals.
13) According to the text, in developing personal networks to discover job contacts, ________ are
often most helpful.
A) close friends
B) close relatives
C) associates who are not relatives or close friends
D) personnel departments of major corporations
14) Why would an important person in an organization be willing to be interviewed by you, a mere
student?
A) Many successful people want to help others, just as they have been helped.
B) If you’ve made contact through a referral, your interviewee will be helping the person who
referred you.
C) The interviewee may be flattered that you asked for an interview.
D) All of the above are reasons why an important person in an organization would be willing to
meet with you.
15) When contacting a prospective interviewee for a career research interview, it is a good idea to
take which of the following actions?
A) Introduce yourself in writing.
B) Point out that you would eventually like to be employed by this person or at their company.
C) Leave it up to the interviewee to choose a meeting time.
D) Promise not to contact the interviewee again if he or she chooses not to respond.
16) All of the following activities EXCEPT ________ will distinguish you as a professional,
serious person who is worth the interviewee’s time and effort.
A) sending emails or letters that contain spelling and/or grammar errors
B) giving your interviewee in advance a list of topic areas and questions you hope to cover
C) following up with a second letter, e-mail, or phone call to confirm your interview
D) sending a letter of thanks after the interview
17) According to a recent survey, which of the following is the most important factor in shaping a
hiring decision?
A) grade-point average
B) extracurricular activities
C) employment interview
D) work experience
18) The fact that most job postings receive many more responses than the employers need means
that
A) human resources departments look carefully through all the applications for the most
outstanding applicants.
B) being one of the first people to apply for a new posting is essential.
C) it is best for job-seekers to contact potential employers before they have an opening.
D) it is best to respond to as many postings as you can find in an as efficient manner as possible.
19) The practice of requiring prospective hires to grant access to their social media profiles so
human resources can screen them is
A) unlikely to affect hiring decisions.
B) legal in most U.S. states.
C) declining in popularity.
D) used only by unethical businesses.
20) All of the following are recommended ways to manage your online profile EXCEPT
A) un-google yourself.
B) clean up your digital dirt.
C) use the same e-mail address for social media sites and your application.
D) edit your Facebook site to show a professional image.
21) Which of the following elements is NOT suggested by the text as an effective method for
contacting potential employers?
A) Contact the person making the hiring decision directly.
B) Send résumés to every company in the area.
C) Develop a personal network.
D) Conduct background research.
22) Before contacting a potential employer to ask for an interview, you should make sure to
A) prepare yourself for the possibility of a video interview.
B) think constructively about how the interview will go.
C) rehearse possible interview questions.
D) research the organization’s history and culture.
23) When contacting a potential employer, ideally you will direct your request for an interview to
the
A) company’s CEO.
B) manager of the division that most interests you.
C) individual who can hire you.
D) head of the human resources department.
24) Sheila was interviewing for her first job as a kindergarten teacher. Her interviewer took her
into a kindergarten class and asked her to take over as the teacher for 20 minutes. Sheila was
experiencing a(n) ________ interview.
A) panel
B) audition
C) behavioral
D) stress
25) During his employment interview, Chen was asked several times to describe challenges he had
encountered on his last job and to explain how he handled them. Chen was experiencing a(n)
________ interview.
A) panel
B) audition
C) experiential
D) behavioral
26) You enter the interview room and sit down before a group of eight interviewers, each of whom
will ask you two questions. This interview is being conducted in a(n) ________ format.
A) panel
B) stress
C) audition
D) work team
27) Chinda has been invited to a job interview that will be conducted in a behavioral format. She is
changing career fields, so she has little specific work experience relevant to the position she is
applying for. What should she do?
A) Ask if she can have an audition interview instead.
B) Decline the interview.
C) Look for sample answers on the Internet about similar jobs and memorize them.
D) Think of ways to explain how her prior accomplishments are relevant to the job she is seeking.
28) An example of a behavioral job interview question is
A) “Tell us about a time when you had to fire someone and how you handled it.”
B) “Where do you see yourself ten years from now?”
C) “Would you prefer to work at our West Coast or our East Coast location?”
D) “Who is your favorite mentor, and why?”
29) Dorian is preparing for a job interview that will be conducted via video. Assuming that he has
an adequate Internet connection in each of the locations listed below, which one would be the best
site for him to use for the interview?
A) at a table on his back patio overlooking a lake
B) a sparsely decorated spare room in his house
C) in his home office cluttered with sports memorabilia
D) at his kitchen table, with a view of the living room behind him
30) Sandor is going to be interviewed via video for a job opening at a bank. He will be
interviewing from his home. What should he wear for this interview?
A) a suit and tie
B) comfortable clothes
C) whatever he prefers
D) business-casual attire
31) During video interviews, why is it important to wait for a second or two after the interviewer is
done speaking before making a response?
A) The interviewer may need a moment to collect his or her thoughts before attending to what you
have to say.
B) It gives you a chance to smile and make renewed eye contact with the interviewer.
C) Pausing after the interviewer speaks shows respect.
D) Connection delays can cause you to misjudge when someone is done speaking.
32) A probable result of thinking constructively about the chance to participate in an interview is
A) increased anxiety during the interview.
B) overconfidence.
C) planning ahead to handle possible upcoming challenges.
D) negative self-fulfilling prophecies.
33) One survey indicates that the leading factor shaping interviewers’ initial impressions of
candidates is
A) the appearance of the résumé.
B) the clothing the candidate wears to the interview.
C) the candidate’s eye contact during the rapport stage of the interview.
D) the firmness of the candidate’s handshake.
34) Which of the following does NOT influence the rating a candidate receives in a job interview?
A) the interviewer’s mood
B) the time of day when the interview occurs
C) how well the candidate before you performed
D) Any of these factors can influence a candidate’s rating.
35) All of the following are typical mistakes of candidates in employment interviews EXCEPT
A) appearing interested in the company’s success.
B) answering their cell phone during the interview.
C) displaying a lack of accountability.
D) dressing inappropriately.
36) Most employment interview questions fall into five categories. Two of these categories are
educational background and work experience. What are the other three?
A) career goals, salary and benefits requirements, travel and relocation concerns
B) career goals, personal traits, knowledge of organization and job
C) personal traits, salary and benefits requirements, knowledge of organization and job
D) personal traits, knowledge of organization and job, travel and relocation concerns
37) If an employment interviewer asks you, “How would you define success,” he or she is trying to
learn about your
A) career goals.
B) personal traits.
C) educational background.
D) knowledge of their job opening.
38) Choose the best answer to the interview question, “Why should we hire you?”
A) “I understand from your website that your most popular product is Zanos. I’ve been using Zanos
for three years now. I’ve shown several of my friends how effective it is, and now they’re buying it,
too. With my knowledge of the product and my enthusiasm for it, I can be a sincere and valuable
sales rep.”
B) “I really need the money.”
C) “I just completed my Associates Degree, and I’m ready to work.”
D) “I am a hard-working, motivated, people-person.”
39) In an employment interview, which of the following would be the best answer to the question,
“What is your greatest weakness?”
A) “I eat too much chocolate.”
B) “I hate to sound so sure of myself, but I’ve been a receptionist for so many years that I don’t
think I have any weaknesses as far as this job goes.”
C) “I had some troubles in my last job, but they were all caused by my boss, who was such a
micro-manager.”
D) “Sometimes I tend to be too much of a perfectionist, so I’m hesitant to let my subordinates work
without close supervision. But I know it’s important to let them have autonomy, so I‘m learning to
give them more chances to work independently.”
40) Whenever you are being interviewed for a job, the fundamental question that the interviewer
wants you to answer is,
A) “What can you do for this organization?”
B) “Will you be a reliable worker?”
C) “Do you have the necessary skills and experience?”
D) “Will you fit in well with our existing employees?”