117
CHAPTER NINE: MANAGING INTERVIEWS IN THE WORKPLACE
Objectives
Recognize types of interviews
Predict the stages of an interview
Develop communication skills needed in meeting the demands of an interview
Conduct an interview as the interviewer
Develop skills to communicate effectively in a media interview
Key Words
Interviewing, effective interviews, employment selection, information gathering, performance
appraisal, complaint or grievance, disciplinary, sales, group, exit, phone, videoconference, media,
interview structure, resumes, letter of application
On the Internet:
www.Careerbuilder.com
www.Resumania.com
www.e-resume.net
Chapter Teaching Notes
I. Communicating for Effective Interviews – Types of interviews
A. Employment selection interview
2. How interviewees can best communicate:
a. Prepare know trends in the field and research details about the
company
b. Practice
3. How interviewers can best communicate
a. Prepare
b. Put the candidate at ease
118
1. General rules for the interviewer:
a. Indicate the meeting s purpose
b. Have a complete outcomes list
2. General rules for the interviewee:
a. Clarify your understanding of the purpose and outcomes
b. Answer directly and simply what you know
C. Performance Appraisal Interview review past work performance
1. Set the time and place
3. Understand the criteria for evaluation in advance
5. Communicate other non-task criteria as a part of the organizational
culture
7. Ask for or offer data
8. Close with plans for the future
D. Complaint/Grievance Interview
1. Think of it as a time to grow
3. Once it has been addressed, everyone should let it go
E. Disciplinary Interview
1. As the interviewer: Carefully explain the situation
2. Outline what led up to the current situation
4. Seek common agreement
5. Make extensive notes
6. Follow through with action or documents
8. Offer help
9. If it is potentially volatile, bring a partner
10. Maintain absolute confidentiality
F. Group Interview
2. Maintain positive facial expressions and eye contact
4. Anticipate more disruptions or noise than you might normally expect
5. Avoid criticizing another interviewee
G. Exit Interview
1. Occurs when an employee leaves the organization as a means of
gathering information to help the organization learn and grow.
2. Often serves as a cathartic experience for the employee
H. Phone interviews
119
2. Adjust the volume
4. If in question, ask if anyone else can hear on the line or speakerphone
5. Interviewers should always ask permission to have someone else
listening in
I. Videoconference interviews
2. Look at the camera as if eye contact with a live person
3. Use additional technology for visual aids if possible
J. Media Interviews
1. Messages to the
media
2. Questions from
reporters
a. Briefly restate the question in your answer
3. Courtesy towards media
4. Time usage – You only have seconds
5. Nonverbal communication
a. Look at the interviewer, not the camera
II. Interview Structure and Phases of the Interview
A. Introduction phase
2. Orienting for the interview
B. Question phase
2. Maintain a positive attitude
3. Use narratives and examples
C. Closing phase
1. Present a summary and outline of future procedures
2. Interviewee should ask questions
D. Follow-up phase
1. Write a thank you note
3. Provide new information if necessary
4. Interviewers should provide a time period to expect a response and
should get back to the interviewee promptly
III. Communicating Interview Questions Types of Interview
Questions
A. Types
1. Closed
a. Yes-No questions
2. Open-ended
a. Hypothetical open-ended questions
B. Organizing the structure for questions
1. The funnel sequence
2. The inverted funnel sequence
3. The hourglass sequence
4. The diamond sequence
a. Begins with the inverted funnel
C. What can I do about being so nervous?
D. What if they ask something I
know?
2. Try to link the question to something related that you do know about
E. What if a person asks an embarrassing or potentially illegal question?
F. What are some killer questions?
1. What are your strengths and weaknesses?
3. Tell me your most difficult case
4. Why are you seeking this position?
G. How do I communicate with these difficult questions confronting
me?
2. Rephrase the question
4. Keep volume up
6. Maintain eye contact and pleasant facial expression
7. Do not be in a hurry
IV. Presenting Resumes
A. Paper resume content
2. Keywords
121
4. Educational background
6. Additional special skills,
8. References
B. Resume Style and Format
2. Language makes a difference
4. Attend to format
5. Target the employer
C. Other formats include:
1. Electronic resumes
3. Home web page resumes
4. Employer websites
Class Exercises
1. Objective: Personal Mission Statements. Illustrate the importance and an understanding
of personal mission statements and/or do mock interviews.
Time: 20 minutes
Directions: Have students pretend that they are interviewing for the following positions.
Discuss personal mission statements and their purposes. Then, have the class individually
create their own statements for each position, thinking as if they were the perfect fit for that
career and/or conduct a mock interview with these positions in mind.
a. Personal exercise trainer
b. Construction site manager
Interview Role-play Evaluation Form
Student
name:
Resume: _/30
Cover letter Correct
outline Appropriate for
position Personal
identification
Interview preparation:
Complete research
Quality of questions
/30
Correct question sequence
Other
122
Role of interviewer:
Quality of role-play
/30
Role of interviewee
Quality of role-play
/30
Responded appropriately
Well-prepared
Other
Role of observer: _/10
Follow-up paper: / 20
Total: /150
2. Objective: Increase understanding of resume building. For evaluation, see part of form
above.
Time: Out of class assignment: 60 minutes, in class as desired
Directions: Have students create their resume, as it would be today. They should make sure to
3. Objective: Create awareness of and increase interviewing skills, as well as practice
resume building skills. Role-play. This project could take the place of a chapter exam
because of its complexity. (Evaluation form available)
Time: 60 minutes in class, 60-120 minutes outside of class
Directions:
Three class periods before activity, put students in groups of three. Have each student prepare
their own personal resume and bring 2 copies to the next class period. Explain that
students are
going to role-play the parts of interviewee and interviewer within their groups.
Two class periods before the activity, have each student exchange resumes within their group
and turn the other copy in to the instructor. The resume each student now holds is the resume
123
The day of the activity, have students meet in their groups. Two students will role-play
interviewer and interviewee while the other student in the group observes and takes notes.
After 20 minutes, they will rotate sets until everyone is done. After everything is complete,
Discussion Questions
1. What was your last interview experience? Was it what you expected? Were you prepared
for the questions that they were going to ask? How did you feel about your
responses? Did
your interview have any of the positive or negative themes mentioned in
the textbook?
2. How do you think an interview for a university teaching position might differ from an
interview for a bank teller position?
3. Pretend you are from San Francisco and are interviewing for a position as a computer
analyst at Company B in Denver. What specifics might you want to research before your
interview? Why is researching information about the organization important as a
potential
candidate?
4. What types of information do you think are most often asked for in an information
gathering interview?
5. How would you feel about a complaint or grievance interview? Does your increased
knowledge of the process lessen the anxiety at all?
6. Have you ever left a job without an exit interview? Would the interview have been
helpful? Why or why not?
7. What are some of the pros and cons of conducting interviews by phone or
videoconference? Would you want to be interviewed in these manners?