Best Practices In Interviewing

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Best Practices inInterviewing

Presented by

Kevin Panet

March 12th, 2009


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Critical Issues

Companies cant afford to hire wrong

Legal issues continue to grow

Need to set people up for success

Turn over is expensive


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The Employee From

Heaven HellWrite down your thoughts on the best

employee you ever hired? What was he/shelike? How did they work? How well did they fit

in? Did they have the skills the job demanded?

Write down your thoughts on the worst

employee you ever hired? What was he/shelike? How did they work? How well did they fit

in? Did they have the skills the job demanded?


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Overview

Different types of interviews

Interview Questions

Legal issues

Candidate scoring


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Types of Interviews

Screening Interview

The purpose of this meeting is to quickly assess the skillsand personality traits of the potential candidates.

The objective ultimately is to screen out those applicantsthe interviewer feels should not be hired due to lack of skillsor bad first impressions.

The interviewer must also screen in those candidatesshe/he feels would make a valuable contribution to the

company.

Look for inconsistencies in the jobseeker's resume andchallenging his/her qualifications.

A screening interview is meant to weed out unqualifiedcandidates.

One type of screening interview is the telephone interview.


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Types of Interviews

Telephone Interview

Telephone interviews are merely screening interviews meant toeliminate poorly qualified candidates so that only a few are left forpersonal interviews.

These interviews help save time and money for both hiring managersand job candidates


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Types of Interviews

One-On-One Interview

In a one-on-one interview, it has been established that thejobseeker has the skills and education necessary for the position.

You want to see if the jobseeker will fit in with the company, andhow his/her skills complement the rest of the department.

You want to determine how the candidates qualifications willbenefit the company.


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Types of Interviews

Panel or Team Interview

The jobseeker will face several members of the company who

have a say in whether he/she is hired.

The job seeker will be asked to demonstrate his/her problem-

solving skills. The panel will outline a situation and ask him/her to

formulate a plan that deals with the problem.

The interviewers are looking for how the jobseeker will applyhis/her knowledge and skills to a real-life situation.

A typical question might be, tell us about

a time you were faced with a problem at

work and how did you get it resolved.


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Types of Interviews

Informational Interview

Typically this is an interview set up at the jobseeker's request witha Human Resources Manager or a departmental supervisor in thecareer field he/she is interested in.

The purpose of this interview is to help the jobseeker find out moreabout a particular career, position or company.

The candidate is seeking information from these people in hopes

that they might refer him/her to someone else in their company orto somebody they may know outside their company who could usetheir skills.

The Informational Interview is a part of the cold-

calling process whereby jobseekers are

generating their own job leads.


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Types of Questions

General Questions

Job Specific Questions

Behavioral Interviewing Questions

Illegal Questions


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General Questions

1. Tell me about yourself

2. Why did you leave your last job?

3. What experience do you have in this field?

4. Do you consider yourself successful?

5. What do co-workers say about you?

6. What do you know about this organization?

7. What have you done to improve your knowledge in the last year?

8. Are you applying for other jobs?

9. Why do you want to work for this organization?

10. Do you know anyone who works for us?

11. What kind of salary do you need?

12. Are you a team player?

13. How long would you expect to work for us if hired?


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General Questions

14. Have you ever had to fire anyone? How did you feel about that?

15. What is your philosophy towards work?

16. If you had enough money to retire right now, would you?

17. Have you ever been asked to leave a position?

18. Explain how you would be an asset to this organization

19. Why should we hire you?

20. Tell me about a suggestion you have made

21. What irritates you about co-workers?

22. What is your greatest strength?

23. Tell me about your dream job.

24. Why do you think you would do well at this job?

25. What are you looking for in a job?26. What kind of person would you refuse to work with?


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General Questions

27. What is more important to you: the money or the work?

28. What would your previous supervisor say your strongest point is?

29. Tell me about a problem you had with a supervisor

30. What has disappointed you about a job?

31. Tell me about your ability to work under pressure.

32. Do your skills match this job or another job more closely?

33. What motivates you to do your best on the job?

34. Are you willing to work overtime? Nights? Weekends?

35. How would you know you were successful on this job?

36. Would you be willing to relocate if required?

37. Are you willing to put the interests of the organization ahead of your own?

38. Describe your management style.

39. What have you learned from mistakes on the job?


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General Questions

40. Do you have any blind spots?

41. If you were hiring a person for this job, what would you look for?

42. Do you think you are overqualified for this position?

43. How do you propose to compensate for your lack of experience?

44. What qualities do you look for in a boss?

45. Tell me about a time when you helped resolve a dispute between others.

45. Tell me about a time when you helped resolve a dispute between others.

46. What position do you prefer on a team working on a project?

47. Describe your work ethic.

48. What has been your biggest professional disappointment?

49. Tell me about the most fun you have had on the job.

50. Do you have any questions for me?


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Job Specific Questions

Will the employee fit in?

11. Describe a time where you had to work with a group of people to achieve a common goal?

12. Can you give me an example of working as part of a team. What was your contribution to the team

and what was the outcome of this exercise?

13. What would you do if?

What makes this person the best applicant for this position? Why should the employer take this

person over other applicants?

14. Why do you think you are the best person for the job?

15. What are your strengths and weaknesses?

16. Can you give me five words that best describe you?

17. What skills and qualities can you bring to this position?


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Is there anything you would like to ask us?

18. Is there anything else that you feel we should know about your ability to perform the assigned duties

and responsibilities of this position?

Planning and Organization/Time Management:

1. How do you determine priorities in scheduling your time? Give examples.

2. Describe a time in school when you had many projects or assignments due at the same time. 3. What

steps did you take to get them all done?

3. Tell me about a time when you had too many things to do and you were required to prioritize your

tasks.

4. How do you prioritize projects and tasks when scheduling your time? Give me some examples.


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Teamwork:

5. Tell me about a time you were able to successfully deal with another person even when that individual

may not have personally liked you (or vice versa).

6. Tell me about a recent situation in which you had to deal with a very upset customer or co-worker.

7. Describe a situation where you have had to work as part of a team to achieve a result. What was your

role in this?

8. Describe a situation where others you were working with on a project disagreed with your ideas. What

did you do?

Adaptability:

9. Tell me about a time when you had to adjust to a classmates or colleagues working style in order tocomplete a project or achieve your objectives.

Analytical Skills/Problem Solving

10. Tell me about a situation where you had to solve a difficult problem. What did you do? What was yourthought process? What was the outcome? What do you wish you had done differently?


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Communication:

11. What is your typical way of dealing with conflict? Give me an example.

12. Give me an example of a time when you were able to successfully communicate with another person

even when that individual may not have personally liked you (or vice versa). How did you handle the

situation? What obstacles or difficulties did you face? How did you deal with them?

Creativity:

13. Tell me about a time when you had to use your presentation skills to influence someone's opinion.

14. Tell me about a problem that youve solved in a unique or unusual way. What was the outcome?

Were you happy or satisfied with it?

Decision Making:

15. Tell me about a difficult decision you've made in the last year.

16. Describe a situation where you have had to overcome a problem or obstacle in order to move forward

with something. What did you do?


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17. Tell me about a time when you had to make a decision without all the information you needed. How

did you handle it? Why? Were you happy with the outcome?

Integrity/Honesty:

18. Tell me about a time when you missed an obvious solution to a problem.

19. Tell me about a time when you were forced to make an unpopular decision.

20. Tell me about a time you had to fire a friend.

21. Describe a time when you set your sights too high (or too low).

22. Tell of the most difficult customer service experience that you have ever had to handle-perhaps anangry or irate customer. Be specific and tell what you did and what was the outcome.

23. Tell me about a time when you had to go above and beyond the call of duty in order to get a job done.

24. Give a specific example of a policy you conformed to with which you did not agree. Why?


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Leadership:

25. Give me an example of a time when you motivated others.

26. Tell me about a time when you delegated a project effectively.

27. What has been your experience in giving presentations to small or large groups? What has been yourmost successful experience in speech making?

28. Tell me about a team project when you had to take the lead or take charge of the project? What did

you do? How did you do it? What was the result?

Interpersonal Skills:

29. Give me an example of a time when you used your fact-finding skills to solve a problem.

30. Give me a specific example of a time when you used good judgment and logic in solving a problem.

31. Describe a situation in which you were able to use persuasion to successfully convince someone to

see things your way.

32. Give an example of when you had to work with someone who was difficult to get along with.How/why was this person difficult? How did you handle it? How did the relationship progress?


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Legal Issues

Keep questions focused on the job

Respect privacy rights

Dont ask for personal insights

Be mindful of appearances

Keep notes


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Good vs. Bad Interview Questions

Dont ask

How old are you?

When is your birthday?

What year were youborn?

When did you

graduate college/high

school?

You can ask

Are you over the

age of 18?

Can you, afteremployment,

provide proof of

age?


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Dont ask

Are you married?

Who do you live with?

How many children? Are you pregnant?

Do you expect to have

a family?

What are yourchildcare

arrangements?

You can ask

Can you relocate?

Do you have any

restrictions on yourability to travel?

Do you have

responsibilities that will

prevent you from

meeting specified workschedules?

Do you anticipate any

absences from work

on a regular basis?


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Dont ask

How tall are you?

How much do you

weigh? How often do you go

to the gym?

Are you on a diet?

Instead ask

Are you able to lift

a 50-pound weight

and carry it 100

yards, as that is

part of the job?


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Dont ask Do you have any

disabilities?

Have you had anyrecent illness or

operations? Please complete this

medical questionnaire.

What was the date ofyour last physical

exam? How's your family's

health?

When did you loseyour eyesight/ leg/

hearing/ etc.?

Instead ask Are you able to

perform the essentialfunctions of this jobwith or withoutreasonable

accommodations?(Legal if theinterviewer thoroughlydescribed the job.)

Will you be able tocarry out in a safemanner all jobassignmentsnecessary for thisposition?

Are you able to lift a

50-pound weight andcarry it 100 yards, asthat is art of the ob?


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Dont ask

Where wereyou/your parentsborn?

What is your nativelanguage?

What is yourcountry ofcitizenship?

Are you a UScitizen?

Instead ask

Do you have anylanguage abilitiesthat would behelpful in doing this

job? (Legal iflanguage ability isdirectly relevant to

job performance.)

Are you authorizedto work in the

United States?


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Dont ask

Have you ever

been arrested?

Instead ask

Have you ever

been convicted of a

_______ crime?(Legal if the crime

is reasonably

relevant to the job;

e.g. embezzlementfor a banking job.)


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Dont ask

What type of discharge

did you receive?

Did you kill people?

Instead ask

In what branch of the

Armed Forces did you

serve?

What type of training

or education did you

receive in the military?


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Dont ask

What clubs or

social organizations

do you belong to?

Do you go to

church?

Instead ask

List any

professional or

trade groups orother organizations

that you belong to

that you consider

relevant to yourability to perform

this job.


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Dont ask

Anything personal!

All questions in this

area are illegal!

Instead ask

Are you available

for work on

Saturday andSunday? (only if it

is necessary).

Race

Orientation

Religion

Affiliations


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Post Interview Scoring

Develop a Score Sheet

It should be

Used objectively

Used consistently

Maintained for at least 3 years


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Sample Post Interview Scoring

1. How well was the candidate prepared? Did they

show up on time, dressed for success, etc.?1 2 3 4 5

1 2 3 4 5

1 2 3 4 5

2. How well did the candidate answer the General

Questions?

3. How well did the candidate answer specific job

questions?

4. How well did the candidate answer the behavioral

questions?

1 2 3 4 5

1 2 3 4 55. How well did the candidate perform overall?

6. Any additional observations?

Total Score: ______

Very Very

Poor Adequate Strong


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Conclusion

Good interviewing skills are

Right for your business

Best kept legal

Will help reduce turn over

Will help you save money Will help you make money

Documents

Best Practices In Interviewing