Types of Questions and Interview Structure

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Introduction

All human resource professionals appreciate the fact that attracting and retaining the best manpower for a specific job depends largely on the effectiveness of the recruitment, short listing, selection and interview criteria. There are a number of factors that affect the effectiveness of these stages and hence the decisions regarding the “best applicant.”

The success in every of the stages depends on both the job seeker and the employer through the human resource section (Buckley, Norris, and Wiese, 2000; 116). The types of questions asked in the interview as well as the structure of the interview process itself is one of the many factors that play a crucial role in selecting the best applicant for the specified job.

Upon being shortlisted and possibly securing a chance to interview with the desired company, it is important that the candidate prepares adequately to deal with questions that may be asked in the interview. One has to practice how to respond to a number of questions put forward by the interviewing panel. This helps in gaining confidence when the day comes. However, interviewers are usually turned off by answers which sound as though they have been rehearsed.

Therefore, it is the good type of questions that can positively affect the selection of the best applicants for a given position (Hackney and Kleiner, 1994; 8). It is important to note that different interviewers have different interviewing approaches. There are, however, three main types of interviews; structured interview, unstructured, and behavioral interviewing style.

Types of Questions

It is evident, therefore, that the types of questions asked in an interview determine the quality of candidates selected for employment. Most human resource professionals encourage the use of specific questions which are tailored to suit the goals of the company/employer (Barclay, 1999; 138). Interview questions may be categorized into main subjects of interest.

These include; intrinsic and motivational factors, skills and abilities, knowledge of the organization, career goals and objectives, experiences in the desired area, extracurricular activities and college experiences, academic programs and achievements, hypothetical questions, accomplishments and achievements, geographic preferences, and salary and benefits. Asking the right questions in each of the category will go a long way in getting the best from the pool of applicants for a given position (Hartley and Bruckmann, 2002; 21).

Intrinsic and motivational factors

Under this section, the interviewer gets to know the interviewee through the primary interaction. The interviewer may ask the candidate to describe him/herself, describe who or what had the greatest influence on his/her life, the greatest challenges that he/she has ever faced in life, personal strategies of handling rejection, and factors which motivate him/her to deliver the best in any given situation.

By asking these and similar questions, the interviewer is able to identify the source of motivation for the applicant (Dixon, Wang, Calvin et al., 2002; 397). This knowledge is paramount since it determines the suitability of the qualities exhibited by the interviewee for the job on offer.

Skills and abilities

Any employer is interested in knowing the skills and abilities possessed by the applicant since this is one of the major reasons why people have to be hired (Hartley and Bruckmann, 2002; 19).

The interviewer will be interested in knowing some of the skills and abilities that the candidate has that will give him/her a cutting edge in modern competitive job market, the reasons why the applicant thinks the organization should employ him/her, the interviewee’s opinions about working in a team, the opinions of the interviewee as far as the relationships between members in the hierarchical structure of the organization, the applicant’s experience of dealing with a very difficult person, personal ways of organizing time especially during school/work/play, individually perceived strengths and weaknesses, the most preferred organizational structure, communication or problem-solving skills, and leadership styles, perceived challenges when it comes to new ventures like a new career, and personal consideration of what an ideal job would be (Hartley and Bruckmann, 2002; 24).

Knowledge of the company

The interviewer uses this category of questions to find out if the applicant has done his/her homework as far conducting a research of what the organization is all about is concerned. The interview panel would want to know the reasons why the applicant chose their company, the individual’s expectations of the given company, the motivation behind selecting the industry, and most importantly they would want to know what new contribution the applicant will make to the organization (Hackney and Kleiner, 1994; 9).

By asking such questions, the interview panel would end up getting the most desired employee(s) who has broad knowledge of the company and hence making it easier to undertake induction sessions once employed.

Career goals and objectives

This category of questions is crucial in determining whether the interviewee has career goals and objectives which are in line with the mission of the organization. In order to achieve this, the interviewer would to know the applicant’s short-range and long-range goals and aspirations including the strategies of achieving them, goals and objectives over a specified period like 3 years or 10 years, and the interviewee’s personal feeling about the profession of interest.

The responses from the interviewee would be useful in enhancing the effectiveness of selecting the best applicant for the open opposition (Hagevik, 2000; 61).

Work experiences

Virtually all job advertisements have a requirement on past experiences and this has proved to be a turn off for many potential applicants. Employers would want to employ someone who has an idea of what is expected of him/her. Work experience in the same or related job would be an added advantage for any applicant.

The interviewer may ask the interviewee about prior work experiences, past major accomplishments, opinions about what former employers would say about the applicant, the projects that were achieved during the interviewee’s time on the job, the strategies and challenges when it comes to meeting deadlines, the most and least enjoyed job experiences, the toughest job assignment ever handled, and the personal experiences of solving what may be termed as conflict situations (Hackney and Kleiner, 1994; 10).

Other important areas

The interviewers are also usually interested in knowing the applicants’ academic programs and achievement, extracurricular activities and experiences while in campus, asking hypothetical questions, other important achievements and accomplishments, geographical preferences, and lastly about salary expectations and related benefits. These help in getting more information from the applicant that would enhance the selection process (Hackney and Kleiner, 1994; 11).

Interview structure

Different organizations adopt varying interviewing structures and styles but all are designed to achieve the same mission; selecting the best applicant for the open job. There are three major interview styles: structured, unstructured, and behavioral interview style. They are differentiated by the ways of engaging the applicants during the interview process particularly the interrogative aspect.

In situations where structured interview is used, the interviewer asks the interviewee a given set of questions (Barclay, 1999; 135). In some instances, the recruiter may note the responses to specific questions. This type of interview is quite rigid as well as formal in that answers to some questions are straight forward. The interviewer may ask the applicant to state his/her career goals and objectives.

In an unstructured interview, the interviewer will interact freely with the applicant in a conversational manner (Kennedy, 1999; 110). The questions are asked in a random manner without necessarily referring to a list. Questions for clarification may be asked by the interviewer.

In this type of interview the recruiter may just initiate the conversation and allow the interviewee to discuss his/her qualifications and suitability for the job on offer (Kennedy, 1999; 110). “Tell me about yourself,” is a common question by the interviewer in an unstructured interview.

The third type is the behavioral interview where the interviewer asks specific questions of how the applicant may have dealt with a given kind of conflict situation (Hagevik, 2000; 61). The applicant would also be interrogated on how he/she would respond to a challenging situation in the process of doing the job on offer.

The interviewer would be interested to find out how the applicant may have handled a conflict situation in the recent past. The information obtained would be used to predict likely behavior of the applicant in future experiences.

Conclusion

From the above categories of questions asked in an interview, some may be behavioral, structured or unstructured in nature. This implies that there is no single style that may be used during the interview process (Barclay, 1999; 147). Interviewers have been known to ask the same or related questions in most occasions. The interviewer, in an attempt to judge temperament, may ask improper questions which may arouse the applicant. This may include reference to; ethnicity, age, family and religious background, and or some form of disability.

Due to the positive impacts that these questions have on the quality of the selected applicants, it is necessary that human resource professionals and selectors tailor their questions according to the nature (mission and goals) of the organization. The human resource professionals should, therefore, ensure that the applicants are aware of the type of interview that is going to be used. This will ensure that the best applicant is selected for the advertized position.

References

Barclay, J. (1999) “Employee selection: a question of structure,” Personnel Review, 28 (1&2), pp. 134-151

Buckley, M. R., Norris, A. C. and Wiese, D. S. (2000) “A brief history of the selection interview: may the next 100 years be more fruitful,” Journal of Management History, 6 (3), pp. 113-126

Dixon, M., Wang, S., Calvin, J., Dineen, B. and Tomlison, E. (2002) “The Panel Interview: A Review of Empirical Research and Guidelines for Practice,” Public Personnel Management, 31 (3) (Fall), pp. 397-28

Hackney, M. and Kleiner, B. H. (1994) “Conducting an Effective Selection Interview,” Work Study, 43 (7), pp. 8-13

Hagevik, S. (2000) “Behavioral Interviewing; Write a Story, Tell a Story,” Journal of Environmental Health, 2 (7), (March), p. 61

Hartley, P. and Bruckmann, C. G. (2002) Business communication. Routledge, pp. 16-24

Kennedy, J. (1999) “What to do when job applicants tell . Tales of Invented Lives,” Training, 36 (10), (October), p. 110

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