Table of Contents
| Introduction............................................................................................................ | 1 |
| Types of Interviews................................................................................................ | 2 |
| What To Ask–Determining Interview Content......................................................... | 4 |
| Table 1: Chart
for identifying skills and responsibilities and competencies................................................................................ |
5 |
| Table 2: Sample
combinations of competencies under broad competency areas...................................................................... |
7 |
| Which Questions Are Best Left Unasked?............................................................. | 8 |
| Exercise #1.................................................................................................. | 9 |
| Discussion of Exercise #1............................................................................. | 10 |
| How Should You Ask?–Developing Interview Questions....................................... | 12 |
| Table 3: Sample information from an unstructured interview............................ | 12 |
| Table 4: Ineffective questions made more effective.......................................... | 13 |
| Follow-up Questions..................................................................................... | 14 |
| Exercise #2.................................................................................................... | 15 |
| Discussion of Exercise #2............................................................................... | 17 |
| How Was That Answer?–Evaluation Criteria.......................................................... | 19 |
| Table 5: Sample standardized criteria.............................................................. | 19 |
| Exercise #3.................................................................................................... | 21 |
| Discussion of Exercise #3............................................................................... | 22 |
| After You Ask–Taking Notes................................................................................. | 23 |
| Table 6: Effective and ineffective notes............................................................ | 24 |
| Exercise #4.................................................................................................... | 25 |
| Discussion of Exercise #4............................................................................... | 27 |
| Evaluating the Candidate........................................................................................ | 29 |
| Table 7: Sample Candidate/Question Matrix................................................... | 29 |
| Common Rating Problems............................................................................. | 29 |
| Warning Signs of Possible Evaluation Error.................................................... | 30 |
| Brief Review of Interviewing #1–The Interview Process......................................... | 31 |
| Brief Review of Interviewing #2–Conducting Effective Interviews........................... | 32 |
| More Help?.......................................................................................................... | 33 |
| Behavioral Interview Question Bank (Bonus Material)........................................ | 34 |
| Analytical Skills............................................................................................ | 34 |
| Flexibility..................................................................................................... | 35 |
| Interpersonal Skills...................................................................................... | 36 |
| Leadership.................................................................................................. | 37 |
| Learning & Applying Knowledge................................................................. | 38 |
| Oral Communication Skills........................................................................... | 39 |
| Planning/Organizing..................................................................................... | 40 |
| Sales Ability................................................................................................ | 41 |
| Work Approach......................................................................................... | 42 |
Copyright ™ Competency Management Incorporated ®
2003
Grosse Pointe Farms, MI 48236 USA
All Rights Reserved.
No part of this electronic or printed document may be reproduced, copied, or
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Incorporated.
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Introduction
Welcome to Competency Management Incorporated’s (CMI) Best Practices in Interviewing: What You Need to Know. The limited license you purchased allows this workbook to be used by one person as a self-study course. This program will help you learn how to plan and conduct your interviews in a way which consistently yields higher quality new information on your interviewee. As you will see, this involves focusing on behaviors that the interviewee has already exhibited. This program is based on the idea that one of the best predictors of future behavior is past behavior. In this program we will describe various types of interviews and the benefits of each. There are also readings, examples, and exercises related to identifying material to cover in the interview, coming up with effective questions, taking notes during the interview, and evaluating candidates. It is necessary to be able to do all of these steps effectively in order to get the most out of your interviewing program. We hope you will find this an interesting approach. It is intended to polish existing skills and teach you some new ones. If you haven’t already, you’ll want to print this workbook. That way, you can make your own notes as you go along and actively participate in the exercises. Read the text carefully and work through the exercises at your own pace. When you have completed the workbook, it will serve as a tool for you as you conduct interviews. A note about legal questions: While we touch on legal and appropriate questions in this workbook, by no means are we trying to provide legal guidance. That is best handled by lawyers specializing in employment law. Talk to your company’s legal department or visit the websites suggested in this book for specific legal guidance.
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