Interviewing: Business or Psychology
Kathleen Dodaro & Cynthia Counterman
The success of an organization depends upon the skills and dedication of its employees. Since the selection process for new employees relies primarily on the interview, it is imperative that managers/interviewers become proficient at interviewing. The industry of recruiting and interviewing must change drastically to address the issues businesses face when they do not properly match an individual to the position. These issues include turnover, poor morale, burnout, and employee relations issues. Current trends in interviewing do not address the psychosocial factors that are essential to make a good match. It is imperative to evaluate the emotional fortitude of an applicant and determine if the job is compatible with the applicant’s character. If the job conflicts with the applicant’s individual needs and responsibilities the union will not be successful.
Critical Practices Necessary for Successful Staffing and Retention
Understand the changing work force: In the new work force employees are seeking a job that allows them to build a balanced lifestyle that is synergistic with their self-identity. Employers need to understand that the job is only one part of the employee’s life. Psychosocial interviewing gives an employer the tools for measuring the value of a job in an employee’s life.
Establish the Person-Organization Fit: Individuals and organizations are most effective when their respective values, goals, and interests are aligned. Similar attributes between individuals tend to improve communication and cooperation, which affects an employee’s morale and organizational outcomes. Behavioral interviewing surveys help to detect candidates that will be successful in various cultures.
Develop Realistic Goals and Manage the Interview Process: First, the employer needs to accurately measure whether the candidate has the skills, education, and technical experience to perform the job. Second, it is important to sell the positive features of the job and the organization. Third, to help the candidate make an appropriate choice, it is necessary to provide a balanced view of the challenges and the rewards of the job. Fourth, the employer needs to focus on everything from interpersonal skills and social appropriateness to motivation and common sense. This can be done by utilizing an interview process that goes beyond traditional evaluation. Psychosocial interviewing gives the employer the opportunity to create a profile for a job vacancy and applicant and evaluate the commonalities between the two.
Use a Structured Approach: Select and document the answers to interview questions that evaluate an applicant on a variety of factors. Interview questions can be used to evaluate the communication style, enthusiasm, decision making, detail orientation, flexibility, and professionalism of an applicant.
Sample questions:
At one time or another, all of us are misunderstood by others. Give an example of when this happened to you. How did you respond?
What was the most exciting aspect of your current or last position? Give a specific example and describe how that affects your work.
Describe a situation where you failed to reach a goal and how your future work on the project was affected.
Describe a situation in which attention to detail was very important. What did you do to focus your attention and minimize errors?
When it comes to the structure of your typical workday, do you prefer continuity or frequent change? Explain why.
What personal skill or work habit have you struggled to improve?
Conclusion
Interviewing can be complex and difficult. A behavioral approach to interviewing can help eliminate the many problems that are prevalent in the selection process. The hiring decision can have negative and positive consequences. A good decision can provide an employee that will uphold the standards of the organization and become a motivated and productive team member. A poor hiring decision can be very costly to an organization by reducing productivity and forcing managers to spend more time training and counseling. In order to ensure a higher percentage of successful hires, it is essential to use an interviewing process that accurately matches the candidate to the job.
Articles
Finding Candidates
- 10 Reasons to Hire Vets
- Hire Older Workers
- Improving Candidate Quality
- Sourcing 101
- Sourcing Candidates Well
- Tips for Building Employment-Related Websites
- U.S. Employ of People with Disabilities: Free Workshops
- Virtual College Recruiting
Interviewing Basics
- 10 Commandments of Recruiting
- 5 Keys to Successful Hiring
- 7 Tips for Successful Phone Interviews
- Behavioral Interviewing Basics
- Contrary Evidence Questions
- Interview Questions: Do's and Don'ts
- Interviewing Opening and Closing Remarks
- Interviews: Common Weaknesses
- Mistakes Amateur Interviewers Make
- Phone Screen Interview Mistakes
- Probing Techniques Explained
- Screening Interviewing: Top 10 Red Flags
- Strengthen the Validity of Your Interviews
- Telephone Interviews: Basics
- Ten Bad Listening Habits of Interviewers
- Types of Interviews
- Typical Probes and Follow up Questions
- What Do Interviewers Need to Know to be Effective?
Interviewing Best Practices
- 7 Keys to Effective Selection Interviews
- A Closer Look at Behavior-Based Interviewing
- Advantages / Disadvantages of Interviewing
- Applying Core Competencies to Selection Interviews
- Are You Really a Behavior-Based Interviewer?
- Assessing Speaking and Listening Skills
- Best Practices in Interviewing Candidates
- Deadly Interview Mistakes
- Death by Interview
- Ensure Hiring Success in Every Situation
- Executive Assessment Should Be Mandatory
- Generational Interviewing
- Hiring Interview + Strategic Applicant Management
- Hold Evening and Off-Time Interviews
- How to Interview a Top Performer
- Improve your Interviewing Techniques
- Interview Questions to Assess Soft Skills
- Interviewing for Ethics
- Interviewing Millennials
- Interviewing: Business or Psychology
- Metrics Interview
- Peeling Back the Onion
- The Positives of Panel Interviews
- Time for Candidate Advocacy?
- Tips for Conducting Successful Interviews
- Two Critical Interviewing Questions
Laws & Documentation
- Applicant Reference Release
- At Will Employment Release
- Avoid Negligent Hiring Mistakes
- Employee Referral Program Metrics
- Fair Labor Standards Act Information
- Four Interview Questions Never to Ask
- Giving Employee References
- Hiring Compliance Guidelines
- Hiring for Small Business
- Interviewing People with Disabilities
- Job Denial Letter
- Legal Issues in Interviewing
- Minimize Employment Risks: Document
- SAMPLE Employment Policy
- SAMPLE Letter: Educational Records Check
- SAMPLE Letter: Reference Check
- Ten Safe Hiring Tools
- What is Negligent Hiring
Line Manager / Recruiting Partnership
- Defending Candidates to Hiring Managers
- Interlocking Core Competency Interviews
- Internal Application Process
- Making Internships Work for You
- Making the Case for Behavioral Interviewing
- Non-Traditional Merit Pay Alternatives
- OFCCP Definition of an Internet Applicant
- Why Managers Shouldn't Do Most Hiring
- Workforce Planning: Strategic Staffing Strategy
Post-Interview
Pre-Planning & Retention
- Bonus or Incentive?
- Brand-Building on a Budget
- Build a First-Rate Hiring Process
- Closing the Deal
- Compensation Plans: An Overview
- Conducting an Exit Interview
- Good Hiring Starts with a Good Job Profile
- Improve the Quality of the Employment Function
- Interview Process Problems
- Interview the Job Before the Candidates
- Job Description Template-Link Pay to Performance
- Linking Pay to Company Performance
- Selecting and Using Salary Surveys
- Succession Planning
- Succession Planning: Identifying Top Performers
- Using a Pre-Interviewing Questionnaire
- Winning the War for Talent
- Worker Shortage by 2010: Preparation
Reading the Candidate
- Beware of Those Who Boast
- Blind Man's Bluff
- Decision, Decisions: Choosing the Better Applicant
- Detecting Deceit in Interviews
- Little White Lies on Resumes
- Suspend Judgment Until the Interview is Over
Recruiting Basics
- College Recruiting Basics
- College Recruiting Essentials
- Cut Down on Interview No Shows
- Discouraging Low Quality Applicants
- Don't Hold Too Many Interviews
- Job Descriptions: Why are they Important?
- New Strategies for Screening Job Candidates
- Preventing Resume Overload with Questionnaires
- Resume Review Basics
- Test Validation Explained
- The Value of Person-Organization Fit
- Three Companies Cut Turnover with Tests
Recruiting Best Practices
- 25 Telltale Signs of the Wrong Candidate
- 5 Overlooked Ways to Hire Winners
- Asking the Right Recruitment Questions
- Attracting Your Competitor's Employees
- BPR.......for Recruiters!
- Candidate Engagement
- Cloud Recruiting
- Evaluate Your Capture Strategy
- Hiring Best Practices
- How Do You Attract and Retain the Best People?
- How to Attract Applicants to Undesirable Jobs
- How to Attract, Develop and Retain Best People
- How to Find and Keep Valued Employees
- Ignorance and the Human Condition
- Onboarding Success Secrets
- Secrets to Non-Profit Hiring
- Selecting Top Management Talent
- Semi-Active Candidates are Best Bets
- Six Core Selling Principles
- Skills Based Recruiting: When, not How
- Smart Choices: How to Hire the Best
- Strategy for Hiring the Best This Year
- The Uses and Misuses of Personality Tests
- Top 10 Employee Selection Mistakes & Solutions
- Treat Candidates with the Carbon Rule