Lesson 11: Job Interview

Job Interview

- is an interview consisting of a conversation between a job applicant and a representative of an

employer which is conducted to assess whether the applicant should be hired.

Purpose of the interview

- It shows the employer what you can do for the company, and it gives you an opportunity to
assess whether your qualifications and career ambitions align with the position.

Make a strong impression.

- Smile and show demonstrate enthusiasm.

- Allow the interviewer to take the lead.
- Concise, informative answers are appreciated more than lengthy stories.
- Sell yourself and what you have to offer.
- Interviewers want to know why hiring you will benefit their company.

10 Basic Principle of interviewing

1. Determining your employment objectives - The objectives of the specific hiring situation should
control the shape and content of the interview. From the beginning, they have a general picture
of their information requirements, the yardsticks for evaluating candidates and an optimum
profile for the “winning” applicant.
2. Learn about applicants in advance - Know your applicants before the interview begins.
Effective ways to identify a good candidate in an interview
a. Find out what they know about your company. (you will know how much research the
candidate has done about your company before applying.)
b. Read their body language. (These clues can be found in their arm movements, gestures,
and eye contact.)
c. Ask them about their past mistakes. (You may know how much a candidate has grown
career-wise by finding out about their past failures since a person is defined not only by
their success but also their mistakes. they are likely to have learned valuable lessons
from these mistakes.)
d. Find out if they are team players. (A good candidate is highly cooperative and has the
skills to help groups thrive and be productive. They do not think only of themselves, as
they use the term “we” more than “I” when talking about achievements. )
e. Have them solve a problem.(By adopting the use of behavioral job interview questions,
you can know how a candidate will act in a job-related situation. The idea of giving
candidates a problem to solve is not really about the end result. Instead, it will help you
verify their skills and experience.
f. Find out if they are resourceful.-A good candidate must know how to do a lot with less
g. Find out if they have a growth mindset.-A good candidate is one who is eager to learn
and can do it fast. They will also have learnings they pursue on their own.
h. Listen to the questions they ask.-Listening to their questions will also let you understand
the way they diagnose problems and how they process data.
 3. Know the job requirements - another important area of advance information needed by the
interviewer to ensure successful results is knowledge about the position for which the applicant
is being interviewed.
4. Plan the interview - little additional preparation may be necessary when the experienced
interviewer knows about the job to be filled and has learned what there is to know about the
candidates in advance. Experience will readily indicate a suitable approach. Even the
experienced interviewer needs to plan when a non-routine or higher-level position is involved,
or when the job is infrequently filled or otherwise unfamiliar.
5. Create a constructive attitude - Participating in a selection interview on behalf of your company
is a responsible role. You must be positive and professional to represent the company image. You
have to work hard and stay alert during the interview. For the occasional interviewer, it is a
somewhat strange and even uncomfortable process. You are obliged to probe into the
personality and makeup of a number of complete strangers, and this can be time consuming and
tiring. Finally, you must recommend or make a decision.
6. Build an interview framework - A great variety of styles and strategies can be used in interviews,
either singly or in combination.
7. Develop a rapport quickly - A key means of making the interview profitable is to quickly establish
a close and sympathetic two-way understanding. A positive method of building rapport is to
treat the applicant as an individual, not just as another body sitting on the other side of the
desk.
8. Listen before you talk - interchanging information and knowledge by oral, visual, sensory or any
other possible means.
9. Control the interview - The purpose of this control is not to satisfy the ego of the interviewer or
to keep the applicant properly humbled by showing who the boss is.
10. Respect the applicant’s need - The interviewer who is going to be the supervisor of the selected
applicant should be intent on keeping a balance among the interests of three parties: the
company’s, his or her own and the applicant’s

Types of Job Interview

1) Phone Interview - It is a screening device meant to eliminate you as an applicant for personal
interviews.
2) One-on-One Interview - Your goal in this interview is to create a rapport with the interviewer and
flaunt how your qualifications help the company.
3) Direct one-on-one interview - The three most common approaches to one-on-one employment
interviews are behavioral, competency-based and situational.
a. Behavioral interview - you will be asked for concrete examples of how you do things or
handle certain situations.
4) Committee Interview - The committee might give you a situation and ask you to create a plan
that solves the problem. You are to apply your knowledge and skills to a real-life situation.
5) Group Interview - The goal of this interview is to see how you deal with others and how you
apply knowledge and reasoning skills to win over others.
 a. Candidate group interview - a candidate is in a room with other job applicants who may
be applying for the same position.
b. Panel group interview - a candidate is interviewed individually by a panel of two or more
people.
6) Video Conferencing interview - It is called to be a better version of phone interview that is a form
of medio communication. You are to use same strategies as if you were meeting the interviewer
in person.