5.5 Closing and deciding

Drawing the interview to a close

Up to now we have been considering how to control and conduct the main body of an interview. There remains, however, the need to draw it to a satisfactory close. You should remember that, while you are trying to select the best candidate, the candidates are also ‘selecting’ you. You need to remember that you as an interviewer are being assessed and selected, and you need to ensure your presentational and interpersonal skills are up to the job.
When you are satisfied that you have all the information you require, it is important that you give the candidate two invitations:

· first, to tell you about anything that has not been covered, or to expand on anything that has not been adequately covered (for example, a relevant accomplishment that the candidate wants you to know about)

· second, to ask you questions in order to clarify any features of the job or the terms and conditions associated with it.

Only when the candidate has had this opportunity should you begin concluding the interview. It is good practice to summarise any agreements or understandings that may have been reached and to give a clear indication of what is likely to happen next, and when.

Reaching a final decision

Having seen all the candidates, you can now start to pull together your notes and impressions and make a final decision. It is probably worth allowing a little time to gather your thoughts and/or discuss initial observations with colleagues or the interview panel after every interview so that your memory is not confused. The person specification should again play a major role in your final decision. Your questions should have been geared to elicit the necessary information from each applicant to enable you to ascertain their suitability against the agreed criteria. Example 3 shows the importance of meeting the person specification.

Example 3: Meeting the criteria

In the city hospital, the Personnel Manager was called upon by the Outpatients supervisor to help in a case of poor performance – the individual concerned was generally offhand with staff and patients and was only meeting minimum standards in her written work. She had been in post for about six months.
The Personnel Manager asked about the appointment. The supervisor admitted that the individual's references had not been all that impressive. She also admitted later: ‘No one on the panel wanted to appoint her but she met all the criteria so we felt we had to – we can never recruit to these posts anyway.’
The Personnel Manager was worried by this and made a mental note to talk to her colleagues about it. She was aware that it was extremely difficult to fill advertised posts in certain departments in the hospital. However, she felt strongly that this should not result in the appointment of staff who did not meet the person specification. More thought was required in terms of where the posts were advertised and the shortlisting and interviewing skills of staff in the hospital.
The planning of the selection process will help you to reach an objective decision, but intuition cannot be completely ignored. What is important is that you can explain objectively – preferably to colleagues and not just to yourself – the basis of your intuition. If you feel that one candidate would fit perfectly into your team, what is it – precisely – that gives you that impression?

Activity 4

10 minutes
Think back to the most recent interview you have participated in, either as an interviewer or as an interviewee. With the models and suggestions of this session in mind:

1.                      Identify and explain at least one positive aspect of the way the interview was conducted.

2.                      Identify and explain at least one weak aspect of it.

3.                      Make a note of three things from this session that you will try to apply when next conducting an interview.

There is no universal formula for conducting interviews successfully. Your own style and your panel's self-confidence in pursuing what they want to ascertain are important ingredients of an effective interview. However, the discussion of common pitfalls and proven techniques may help you to increase your confidence and effectiveness in this important selection medium.

5.4 Structuring the interview

Introduction and starting

In a panel interview one member will need to take the chair; this person will then be responsible for initiating, controlling and closing the interview. It is also the role of the chair to link and control the contributions of the panel members.
If you are the chair, you should always introduce the panel members to the candidate and explain how the interview will be conducted. A relaxed and skilful lead interviewer will then continue to establish and maintain rapport throughout the exchange with the candidate.

The main body of the interview

Your main objective is to gather information. A practical target is to expect the candidate to talk for 70 per cent of the time. Example 2 describes the kind of conduct to avoid when interviewing.

Example 2: Interview weaknesses

David was really pleased to have been asked to an interview for the job of Project Manager. He spent a lot of time preparing for the interview, finding out more about the organisation in his local library and collating the documentation required, such as qualification certificates, additional references and so on.
On the day of the interview, David arrived early but was not asked into the interview room until 30 minutes after his allotted time. The first thing he was asked to do by a member of the panel was ‘describe your major weaknesses and what you have done to overcome them’. This completely floored David and he struggled to respond. It was not a good start. A second member of the panel quizzed him closely about his fluency in other languages but was sharply reminded by his colleague that it was not that job they were interviewing for. The third member of the panel asked some relevant questions, but all the time David was talking he was looking through a pile of papers on the desk in front of him.
David received a letter a week later offering him the job; he decided not to accept.
Some essential interviewing skills are outlined below.
Effective questioning. The level of detail you require from a question should determine the way you ask it. Some questions have a very broad focus and will stimulate the candidate to talk at length while you look out for specific things you want to check on. When you find something, you can zoom in on it and ask a probing question so that you receive a precise answer (a ‘closed’ question). The skill in questioning is, therefore, to frame your questions to suit your purpose. When you open up a new area of enquiry, you need to use ‘open’ questions that will start the candidate talking. Take care not to make them too broad, especially in the early stages, or you will leave the candidate floundering and wondering what to say. As you identify specific items that you want to concentrate on, you can start to focus your questions using different types as appropriate.
Another common approach is the use of questions about specific incidents from the past that demonstrate the candidate's suitability for the current job. This is sometimes known as behavioural interviewing. Consider approaches to assessing whether someone is a good project manager. You could say to them, ‘Tell me what you know about project management.’ Equally, you could ask, ‘How would you ensure that a project runs to plan?’ The skilful interviewee will take this opportunity to present their wide range of knowledge about project management approaches and techniques, almost textbook fashion. However, does this mean that they are a good project manager in practice? An alternative approach would be to ask them about actual instances when they have managed projects and what they did to ensure the success of the project. For example, a question such as ‘Tell me about the most complex project you have had to manage in the past’ will open up the discussion. You could then listen for cues to probe specifically what they contributed to that project in order to assess their project management skills. The interviewee might say, ‘There was one particular project that was really difficult as we were working to such tight deadlines, but we met them.’ The interviewer's probing question would be something like, ‘What did you do personally to ensure that the deadlines were met?’ The probing is used to elicit actual examples of what someone has done in the past to show they are skilled in a particular area. This can be much more effective than asking hypothetical questions that only test a person's knowledge.
Some examples of questions you might ask in relation to other aspects of managerial jobs are set out in Table 2.
Table 2: Examples of behavioural questions for managerial jobs

Aspect of job	Possible questions
Developing staff	What has been your most satisfying experience in the past of developing a staff member? What did you do specifically to achieve it?
Managing conflict	Tell me about a time when you have had to mediate in a conflict between two people. What did you do?
Representing your group or organisation	What has been the most difficult representational role you have had to perform in the past? How did you ensure that the best interests of the group/organisation were safeguarded?

There are some general points about interview questions:

· The questions should be capable of eliciting information that is relevant to success or failure at work.

· They should not be random or overlapping; rather, they should be comprehensive, grouped in an organised way and clearly distinguishable.

· Similar areas of questioning should be used for all candidates.

· The questions should allow you to compare each candidate with the job/person specification.

We have been looking at examples of questions about the job itself, but how can you assess the degree of fit between the person and the organisation, as discussed previously? Box 7 provides some examples of questions related to fit with the organisation which you might find useful.

Box 7: Examples of organisation fit questions

1.                      Could you compare the cultures of the organisations where you have worked before and say how the differences affected your behaviour at work?

2.                      Where were you happiest at work? (followed by) What was it about the place that made you feel like this?

3.                      Why did you decide to join each of the organisations you have worked for?

4.                      What factors will cause you to decide whether or not to leave your current employer?

5.                      How is your effectiveness measured in your present job?

6.                      How do you cope with working in teams?

7.                      What are the things you have regretted leaving behind at places where you have worked in the past?

(Source: based on Billsberry, 2000, pp. 156–7)

Controlling the flow of the interview. This is the second key interview skill: the ability to keep a candidate talking about the things you need to know about. Different kinds of interview require different levels of control. A good interviewer can adjust their style to the particular circumstances of the interview while it is in progress. To be able to control the direction and flow of the interview so that it corresponds closely with the plan, an interviewer needs to be aware of the control mechanisms available. These can be the types of questions asked and encouraging sounds and body language, such as maintaining eye contact, sitting forward, nodding and smiling as appropriate.
Using listening skills. Your third essential skill is active listening. This means you need to concentrate, give all your attention to someone and, where appropriate, summarise and reflect on what they say. Be aware of factors – personal and environmental – that can interfere with your ability to receive and interpret signals, such as noise outside the room, room temperature and clarity of speech.
Evaluating the information. Your fourth skill is concerned with assessing what you hear from the candidate. As the interview proceeds you will need to be assessing whether the answers to your questions are producing useful evidence of job suitability, or are superficial and raise doubts about suitability.

5.3 The selection interview

The aim of the selection interview is to determine whether the candidate is interested in the job and competent to do it. A selection interview also has the following functions:

· to explain the work of the organisation, the job and any features such as induction and probation

· to set expectations on both sides, including a realistic discussion of any potential difficulties (if appropriate)

· to enable the candidate to assess whether they want the job being offered.

Selection interviews are not easy to conduct and it is preferable – some organisations insist on it – that everyone involved has participated in some kind of training. Most managers believe they can interview competently but probably few have subjected their interviewing practice to close scrutiny and thought about how they can improve their performance. Important decisions have to be made, such as how many people should be on the interview panel, who would be the most appropriate people, and what role they should play. One-to-one selection interviews are difficult to conduct, not least because there is more likelihood of subjectivity creeping in.
Preparation is an extremely important stage in the process. Box 6 indicates four factors to consider in preparing for an interview and gives some examples.

Box 6: Considerations in interview preparation

What does the interviewer(s) need for the interview?

· Job description, person specification

· Individual application forms, CVs, etc.

· Details of terms and conditions of employment: hours of work, fringe benefits, perks, etc.

· Information on general prospects, training, induction etc. within the organisation

What does the candidate need?

· Details of venue; to be met on arrival

· Access to facilities: toilets, any special needs for candidates with disabilities

· Comfortable waiting area

Location requirements

· Suitable room and layout: consider whether formal or informal and what type of setting to create

· Freedom from interruptions and other discomforts and distractions such as extraneous noise, uncomfortable furniture, extremes of temperature, etc.

· Appropriate access for people with special needs

Requirements of a good interview

· A structured interview plan enabling the interviewer(s) to assess what they are looking for in the candidate and whether the person:

· could do the job (assessment against the person specification)

· would do the job (judgements of motivation and commitment)

· would fit (elements of person-organisation fit)

(Note: a well-developed person specification should include criteria relating to all three areas.)

· A clear idea of the areas of questioning for each candidate to check that they fulfil the criteria

· Agreement on the roles of those involved in the interview if there is a panel: who will chair and how questions will be divided among the panel members in an organised way

· A disciplined approach to timing: enough time for each candidate and not too many candidates per day

Interviews have distinct and recognisable stages, and individuals have certain expectations about what should happen when, but try not to become routinised or mechanistic in your approach.

5.2 Tests as a selection tool

There are various types of tests and ways in which they might be used as part of the selection process (see Box 5). Before using any kind of test you should ensure that you know why you are using it and how it relates to the job specification.

Box 5: Selection tests

Aptitude tests

· Tests of physical ability: used for the selection of manual workers. For example, a test of the ability to perform lifting operations might be used.

· Mental ability tests: tests of literacy, numeracy and intelligence.

· Analogous tests: tests which simulate some of the actual tasks in the job, for example a typing or word-processing test for secretaries. Group problem-solving exercises and presentations may be suitable for managerial jobs.

Personality tests

The use of these in selection comes from the assumption that certain jobs require certain personalities and that tests can identify them. The most common form of personality test is questionnaires designed to rate respondents on various personality dimensions. The individual is rated for being persuasive, socially confident, competitive, decisive, introspective, artistic, conceptual, traditional, independent, extravert, stable, optimistic, and so on. Most reputable personality tests need to be administered and scored by trained and licensed users. Organisations selling personality tests usually recommend that they are not the only method used for selection.

Assessment centre

This is a process, rather than a place, that uses a number of selection techniques in combination. A typical assessment centre would assemble 12 applicants after screening and subject them to tests such as intelligence tests, presentations, group work and interviews.

Tests can be very useful in the selection process as they actually replicate certain parts of the job, whereas a selection interview can only indicate whether the person has that ability. However, most tests are time-consuming to administer and can be used indiscriminately. It would be very unusual to use a test as the sole means of selecting and, particularly with personality tests, it should not be the major evidence on which the decision to appoint or not is made. Very often the results of personality tests are used in interviews as the basis for further investigation and questioning about an applicant's abilities.

5 Methods of selection

5.1 The interview as a selection method: pros and cons

Traditionally, the interview has been the main means of assessing the suitability of candidates for a job. Almost all organisations use the interview at some stage in their selection process. Similarly, most applicants expect to be interviewed. Interviews are useful for assessing such personal characteristics as practical intelligence and interpersonal and communication skills. The interview can be used for answering applicants’ questions, selling the organisation and negotiating terms and conditions. It is a matter of debate whether an interview accurately assesses ability at work, relevant experience and work skills. A further problem with interviews is that factors that are not related to the job influence the decision: clothing, colour, ethnic origin, gender, accent, physical features or a disability might be such factors. There is also evidence that interviewers make decisions very rapidly on little information. You need to be aware of the potential pitfalls in using selection interviews and may choose to supplement them with a variety of tests. Some of these are considered below.

4.11 References

References can be useful, but they do have some limitations: no one would supply the name of a referee who was likely to give a bad reference. However, it is always a good idea to request them of the candidates who have been shortlisted (but, as we have already said, bear in mind that some candidates may not want their employers approached until they have actually been offered a job). It is helpful for referees if you enclose all the information sent out to the prospective candidate and point out clearly any essential requirements of the job. You may want to ask specific questions relating to the candidate's suitability in certain areas.