Interviewing Skills: Conducting an Interview

Interviewing Skills: Introduction

• An interview is a 2-way communication ; however, it should be controlled by the interviewer
• Every interviewee is a guest in your organization and should be treated in such a manner
• Always welcome the interviewees with a warm greeting
• Encourage interviewees to respond positively and share the information
• It is always better to take notes during Interview
• Good interviews flow smoothly when both the interviewer and the candidate take part in an information exchange

Types of difficult Interviews

• Some interviewees demand a particularly focused interviewing techniques.
• In order to get an accurate assessment of a candidate’s ability, the interviewer’s ability to handle different types of candidate is very important
• Before Interviewing, develop an understanding of the following types of candidates:
• Nervous candidate
• Uncommunicative candidate
• Talkative candidate

Handling a nervous candidate

• Give them an especially warm greeting
• Engage in more small talk than usual
• Point out various facilities or areas of interest within your organization
• Start with specific , fact-based questions that are easy for the candidate to answer and unlikely to be stressful
• Speak slowly in a relaxed, informal manner

Handling an uncommunicative candidate

• Many reserved or uncommunicative candidates simply need to be encouraged to share their thoughts
• Using silence can be effective
• If the candidate is having trouble in answering questions related to their strengths and weaknesses, tell them that you will give them some time to think about it and come back to the question later

Handling a talkative candidate

• Candidates who talk too much , often about things unrelated to the job or interview can be challenging
• Tell the candidate that you will be following a structure, and stress on the time available for each section of the interview
• When necessary, remind the candidate of the time limits
• Redirect the conversation as politely as possible

Conducting the Interview

There are 3 steps to follow while conducting an Interview:

• Open the Interview (Put the candidate at ease)
• Gather Information (Ask questions & listen to responses)
• Close the Interview (Create a positive impression of your organization )

Opening an Interview

• While opening an interview, your purpose is to put both you and candidate at ease , and set the stage for an open conversation
• There are 3 steps you should complete when opening the interview:
• Build rapport
• State the agenda
• Ask for acceptance

Gathering Information

• Gathering Information represents 70 to 80 percent of the interview
• There are 3 steps you should complete when gathering information from the interviewee:
• Ask lead questions
• Ask follow-up questions
• Transition to the next subject

Closing an Interview

• The close of the interview is used to indicate to the candidate that the information-gathering portion is complete and the interview is about to wind down.
• Take the following 4 steps when closing an interview:
• Ask for and answer questions
• Promote the organization and the job
• Outline next steps
• Thank the candidate

Evaluation of candidates

• Manage your bias
• Interviewer should be very careful to identify and overcome any biases
• Bias is a form of extreme generalization. You may generalize that a candidate lacks written communication skills because of last two people hired from the same college had poor written communication skills
• 2 steps to evaluate the candidate:
• Summarize the interview
  (Refer the candidate’s resume, and the notes taken during interview)
• Score the candidate
  ( Review Job requirement, mention success factors , and calculate)

 Effective communication techniques

Effective communication techniques include:

• Active Listening
  (Follow 70/30 rule : Listen 70 percent of the time Talk 30 percent of the time)
• Nonverbal behavior
   (silence, lean forward, eye contact)
• Verbal devices
  (Restatement, expanders (“I see”, “That’s interesting”)

 Summary

• A successful interview should determine if there is a match between the individual and the job
• Be prepared for the interview
• Analyze candidate’s resume before the interview and frame the lead questions
• Follow a structured process
• Develop a simple outline that covers general job duties
• Behave politely with the candidates

Transformational Vs. Transactional Leadership : A new paradigm shift of management to get success

        Leaders are the individuals in the organization who set the tone and culture.  Leadership theory developed by Avolio and Bass, 1991 uses three typologies of leadership behavior: transformational, transactional and the passive-avoidant/ laissez-faire leadership style.

         Transformational leadership style is characterized by a leader who motivates and appeals to the ideal and moral values of subordinates by creating and inspiring a vision for the future (Bass and Avolio, 1997). Transformational leaders are relationally focused and use idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individualized consideration to achieve superior results (Avolio et al., 1999). Transformational leaders are involved with internalization of the organization’s goals for followers, thereby influencing their attitudes and beliefs. This style creates and fosters an environment which builds trust and confidence and encourages individual development along with a shared vision for the organization (Bass, 1985, 1990).

      Transactional leadership style focuses on a process of exchange to motivate subordinates by appealing to their personal drivers for work. They usually use position, policy, power and authority to maintain control and get work done through constructive and corrective transactions of reward and punishment. The first, contingent reward, describes the extent to which effective transaction and exchange is set-up between leader and followers. The second dimension, management-by-exception, describes whether leaders act to either prevent (active management) or resolve (passive management) problems as they arise.

Ethical Leadership : A ray of hope for the organisational growth & development

Ethical Leadership is leading by knowing and doing what is right. If leaders are ethical, they can ensure that ethical practices are carried out throughout the organization.

1. Ethical leaders respect others

Immanuel Kant argues that it is our duty to treat others with respect. One should treat others as ends in itself and never as means to an end.

Beauchamp and Bowie (1988) pointed out that "Persons must be treated as having their autonomously established goals and must never be treated purely as the means to another person's goals."

• Leaders who respect also allow others to be themselves. They approach others with a sense of unconditional worth and value individual differences (Kitchener, 1984)
• Respect means giving credence to others' ideas and confirming them as human beings.
• A leader should nurture followers in becoming aware of their own needs, values, and purposes.
• Respect means that a leader listens closely to their subordinates, is empathetic, and tolerant to opposing views.
• When a leader exhibits respect, subordinates feel competent about their work.

2. Ethical leaders serve others

• This is based on the concern for others (Ethical egoism)
• This is an example of altruism.
• An example of this is observed in mentoring, empowerment, behaviors, and team building.
• Very similar concept to the "Beneficence" that is taught to health professionals.
• Senge contended that one of the important tasks of leaders in learning organizations is to be a steward (servant) of the vision within the organization and highlights the importance of not being self-centered, but integrating one's self or vision with the vision of the organization.

3. Ethical leaders are Just

• Justice demands that leaders place the issue of just at the center of their decision making.
• No one should be treated differently unless their particular situation demands it and if that is the case, then the rules for differential treatment should be made clear.
• Good coaches are those who never have favorites and those who make a point of playing everyone in the team.
• The golden rule (Rawls, 1971) is to "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
• The principles of distributive justice includes:i. To each person, and equal share.ii. According to individual needs iii. According to that person's rights iv. According to individual efforts v. According to societal contribution vi. According to merit.

4. Ethical leaders are honest

• Being honest is not just about telling the truth. It has to do with being open with others, representing reality as fully and a completely as possible.
• There are times of course where telling the complete truth can be destructive and counter productive. The challenge is to strike a balance.
• It is important for leaders to be authentic, but sensitive to the attitudes And feelings of others.
• Dala Costa (1998) made a point in the Ethical Imperative book. "Do not promise what you can't deliver, do not misrepresent, do not hide behind spin-doctored evasions, do not suppress obligations, do not evade accountability, do not accept the 'survival of the fittest' pressures.

5. Ethical leaders build community

• Leadership is often defined as the "process of influencing others to reach a common or communal goal." This definition has a clear ethical dimension. The common goal implies that leaders and followers agree on the directions of the group.
• Authentic transformation means that a leader cannot impose their will on other. They need to search for goals that are compatible with everyone.
• Ethical leadership demands attention to civic virtue (Rost, 1991). This means that both leaders and followers need to attend to community goals and not just their mutually determined goals.

Maybe the most important thing is to realize that leadership involves values; one cannot be a leader without being aware of and concerned about one’s own values. We can say also that rather than telling people what to do, we should tell them what to be and help them to become more virtuous.

Contributed by Mr. Khagendra Nath Gangai 

Assistant Professor- HR/OB,  BULMIM, New Delhi  

How To Make ‘Work Life Balance’, Work For Your Business?

“Harmony makes small things grow; lack of it makes great things decay.” ~Sallust

You will always have that one more email that needs to be replied to. That one phone call that will always get prioritized over dinner with the family. That one Sunday client meet for which you just rescheduled your family outing. More and more people today, struggle to achieve an acceptable balance between work and family life.

Let’s face it it’s not always easy to make a living doing something you love.

The first challenge is to figure out what that is, and it’s often complicated by what we think we should do based on what other people think and what we’ve done up until now.

A disharmonised employee is as such of a threat as an unacquainted one. With the recent German wings plane crash in the French Alps on March 24, 2015 brought the reality of mental illness in the workplace to the attention of employers all over the world. Over the last 20 years, workplace health initiatives around the world have been growing as employers have started understanding that better employee health leads to reduced absenteeism and better employee productivity. These initiatives mainly address physical health of employees but initiatives to address mental health and work stress are still in budding stages.

It’s shocking that despite all this, only 38% of Indian employers identified stress management at workplace as a top priority of their health and productivity programmes. Research proves that the main cause of suicide in working class in stress at the workplace. It’s high time that you as an establishment take responsibility for work your employees’ life. Helping employees achieve balance and harmony in their lives is equally beneficial both for you!

We steer you through simple steps you can incorporate towards a happier and hence more productive work life.

1. Prioritize

Help your employees prioritize. Deadlines are good but they are often taken with a pinch of salt. You must have faith in their decisions. Allow them flexi hours, work from homes, webinars. All to make sure the family isn’t left behind.

After all a happy family is the backbone to a happy employee.

2. Spread the word!

Share experiences, ideas, stories…talk. It has proven to not only relive stress but also enhance creativity and productivity. As employers to hundreds its important to systematize regular informal cluster meeting into your standard operating procedure. Let people discuss and vent out!

3. Help them look forward

Organisations are increasing giving “An Hour Off Work” to let employees do what they love the most. It could be a small chit-chat hour or an hour toindulge themselves into s shopping or simply finish off that last chapter of the book. It doesn't necessarily need to be time consuming or tiring!

4. Respect Private Time

An email or two after working hours won’t hurt but there is a reason why its called “working hours”, If there is something extremely urgent, it’s always a good idea to simply add “I am sorry to bother you at this hour.” Your employee will only feel all the more preferential and appreciated by this gesture.

5. Freedom to Express

Tell your boss, family, friends, colleagues, and anyone. Tell them what your plan is, and ask them to respect it.

6. Exercise

It may feel counter intuitive to add another activity to your life, but exercise relieves stress, clears your mind, and ultimately makes you more productive. Don't skip it. You'll find that you greet work, family, and personal commitments with renewed liveliness.

Contributed by Shreya Krishnan 
PGDM-Batch 2014-2016

TOP 5 INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

1. Tell something about yourself?
2. Why you would like to join this company?
3. Why did you select this field?
4. Did you ever face any difficulty in your job?
5. Why should we hire you?

A special lecture on "Employee Engagement : Harnessing human capital for better performance",on 15th April,2015

The human resource is an integral part of any business unit. It is like a capital or assets of the organization. Any business functions, whether it is an operation & supply chain management, marketing management, financial management, or information technology management without human resources, we cannot achieve our business and organizational objectives.  In short, we can say that without human aspects not even single function will not possible to achieve organizational goals in the workplace. But we have always mentioned it in our balance sheet as part of liability side and most of the time we have neglected the human aspects. Most of the organizations, employer tries to exploit their employees and as they called human resources is not to be considered as an asset. The question is here that what are assets?  You will agree with me that assets are “any things that the creation of our wealth”.  For example, if you have lands, properties, infrastructures, technologies, etc., these are considered to be assets which multiple creation of wealth for you. Similarly, human resources create wealth for the organization.  If you look around in your organization anything’s that comes to your eyes that has been created by human beings and even technological advancement is also created by human beings. Therefore, we can say that human resources are assets or capital for the organization, if you select the employees having the right attitude, the right skills, and mange these talents in an effective manner.  

The objectives of the human resources management is to maximum utilization of human resources  and enhance better performance of employees, which further leads to profit, growth and productivity for the organization. Employer’s always expected from their employees to do more in comparison what they provide in terms of compensation and benefits in exchange for their employment and contract work. On the other hand employees expected from their employer’s to give best compensations and benefits, to develop the human resources through training and development, treat them as human beings and established relationship to seek better cooperation with each other, to fulfill their basic, psychological and social needs, in exchange for what they are doing in terms of their nature of duties, work and responsibility. Therefore, it has been observed that when a mismatch between these expectations and needs  of the employees and employer’s generate conflict, politics, dissatisfaction in job, high attrition, low work motivation, absenteeism, lack organizational  commitment, disengaged, lack of job involvement  lack of organizational citizenship behavior in the organization which directly impact on organizational performance. As a result, employees start intentionally doing poorly in their performance.

Today’s generation employees have different needs and expectations and it changes very rapidly. Therefore, human resource practitioners always look for various alternatives and suggest to the employer’s for better organizational performance. In management research, there are several strategies are available, but employee engagement is one of the variables  that it is very important factors to find solution for several problems, especially better performance of the employees. 

Contributed  by Mr. Khagendra Nath Gangai. 
Assistant  Professor-HR & OB, BULMIM

Crew Convention Winners

Crew Convention is an experiential learning activities of HR Club initiative. The objectives of the activity was team building, creativity,innovation, trust,confident,and group choeshivenss among  students year(  2014-2016)  of  BULMIM.