CONDUCTING JOB INTERVIEW

TASNEEM HAMEED

Recruitment and selection are one of the important functions of any organization. Research shows those organizations that spend more time recruiting high-caliber people earn 22% higher return to shareholders than their industry peers. In view of the importance of hiring right person for the right job, job interviewing that is the most important part of recruitment and selection assumes great significance.

Job Interview Purpose

The purpose of job interview is eliciting information for reaching definite conclusions. The employer wants to know the candidate in great detail including his qualities, potential, attitude and teamwork for making assumption about his future work performance. The candidate wants to know the financial health, working environment and plans of the employer besides what he will be getting in terms of compensation. The employer uses the information elicited to decide whether the candidate fulfills the requirements of the job and could be given the offer of employment. The candidate uses the elicited information to decide whether to accept the offer, if made.

Job Interview Planning and Preparation

As the famous quote goes” If you fail to plan you plan to fail”, the first logical step is planning. The interviewer could get the most from the interview by planning thoroughly and implementing efficiently. His goal is to extract most relevant information which will enable him to decide about candidate’s selection. Taking the time to make the correct hires is worth all the effort it takes. The right person in the right job goes a long way in having the most productive workforce.

The interview may be conducted by a single interviewer or a panel of interviewers depending on the nature and kind of interview. Whatever the number of interviewers, a thorough review of the job functions and requirements is necessary, and for that purpose the job description and specification has to be examined in detail. Except, for walk-in-interviews, information about the candidates is available with the employer as CV, covering letters, testimonials and could be used for matching with the job requirements. Similarly, this information, or sometimes lack of it due to discrepancies or its defective communication will be useful in developing questions about candidate's stability, preparedness, attention to details and grasp of written communication. It is also the time to identify the knowledge, attributes, and skills required for successful performance of the job.

Interview preparation is a very important part of the process as good interviewing depends on proper preparation. Lack of preparation by interviewer causes problems during interviews. It is responsibility of Human resource Department and interviewer(s) to prepare properly for the job interviews.

Human Resource Department Role

1. HR should make sure reasonable time between the communication about interview and the real interviewing date so that the candidates can make adjustments for any previous engagements, and may consider days of religious observance that might affect a candidate's availability on that particular date.

2. The time of interview for each candidate has to be different with a reasonable time gap, keeping in view the estimated time of an interview. This would not only save the time of the candidates, but also help HR in making better arrangements and managing the interview.

3. The place of interviewing is to be free from any form of distraction for creating a comfortable environment, both for the interviewer and the candidates.

4. It is important for the employer’s reputation and image to arrange a decent welcome to the candidates and make their stay during the interviewing process most pleasant and comfortable.

Interviewer(s) Role

1. It is important that only the people who are fully conversant with the intricacies of a job interview and trained in interviewing skills act as interviewers.

2. Being the representative of the employer he must show a positive image of the employer during the process. He should be fully prepared to reply to the questions of the candidates.

3. He has to make sure  that he is fully equipped with the data/ information about the job and the candidates compiled during the planning process for proper questioning of the candidates.

4. Interviewers should prepare among themselves for following a set strategy during the interview to make it a successful exercise.

5. If there is more than one interviewer, each one of them could question the candidates about different aspects of their profile.

6. As he is director and controller of the interview process, he is responsible for controlling it in a professional way without in any way affecting the feelings and confidence of the candidates।