Interviews

A Face-to-face interviews are the companies chance to impress you. Yet, you are also there to impress them and to make your sales pitch, and to size up the company.

There are various styles of interviews. Some a very structured and rigid, while others are very lose more of a casual conversation than an interview. The style, which seems more productive, is described as the semi structured interview.

Semi Structured Interviews

This style has the advantage of allowing for both consistency and flexibility. It allows for the comparison of candidates on specific skills sets, and grants the opportunity to probe into an individual's past and future aspirations. As well, the interviewer is looking for a "fit" between the candidate and the organization.

Situation Interviews

These interviews follow the typical format, yet focus their questions by asking "what would you do if...?" These interviews are based upon the assumption that a person's express behavioral intentions are related to subsequent behavior.

Interviews will typically have the following three components:

1. The opening phase – Placing the applicant as ease through the use of small talk.
2. The body – Where the bulk of information is collected and probed. This is also where the candidate should do most of the talking.
3. Closure – give the candidate the opportunity to ask more questions, also give the candidate an approximate time line for the remainder of the process.

Interview questions should:

Be based on Selection Factors which allows for the comparison of candidates;

Be related to the position;

Probe carefully the candidate's responses to specific questions.

Not conflict with the Human Rights Code.

Behavioral questions:

One of the most popular types of interview questions is called behavioral. Behavioral questions ask you to describe actual examples of work or other actives which demonstrate they have successfully mastered or had sufficient experience with a particular set of skills. In other words, the interview is asking you if you have certain skills, you task is to provide through using an example or two that you have in a different or similar context. The key is that the recruiter is looking to discover what type of person you are by exposing your values, integrity and maturity in your examples and how you communicate them.

For example in the area of Interpersonal skills:
“Give me an example of how you have been particularly effective in relating with others?”

Skill focused areas:

Interpersonal - The ability to work and relate well with others. Do you have a sense of humor?

Customer Service - Focusing on meeting and exceeding the customer's expectations. Eager to help others.

Communication - Accurately express your thoughts to others, while actively listening.

Team Work - Understand and contribute to the organization's goals. Understand the existing culture of the group and work within it.

Judgment - Reach logical conclusions based upon available information and resources. Develop alternatives to a proposed plan or conclusion.

Objectivity - To make emotionally difficult business and people decisions. Include opposing sides of an argument to reach a decision.

Maturity - Willing to be open and act responsibility when dealing with people and situations. Dependable and reliable. Responding calmly when challenged by others. Accepts personal responsibility for your own actions.

Analytical - To relate and compare data from different sources, to identify issues, to secure relevant information and to identify relationships.

Creativity - Generating and or recognizing imaginative , innovative solutions in work related situations.

Technical - Scope and depth of relevant technical knowledge required for the position.

Decisions - Make hard and complicated decisions which are effective.

Working Habits - Punctuality, neatness, persistence, creativity, priority setting.

Results Orientation - Reach the point quickly in response to interview. Stresses accomplishment in responses.

Planning & Organization - response to question in a systematic and methodical fashion.

Tenacity - Able to stay with a position or plan of action until the desired objective is achieved or no longer reasonably attainable.

Attention to detail - Completes tasks through concern for all areas involved, no matter how small.

Performance Standards - Setting high goals for performance for self and/or others.

Energy - Achieves and maintains a high level of activity, while maintaining endurance.

Assertiveness - Takes charge, presents ideas and opinions forcefully with consideration of others.

Sales & Marketing - Utilizes appropriate interpersonal styles and methods of communication to gain agreement or acceptance of an idea, plan, or activity.

Candidate Evaluation

The key to accessing candidates accurately and fairly is to not compare candidates, but to compare each individual candidate to the Selection Factors, which were developed during the Preliminary Stage.

Recruiters should:

Look at your skills from the first time they see your résumé and covering letter until the final decision has been made. The key too not to focus upon one or a few parts of the candidate, but the whole person.

Evaluate each candidate separately from others.

Take an objective look at each candidates sales pitch.

Use a standard form by which they can write notes about the candidate and rate the candidate according to a specific scale on the Selection Factors.

Focus on how well the candidate matches the position requirements.