Preparation for interview
During the preparation for an interview, one must know what he/she wants to achieve
from the interview. One needs to set objectives that can be reasonably achieved by the
interview and that are directly related to the job description and specification.
- Preparation.
- Inform the candidate, organise the interview, decide on who will conduct it, the
venue to be used for the interview – this should be comfortable, the process of
interviewing, decision making and feedback.
The essential skill of conducting interviews is the skill of asking good questions. The
following sections provide guidance on how to conduct interviews.
Conducting the interview
The actual interview involves asking questions, seeking feedback and recording in the
manner that can be used to make decisions. The management of the interview process is
as important as the interview itself. This will involve structuring the interview questions
and the pattern and style of asking questions based on specific criteria and job require-
ments, managing the climate, exchanging views and controlling the interview to avoid
going into issues which have limited relation with the job or the person. The chair of the
interview panel should have the necessary skills of conducting meetings, which include
time management, keeping focus and the ability to summarise conclusions.
The questions to be used and the way to be asked make a difference in the effectiveness
of the interview. The following questions may be useful:
Open questions begin with words such as ‘why’, ‘how’, ‘what’ etc., or phrases such as ‘tell
me about ...’
Questions which start in this way invite the interviewee to answer them in his or her own
words.
Open questions are useful for finding out information about the interviewee’s experience,
views, and opinions.
Closed questions invite short answers such as ‘yes’ or ‘no’. They begin with phrases such as
‘are you ...?’ Or ‘is it ....’ And words such as ‘which’ or ‘when’.
Closed questions are useful for checking facts, but may discourage the interviewee from giv-
ing fuller explanations of those facts.
Probing questions can be used to explore a particular topic in more detail. Probing questions
may start with phrases like ‘tell me more about ...’. Or ‘what did you mean when you said’.
Or ‘give me an example of ...’.These questions are very useful for going beyond a superficial understanding of the in-
formation that an interviewee provides.
Leading questions indicate the answer, which the interviewer expects to hear. Leading ques-
tions often begin with phrases such as ‘I assume that ...’ or ‘would you agree that ...’. By
asking leading questions you risk biasing the information you receive from the interviewee.
Loaded questions imply that the interviewer is judging or criticising the interviewee. It may
be the tone of voice in which the question is asked that indicates this or it may be the actual
words used, for example ‘why on earth did you decide to do that ...’. Asking loaded ques-
tions also risks biasing the information you receive.
Double headed questions are where several questions are strung together e.g. ‘What are your
main duties in your present job, and which duties do you like best ...’. These types of ques-
tions might confuse the interviewee and it may mean that he or she answers only one part of