Interviewing is a crucial process through which organizations can identify the suitable candidates for an available job opening. Organizations invite job applicants to be interviewed so as to identify the best candidates out of all the prospective job workers. It is important for an organization to plan ahead of the interview date so as to effectively sort out the applicants. Preparation involves selection of good interview questions. In most cases, organizations form the interviewing panels that help with creation of the questions for an interview and conduct the interviews. When developing the questions for an interview, the panel has to consider a number of factors, including the nature of the job opening and some ethical issues. It is necessary for the interviewing panel to agree on the kind of responses that they expect from the candidates. Interviewers can conduct behavioral interviews, case interviews and informational interviews with the job applicants. Irrespective of the chosen interview type, interviewees should be exposed to different types of interview questions for them to show competence regarding a variety of issues. Asking different types of questions enables the organizations to achieve the intended results. This paper looks at the steps to follow in order to effectively develop the questions for the interviews and to discuss the types of interviews. This paper also provides some sample interviews questions.
The Process for Developing Interview Questions
The development of the interview questions is mainly a responsibility of the selection panel. The panel has to meet before the interview date in order to agree on the appropriate questions for an interview that should be asked from each candidate and agree on the responses that they expect from a suitable candidate (Ceniza-Levine & Thanasoulis-Cerrachio, 2012). In such a meeting, the panel decides on the different types of questions to be asked like behavioral questions and performance-based questions. The panel has to consider every skill candidates should prove that they have before coming up with a series of questions. These questions then have to be assigned to each member of the panel before conducting the interview.
Steps for Determining the Appropriate Interview Questions
There are some essential steps that the interviewing panel should follow when determining the appropriate questions to ask during the interview. First, it is essential to determine the appropriate types for the possible question, such as open ended, close ended and probing questions. The second step is to confirm that the selected questions are not unlawful and ethically appropriate. It is also important to ensure that the selected questions present the need for candidates to draw from their past experiences or from hypothetical scenarios. The next step is to look at the questions in order to ensure that the double barreled questions are not included and to eliminate questions that can cause candidates some stress and provoke conflicts. Lastly, the panel holds a discussion on the nature of possible responses in order to develop a uniform view based on the skills required from a candidate (Ceniza-Levine & Thanasoulis-Cerrachio, 2012).
Three Types of Interviews
Behavioral Interview
Behavioral interviews are the most common type of interviews. The interviews are mainly based on the past performance of the interviewed candidates by use of some hypothetical situations. The idea behind the behavioral interviews is the perception that past behavior can indicate the way one is likely to behave in future. The questions often relate to candidates educational and work experiences (Ceniza-Levine & Thanasoulis-Cerrachio, 2012). For example, “Have ever faced any challenge as a team leader?”
Case Interviews
In most cases, case interviews are applied in the fields of management and consulting. In some situations, the questions can be used in other fields. Case interviews involve the use of hypothetical business problems that are presented to the interviewee for him/her to solve in the course of the interview (Hersen & Turner, 2012). When using case interviews, interviewers look for several skills in the interviewees. Some of the skills that can be examined by utilizing case interviews are problem structuring, analysis, creativity, communication and the industry knowledge. In case interviews, interviewers do not expect the interviewees to give specific responses. Instead, candidates are required to give estimates of the final answer, basing their arguments on given facts (Ceniza-Levine & Thanasoulis-Cerrachio, 2012). For example, “What is portion of the population do African Americans make up?”
Informational Interviews
Informational interviews are regarded as two way interviews in which the interviewee and the interviewer interact in a manner that is more of a conversation than a examination of knowledge and skills. The interviews give the interviewees a chance to obtain more information about their careers of choice. They call for candidates to be well prepared so as to have an interactive session and to demonstrate confidence during the exchange (Ceniza-Levine & Thanasoulis-Cerrachio, 2012). For example, “What skills do you think are more crucial for this position?”
Sample Interview Questions
Sample Interview Questions for the Position of a Chef
- What motivated you to become a chef? In order to answer this question, the candidate should relate his/her interests and passion for the profession by sighting particular motivational instances. For example, the candidate could inform about of spending a lot of time in kitchen and having a taste for well prepared meals.
- In your profession as a chef, which cuisines do you prefer? For this question, a candidate should give demonstrate extensive competence of different cuisines.
- In case you received complaints from your customers that your food was expensive, what are the first things you would look at before you respond to the complaints? For this question, the candidate should demonstrate an ability to recognize customers’ complaints and competence in providing a solution to the problem. For example, candidates are expected to consider the competitor’s prices.
- What is the most challenging situation in which you have ever found yourself and how did you handle it? For this question, the candidate should give a practical scenario and offer a viable solution to the problem that shows consideration of the customer.
Sample Interview Questions for the Position of a Customer Service Representative
- Could you please share with your past work experience in customer service? For this question, the candidate should show that he/she has an extensive experience.
- What do you know about our company’s products and services? For his question, the candidate should demonstrate a vast knowledge of the company’s products and services.
- Will you be in a position to work extra shifts if needed? For this question, the candidate should give a flexible answer that shows willingness to work extra shifts.
- Reflect on a case where you could not solve a problem presented to you by a customer. What was the nature of the complaint and how did you handle the case? The candidate is expected to give a practical solution to the problem that they encountered
Important Behavioral and Technical Questions
- What is the most challenging situation in which you have ever found yourself and how did you handle it? This is a behavioral question that shows how the candidate responded to a challenging situation in the past. Asking such a question is important as it offers an opportunity to understand how the candidate might respond to similar situations in the future.
- In case you received complaints from your customers that your food was expensive, what are the first things you would look at before you respond to the complaints? This is a technical question that seeks to find out the candidates’ level of competence while working as a chef. A good candidate should demonstrate willingness to listen to the customers’ complaints and the ability to save the customer loyalty even after the complaints. The candidate should also demonstrate competence in budgeting and pricing.
- What do you know about our company’s products and services? This is a technical question. It relates directly to the available job opening. A good candidate for the position of a customer service representative should be fully aware of the organization’s products and services. It makes the candidate well prepared to handle the possible issues relating to the products and services.
Conclusion
Organizations are constantly in search for skilled workforce that can help them have to achieve an edge over their competitors. According to Napier (2010), the move towards keeping a skilled workforce starts at the selection process. It is important to utilize appropriate selection methods in order to identify the best candidates. Candidates should be given a fair chance in the recruitment process. It is by giving an opportunity to participate in an interview to each of the qualified candidates that the best candidate is picked out of all of the applicants. Successful interviews call for a proper selection of the interview questions. In most cases, organizations form interviewing panels that are have the responsibility of selecting the interview questions. The panel must go through the process of selecting the questions and ensuring that the right questions are chosen ahead of the interview. A mixture of behavioral, technical and informational questions can help the interviewers achieve good results. Technical questions show the candidates’ technical skills for the position that they are applying for. Behavioral questions help to develop a link between the candidates’ previous experience and the way they are likely to respond to similar situations in the future. Generally, the goal is to have the best candidates fill the available job openings through a well-coordinated interviewing process.