The Interview Plan

All the preparation having been done (job analysis and criteeria definition, application processing etc), applicants can now be invited to meet the "selectors" - representatives of the organisation - who will make the judgments. They discriminate between candidates and deciding on suitability for the job and whether he/she should be offered a job contract.

A programme and plans are needed if we are to be systematic. Generally we have to invite candidates to

• an interview programme
  Generally two interview structures are used - the one-to-one interview and a pannel interview. These are central activities which may be supplemented by ...
  • site/departmental tours,
  • lunches
  • tests (presentations, discussion groups, ability and psychometric tests and medicals).

Interviewer Briefing/Preparation

This section largely assumes that the interviewer will following a sequence based on a biographical examination of the candidate. The interviewer "should have"

• analysed the job properly and understand its demands, critical success factors, skills/competences and constraints.

• if the job is new, reviewed and agreed on job requirements.

• conceived of the characteristics of an ideal appointee may present i.e. construct a model against which candidates can be compared for fit

• scrutinised application forms or curriculum vitae. This is no mean task if there are twenty applicants for a complex job.

  I spent a whole day reading 20 application submissions for a teacher vacancy. I charted candidate attributes against job criteria. It was helpful. The three best candidates on paper were easier to spot. Areas where more information was needed on various candidates were highlighted. But the time and effort......!

  I was then able to short-list what I thought were the six best candidates who were then invited to interview. This process alone illustrates the fuzzy nature of the decision-making process. The job criteria had been defined but to sift through the allplication forms the number of criteria needed to be reduced - there were too many variables. This highlights the practical difficulty of the classic "fit the job to the person and person to the job argument".

• for short-listed candidates, areas where more information is needed at the interview, points for clarification and discussion etc were highlighted. I was then able to share these initial understandings (pre-judging?) with colleagues on the interview panel (several of whom had not spent much time at all reading the application forms!).

Scheduling

An interview programme is needed to ensure that candidates are "seen and processed" equitably and effectively. The programme may include

• collection from the airport,
• hotel accommodation,
• evening dinners,
• Cooks tours of the headquarters,
• meetings with staff in the department,
• panel interview, individual interview,
• candidate tests,
• final review opportunities and closure/departure.

Flexibility and rigidity

Rigid programmes can end interviews abruptly and arbitrarily. They can frustrate and even lead to the programme amd interviews being spun out - "because we have to give everyone 30 minutes". At the same time programmes can be too loose and involve excruciatingly stressful, embarrassing delays and waiting periods.

Ritualists might argue that this is essential to the theatre of selection and organisational initiation. Such ideas are nonsense.

Unnecessary waiting serves no purpose other than administrative convenience for the organisation and gives a bad impression. Good candidates may be lost because of it.

Yet good programmes include breaks and less formal events. Interviewers need periods to refresh their understanding of papers and their preparation items. They need time to record, think and discuss.

Reception

One purpose of the interview programme is for candidates to discover more about the firm they are thinking of joining. Do they want to work here?

Being treated with courtesy and respect is essential. Good candidates may have other job offers in the pipeline from elsewhere or be prepare to wait for a better opportunity. They gather information about their prospective employer from

• the job advertisement
• the letter of invitation to interview
• accompanying job documents
• company reports
• confidential inquiries/word of mouth
• physical reconnaisance of the firms products, services and location - even the journey to work, housing and schooling.

Reception arrangements are critical. Reception staff and interviewers need to make favourable impressions. Avoid the mad or grumbling receptionist or brusque security officer.

A safe (for the candidates) reception or waiting area needs to be designated. Someone needs to receive applicants, ensure they have coffee, ensure they have a security pass and parking place, administer their expenses etc. The interviewer needs to "collect:" the candidate and escort them to the "place of encounter" (surrealist imagery).

Let the candidates know what is going on e.g.

"We have made good progress with ot programme, we have seen two people so far and we will be meeting you immediately after lunch."

Applicants - just arrived - need some personal time to groom/compose themselves and take stock of their surroundings

The Interview Place

The room layout, the chairs, the table, the phones, the coffee, hats and coats - must be marshalled. This is basic stuff.

The venue/room must serve its purpose both in terms of social expectations and the technical task of data collection and decision-making. Interviews in a pub bar are too informal and prone to interruption. But a hotel function room could be appropriate (not a bedroom with a bed!).

The staff room of a school is not appropriate but, a class-room with proper furniture (not chairs for 8 year olds!) arranged for the interview may be. Lunch in a quiet restaurant may offer useful informal surroundings and a break in a day-long programme of events. Discussions with a candidate whilst conducting a Cooks Tour also fit into this pattern.

Checklist

• select a suitable room for a conversation with no interruptions. Avoid rooms with glass doors and panels which become shop windows to people walking down corridors.
• select and position furniture properly. Where will the candidate sit? How in terms of physical p[[ositioning can the dominance and threat of the interviewer or panel be minimised? Be aware of "levels" for eye contact and to minimise the problem of superiority.
• make sure the candidate can put their overcoat, umbrella, motor-cycle leathers, overnight bag out of the way (and remember to collect afterwards - a perennial source of embarrassment). Be aware of bright sunlight and also the threat of too intimate lighting!

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BOLA is developed and maintained by Chris Jarvis