Effective Interviewing Flashcards
interview
a purposeful communication between parties through the use of questions; structured - pre planned schedule of questions and probes; interactional - both parties share and exchange roles and info, a mutual creation and sharing of messages that come from words and nonverbal signals; info giving - orienting, training, coaching, instructing; info gathering - surveys, exit interviews, research sessions, investigations, etc.; focus groups - 6-10 interviewees with a single interviewer, focused on a specific issue; hiring/selection - candidate/employee meets with a recruiter or other organizational decision maker; performance review - focuses on skills, performance, and behaviors with the goals of coaching and goal setting
journalistic/information interview
interview used to gather info from someone; make sure to schedule the interview ahead of time; tell the person about how long the interview will take; ask to record or take notes
persuasive interview
attempts to change or reinforce the beliefs or behaviors of another; changing hearts and minds; here you are trying to change the way someone thinks, feels, or behaves; interviewer/persuader will engage in a mutual interaction with the interviewee/persuadee; questions are still central to this process, but their purpose is somewhat changed…need to collect info from the persuadee for the purposes of shaping your argument
survey interview
gives you a high degree of reliability and replicability; they are highly structured, often standardized, interviews; all primary and probing questions prepared (ahead of time/the interview); easy to implement (limits noise/biases/inconsistencies from multiple interviewers); not too difficult to convert a detailed guide into a survey
recruitment/employment interview
focusing on the hiring process from the side of the organization; one of the most “balanced” interviews, in terms of role exchange between interviewer and interviewee; info about the applicant is obtained by the organization; info about the organization is obtained by the applicant; successful recruitment is important b/c you (as the recruiter) want to bring in the best talent, bring in good culture, make the organization (more) competitive, tenure and money; make sure there is some kind of “close” or closing such as “We’ll contact you…” or “Thank you for your time…”
distributive negotiation
involves a single issue (usually price) for which the two parties’ interests are in conflict
integrative negotiation
also called integrative bargaining; involves value creation (expanding the pie), not just value claiming; creating a relationship b/c it’s not a one time deal; you help me I help you
counseling interview
helps an interviewee gain insights into a problem; ethics - should you engage, or should you refer the interviewee to someone else, confidentiality vs. mandatory reporting; listening - for empathy and understanding (emotions) or problem solving (cognitions); approach - indirect vs. direct, primarily using probing questions; occurrence - arranged in advance by interviewer, or interviewee, or it is spontaneous
culture/gender effects
gender - hard to know if differences are innate or learned; being counter normative has costs (women are told to lean in, but then are labelled as bossy or bitchy); being counter normative doesn’t always result in desired outcomes; women are told to ask for it, but are more likely to be told no; culture - culture is like an iceberg; above the waterline - observable - greeting rituals, customs, speech and nonverbal cues, conflict behavior; below - unseen, inferred - beliefs and values that guide behavior, interpretations and reactions; there is a lot of variance within groups, so not all people from the same group are exactly the same
interview guide
an outline of topics and subtopics (and even sub subtopics) that will be addressed in the interview (specific areas and inquiries); benefits - ensures all areas are covered in the interview, facilities effective recording of responses, impoverished; interview guide ex: I. top study abroad programs for international business, II. cultures, III. expense, IV. teaching and facilities
interview schedule
list of questions that have been prepared to serve as a guide for interviewers to collect info about a topic; not to be confused with an interview guide - which has a list of topics - an interview schedule is a list of questions that have been prepared ahead of time
moderately scheduled
probably best; all major questions and possible probes; some flexibility for unplanned probes and adaptation; built in interviewer bias may be worse than accidental bias encountered in nonscheduled and moderately scheduled interviews
highly scheduled interview
strict/rigid; all major questions and pre planned process; no deviation and no unplanned probes; also used for research and surveys
highly scheduled standardized interview
cold/robotic; every instance of the same interview is identical; questions have specific answer options; no probing or explanation; use in research or in surveys
unscheduled (non scheduled) interview
unstructured - no preplanned questions; most appropriate when - an interview is brief, interviewees and info levels differ significantly, interviewees are reluctant to respond or have poor memories, little preparation time
open questions
provide interviewee with freedom to determine the amount and type of info provided; highly open questions place no restrictions and give little direct guidance about info being sought (for ex. - tell me about your summer vacation? what do you remember about 9/11?); moderately open questions give some specific guidance (for ex. - tell me about the trip you took on summer vacation? when you watched the news coverage of the towers falling on 9/11, what were you thinking?)
closed questions
have a narrow focus and are designed to elicit restricted answers; bipolar questions give the respondents only two options - do you own a car? are you an undergrad or a grad student?; highly closed questions typically ask for a single piece of info - what year did you graduate high school? what airport did you fly into?; moderately closed questions ask for specific info without elaboration from respondents - what current TV shows do you regularly watch? what are your favorite places to eat in Fairfield?
primary questions
introduce a new topic or subtopic (for ex. - why did you choose to study I/O psych? which course in the I/O program did you find the most valuable?); should stand alone (don’t need larger context to know the correct response)
probes
if answers to primary questions are unsatisfactory (incomplete, superficial, vague) you may need to probe the respondent for more info (for ex. - can you explain what you mean by “confusing”?); usually only make sense within the context of the earlier questions; many types - silent, nudging, clearinghouse
clearinghouse probe
good practice to utilize a clearinghouse probe to ensure you have covered everything of importance on a particular topic; ask respondents to volunteer any info that they think is relevant that the questions you prepared didn’t cover/elicit (for ex. - is there anything else you’d like to tell me about your trip? is there anything I didn’t ask you about that you think is important for this issue?); also provide a good wrap up of a particular topic, allowing a clear segue into any new areas
silent probe
if the interview hasn’t said enough, sometimes remaining silent is sufficient to induce more sharing; can be accompanied by other non-verbal cues, such as eye contact, a head nod, or hand gesture
nudging probe
if silence isn’t sufficient, but you want to encourage the interview to continue on a topic; for ex. - I see…, Go on…, And?…, So?…,
non-verbals
non-verbals govern how other people receive us and how we are thinking about ourselves (powerful vs. powerless); use positive non verbal communication - make eye contact, smile, give a firm handshake, sit upright, avoid fidgeting, speak clearly, conversationally and confidently; nonverbal communication is critical in creating a good first impression and establishing your legitimacy; it signals sincerity, trust and trustworthiness, warmth, interest, the seriousness the interview, and the emotions being experienced
self-monitoring
APA definition - a personality trait reflecting an ability to modify one’s behavior in response to situational pressures, opportunities, and norms; high self-monitors are typically more apt to conform their behavior to the demands of the situation, whereas low self-monitors tend to behave in accord with their internal feelings; two components - awareness of others’ responses and motivation to adapt; may have better performance evaluations and be more adept at impression management and networking, but may also be less likely to act on their own attitudes
