Could Interview Guides Be Your Solution?
Are you tired of hiring the wrong candidates? Are your
hiring managers likely to ask non-job-related and other
inappropriate questions? Are you looking for a tool to partner
with your hiring managers to improve the selection process?
Many organizations have created interview guides as a tool
to help managers structure the interview. This benefits the
organization in a number of ways:
- It provides a consistent structure on which to assess
all candidates for the same position.
- It allows hiring managers to focus on listening and
assessing applicant’s responses, as opposed to thinking up
their next question.
- It provides a tool for note-taking.
- It can serve as documentation if there is a charge of
discrimination.
Some organizations have interview guides for their most
heavily recruited positions. For example, call centers might
have interview guides for their customer service associates,
and restaurants might have a guide for cooks and a guide for
servers. One health insurance company has a series of four
interview guide templates: one for administrative/clerical
roles, one for managerial/supervisory positions, one for
technical/professional roles, and a final guide for
executives. The template offers suggestions for basic
questions, allowing hiring managers to customize their guides
by selecting a series of pre-approved questions for each guide
which are available on the intranet. Managers may also add
job-specific questions that are then asked of all candidates
for an open position.
What might be included in a typical interview guide?
Outlined here are the typical sections of many guides:
Contact information. This includes the applicant’s
name, the interviewer’s or interviewers’ name(s), the
date/time of the interview, and the position applied for.
Interviewer notes. Many interview guides include
notes to the interviewer(s), such as:
- The structure of the interview
- Welcoming the candidate and establishing rapport
- Reminder to ask probing questions
Knock-out questions. If not covered in a pre-
screening interview or outlined on the application form,
specific requirements that are essential for the job should be
asked. These questions might include:
- Do you have a valid driver’s license?
- Are you at least 18 years of age?
- Do you have the legal right to work in this country?
- Have you been convicted of a felony?
- Can you work the schedule that we’ve discussed?
- Can you meet the travel requirements outlined for this
job?
- What are your salary expectations?
- Do you possess a valid license to practice in this state
(for, say, pharmacists)?
Educational background questions. The interview
guide may then outline specific questions about the
candidate’s education, including some of the following
questions:
- Tell me about your relevant educational background.
- How has your education and training prepared you for
this role?
- What are your credentials/degrees?
- Have you received specific training in _________?
(relevant to the specific job)
Employment background questions. The interview guide
often reviews employment history questions, including some of
the following:
- Tell me about your relevant employment background.
- How have your past roles prepared you for this role?
- Describe your experience in working with ________?
(relevant to the specific job)
Behavioral interview questions. Behavioral interview
questions may include both core competencies (those required
for everyone working in the organization) and well as
job-specific competencies (those required for this specific
role). Behavioral interview questions may be selected that
focus on a number of different qualities or competencies.
Benchmark responses. Some interview guides may
include a listing of benchmark responses, including positive
responses, negative responses, and neutral responses.
Evaluation. Many interview guides have an evaluative
tool for assessing the strengths of the candidate relative to
the specifications of the job. Some guides include a method to
evaluate each of the major sections listed above, and many
also require a rating for each competency being assessed. This
provides a quick and easy way for all those involved in the
selection process to assess candidates objectively and to
compare ratings from individual to individual interviewer.
