Interviewing
Depending on the position, the interviews may be conducted by several individuals. This may consist of one interview with several people in a panel format, or two or three interviews with different people. When determining the interview panel, the team leader or immediate supervisor should always be involved. Consideration should be given to including team members as well as clients who may have an interest in the successful candidate. Be sure to work in partnership with your assigned Staff Relations Consultant to discuss and plan your interviewing approach.
 Conducting the Interview
Attention to detail and to establishing a relationship with your candidates are important objectives of the interview process. These are some things to consider when preparing to interview:
- Schedule the panel, the candidates, and the room; ensure coffee/water/juice is available;
- Ensure the interview location is private, comfortable (board table, comfortable chairs), and accessible with adequate parking;
- Ensure all those individuals participating as interviewers are aware of the human rights related questions that are prohibited.
- Ensure that all panel members are clear on their role and what questions they are responsible for – prior to the first interview
- Put the candidate at ease before beginning interview
- Introduce each member of the panel and have each of them explain their involvement;
- Explain the process to the candidate at the beginning of the interview
- Ensure the candidates understand the question, rephrase, or give an example if necessary
- Give candidates time to plan their answers, or allow them to come back to a question later;
- Probe when the answer given is not complete, or requires clarification;
- Listen carefully and take notes;
- Be respectful of all candidates and look past nervousness and focus on their response;
- Evaluate the candidate against the questions. Interviews are limited in measuring a candidates abilities;
- While consistency is important, feel free to ask additional, or probing questions when needed;
- Ensure the candidate has time to ask questions;
- If in doubt, invite the candidate back. Don't risk a wrong hiring decision.
- Advise candidates of next steps.
Interview Questions
An effective employment interview combines a variety of interview question styles. This guideline will discuss three types of interview questions:
- Behaviour-Based
- Situational
- Traditional
Behaviour-Based Questions
Also called behaviour description, or targeted selection questions, behaviour-based interviewing is based on the premise that past performance is a strong predictor of future performance. Behaviour-based questions are best constructed by examining the specific descriptors on the job description. Candidates are asked to provide a specific example of how they handled a certain situation related to the competency. They are asked the situation, the action they took, and the outcome. These types of questions are measurable in determining a candidate's actual experience or skills in a specific area.
One advantage of behaviour-based questions is that the candidate's responses may be verified through the reference process, as the previous supervisor is often able to share their perception of the situation shared by the candidate, and how it was handled from their perspective. Candidates can better prepare for the interview questions because they can review the job profile and make a reasonable determination of the kinds of questions they will be asked.
When you gather examples of behavior in an interview, you want to make sure you’re getting the whole story – the situation in which the candidate acted, what he or she did, and the results of these actions. An easy framework story is to use the word STAR to describe a complete behavioral example. You are looking for information that describes the...
Situation or Task, Action, and Result.
Situation or Tasks are created by occurrences such as:
- Changes in candidate’s job responsibilities or work processes.
- Demands made by a manager or customer.
- Challenges in meeting a deadline or in getting along with a co-worker.
Actions are what the candidate said or did in response to a Situation or Task and how he or she said or did it. Actions are the heart of the STAR because they show us the candidate’s behavior – what we’re after in "Targeted Selection". Actions can also illustrate what a person did not say or do.
Actions might include
- The steps taken to complete a work assignment.
- How someone laid out work for a particular project.
- What a person did to meet a tight deadline or avoid costly delays.
- What a person said that caused a co-worker to become angry.
- Precautions someone should have taken but didn’t.
Results are the effects of the candidate’s Actions. They tell us what changes or differences the person’s actions made and whether the actions were effective and appropriate.
On the other hand, behaviour-based questions do not necessarily give us a strong indication of immediate response, quick decision making skills, or thought process. These skills and abilities are best determined through situational questions.
Situational Questions
Situational questions are developed from actual job incidents or duties. Situational questions ask the candidate to describe how they would handle a certain type of situation and are based on the premise that intent predicts behaviour.
The advantage
of the situational questions is it allows the interviewer to
bring different dimensions into the questions, and to gain valuable
insight into the candidate's likely behaviour. The candidate
is often more at ease with situational questions because they
don't have the pressure of thinking of a specific situation
for each of the questions.
Traditional Interview
Traditional questions, or open interview questions, are often used to start the interview. These questions help put the candidate at ease. Traditional questions are also helpful to probe further into the response and gain clarity from the candidate.
Permissible & Prohibited Inquiries
The Human Rights Code prohibits discrimination in the hiring process. The following section provides guidelines as to what subjects can be covered - or not covered - in the interview.
You may ask about:
- Education and Skills
- Authorization to work in Canada
- Education
- Military work experience
- Past job experience
You may not ask about:
- Age
- Colour
- Marital status
- National origin/citizenship
- Physical/mental disability
- Race
- Religion
- Gender
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- Arrest record
- Childcare issues
- Credit references
- Height and weight
- Future family plans
- Transportation
- Type of discharge from service
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Evaluating Interviews
The responses to each question asked must also be evaluated to distinguish one candidate from another. Traditional methods for evaluation include a 5 or 10 point Likert scale, where 1 is a poor response and 5 or 10 is a superior response. It is important for the hiring manager to identify responses which signify competence in advance of the interview. Supplementary qualitative remarks are also an excellent way to support/reinforce a scoring, and ultimately, a hiring decision.
Following each interview, panelists should debrief each response from the candidate
Candidate Rating
In addition to rating the interview question, many hiring managers find it helpful to develop a summary or scoring form prior to making a final decision about which candidate to proceed with. This form enables the hiring manager and other participants in the recruitment and selection process to review all aspects of a candidate's suitability for the position. Your HR Consultant can assist you in delevoping this tool.
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