Interview , job candidate

The job analysis provides useful information for both employees and managers. For managers, information from the job analysis is used in writing job descriptions, interviewing job candidates, screening candidates, and setting performance criteria. For employees, information from the job analysis tells employees how work is to be done and the outcomes expected. 

For information on how to conduct useful and legal job interviews, see the section Interviewing Job Candidates. ... 

Self-directed work teams are given authority to solve problems related to their jobs. The amount of authority that is given to a team depends on the company. For example, some companies allow the teams to interview job candidates for a position on the team and either to make the final decision or to have input into the final decision about hiring. 

Imagine you are a company representative sent to interview a candidate for a job. Write a paragraph describing specific characteristics of the ideal candidate. Now think of these characteristics from the interviewer s perspective. What ramifications does each have for a potential job candidate s interviewing behavior ... 

Form a team of three and role play a hypothetical job interview, with two of the group playing interviewers and the third playing the job candidate. Take turns until everyone has played the candidate. 

It can also prevent awkward moments during site visits, when some interviewers ask candidates what interests they have in development research. Unaware of the distinction that fipcos make between discovery and development research, even some newly graduated doctoral chemists cannot express any preference. Familiarity with chemical development can assist a job hunter in evolving a preference. It can lead him to consider jobs not only with FIPCOS but also with other companies engaging exclusively in process research and development. 

Depending on the job, your interviewer will be looking for certain kinds of success stories based on a number of factors, such as your ability to solve problems, think independently, take initiative, or communicate skillfully. The ten "success factors" that most employers expect from job candidates are listed in Exhibit 4-1. Your task is to weave these factors into your own success stories. 

Although it is generally agreed that a thank-you note should be short, opinions differ as to whether it should be handwritten or typed. It is safe to say, however, that if a company is conservative, the best bet would be to write your thanks by hand on a small, plain, good-quality note card (5" x 3/ "). On the other hand, you can type your thanks on good-quality, standard size (8/ " x 11") stationery. Some job candidates use the same paper and style of heading they used for their resumes and cover letters. (In this instance, the thank-you note is considered the final addition to the resume package they ve already submitted.) The format is less important than the time frame, however. A thank-you note should be mailed no later than a day after an interview. 

Like many candidates, you may think that the oral interview is just like any other job interview, that it s not a major part of the hiring process for firefighters, or that compared to the CPAT or the written exam, it isn t all that critical. 

Once an applicant s resume is entered into the database, the software deciphers it, word by word, and compares each word to the listing of keywords created by the employer. Only those applicants who have resumes with a pre-defined number of keyword matches will be flagged as potentially qualified applicants for a job opening. After the software has selected the top candidates, an HR professional can read only those applicants resumes or interview those people. 

Job interviews are your time to shine as a person and sell yourself directly to the employer. Until now, you ve used impersonal methods of communication to convey information about yourself. When you participate in an interview, your personality, appearance, charisma, knowledge, and body language help sell you as the perfect candidate for whatever job you re applying. 

Throughout any job interview, your primary objective should be to position yourself as the ideal candidate for the job for which you re applying. Your chances of landing a job dramatically increase by avoiding the common mistakes made by many applicants. 

Recruiting consists of all activities associated with attracting qualified candidates to fill job vacancies. The purpose of recruiting is to attract the most qualified candidates to interview for vacant job positions. Recruiting is easier when employers are proactive in their recruitment efforts. Proactive recruitment occurs when employers (1) continually recruit and network, (2) maintain a pleasant work environment where people want to be employed, and (3) establish a positive image in the minds of potential recruits. 

One of the first steps in hiring is for a candidate to fill out a job application. Job applications serve two purposes. The first is to help screen unqualified candidates. Applications can identify whether candidates have the necessary training, degrees, and experience for the job. The second purpose of applications is to provide background about the candidate for the interview. 

Send information about the position to the candidate. It is helpful to provide candidates with specific information about the job description and standards for performance to help them prepare for the interview. 

Most interviews follow a relatively predictable number of steps. The first step consists of introductory small talk designed to put the candidate at ease. Rather than jumping immediately into the questioning, a few minutes may be spent developing some rapport with the candidate. After the small talk, interview questions are posed of the candidate. When the questioning phase is finished, the interviewer describes and promotes the job to the candidate. At this point, candidates typically ask questions of the interviewer about the job. At the end of the interview, applicants either meet with other interviewers or are given a tour of the facilities. 

What questions might an interviewer ask of a candidate for the job described in Table 9-2 ... 

Interviewing a large number of candidates on any reasonable time frame whilst continuing to do justice to all the candidates is impossible. Drawing up a short list of candidates from the many applicants produced by the advertisement of the job is essential. 

Whilst it is relatively easy to carry out, the correlation between the test results obtained on a candidate and the actual performance on the job, known as predictive validity, is variable and depends on what characteristics are being looked at in the test. The correlation coefficient for cognitive tests has been assessed as 0.35 and for personality tests as low as 0.15 [A-4], However, when such tests are well done and analysed by a suitably qualified person they are very useful in checking or supporting the conclusions of the interviewing team, particularly where there is a divergence of opinion, but they should never be used as the sole basis for selecting a candidate. 

All the unsuccessful candidates should be sent rejection letters promptly. It is also courteous for a Manager to make a telephone call to these people and be prepared to answer any queries they may have about the recruitment process. It is also fair that their reasonable requests to provide an explanation of why they failed to get the job are met. This is a matter of good manners and requires little effort on a Manager s part, usually just a few minutes on the telephone. To do this some decent notes from the interviews should be retained to use when these requests arise. The only thing that must be avoided, and must never be allowed to happen, is any questioning of the decision on who has been appointed. 

First, the most important difference is that employees will now be notified of all available positions before the positions are advertised for the general public. Accordingly, all in-house candidates will be interviewed before we see any outside candidates, and we will offer the job to outside candidates only if no current employees are able to fill the position. 

You have advertised a vacant position and received a stack of applications that seem to meet or exceed the minimum qualifications for the job. Now it is time to begin narrowing the pool down to a handful of finalist candidates to interview. How do you approach the project ... 

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