Opening the Interview

Develop a list of specific topics to cover and issues to resolve during the interview. This is not a list of questions to ask, just topics to cover or issues to resolve. It is hoped these topics and issues will he addressed and resolved hy the open-ended questions asked at the beginning of the interview. The list of specific topics and issues can he developed from the questions and data needs identified using the analysis techniques from Chapter 9. Typical questions for an interview are listed below. 

Conduct follow-up interviews in the same general manner as other interviews, hut use a more structured, straight-to-the-point interview style. Initially, the interviewer may use open-ended questions, hut follow-up, closed-ended questions are usually asked sooner than they would he asked during the initial interview. Ensure that witnesses do not believe that the follow-up interview indicates the interviewer doubts their credibility. Focus on the gaps in information and apparent inconsistencies. 

The artist once explained to an interviewer, Katherine Kuh, that the idea of letting a piece of thread fall on a canvas was accidental, but from this accident there came a carefully planned work. Most important was the acceptance and recognition of this accidental stimulation. Many of my highly organized works were initially suggested by just such chance encounters. " For him, particularly his fabrication of Three Standard Stoppages, was really when 1 tapped the mainspring of my future. In itself, it was not an important work of art, but for me it opened the way—the way to escape from those... 

Keep your message brief and to the point. Thank the interviewer for taking the time out of his or her busy schedule to meet with you, and for considering you for the available job opening. Make sure you include the exact job title or position for which you applied. In one or two sentences, highlight the important details discussed in your interview. You want the interviewer to remember you. Finally, reaffirm your interest in the position and invite further contact. 

Most of the time, companies that misrepresent job openings do so unintentionally. When discussing a job opportunity with a potential employer, you can t stay on the abstract level. Early on, ask what the specific responsibilities of the job are. If the interviewer uses descriptive phrases like, "work in a low-stress environment" or "flexible work hours," ask the interviewer to define exactly what that means. Often, how an employer defines terms in its job descriptions is different from how the applicant defines them. This leads to misunderstandings. 

As the authors recognized, however, their methods are open to numerous criticisms. For example, as they state "Retrospective dietary assessments made at a single interview, even when this is conducted by an experienced dietician, are open to criticism since they rely heavily upon the memory of the subject interviewed, the estimates of quantity made by the dietician, and the subsequent expression of those quantities in mass units. The opportunity for error is clearly increased when the interview is conducted through an interpreter" (28). 

Whether you manage to get an open atmosphere depends on how strongly you try to stmcture the interview (Figure N4-11). If you determine the sequence and all questions in detail beforehand, as is often done with marketing enquiries, you leave no room for the interviewed. You only get answers to the question that you ask, but no other information. This is alright if you know exactly what you want, but then you could just as well let the interviewed fill in a list, which takes a lot less time. If you want to get information that you have not thought about before, at least part of the interview must be unstmctured, and you should have some open questions to keep this going. 

As the interviewer you can choose to play your role in different ways. In an accepting role, you let the interviewed determine what happens. This role combines well with open questions and little structuring of the interview. If you are new in a field, (and groping ) you can probably best take an accepting role. If you know the customer, and have a reasonable idea of the field, you will get more out of the interview if you are bit more critical, and use more structure. This mildly critical form is the most used one. 

There are other ways of sequencing. For example, you can work from open questions to specific ones or the other way around. Both allow the interview to be partly open. We will... 

A decent opening is crucial. Introduce yourself and explain the purpose and scope of the interview,... 

The first set of interviews was carried out with a sample of 15 FRLHT and CCD members, including the directors, programs officers and field officers. These in-depth interviews focused on the main characteristics and the perceived outcomes of this partnership initiative in terms of creation and dissemination of innovation stemming from TM, the contribution of the different network partners and the present and future challenges in the implementation and development of this initiative. The interviews, which consisted of open questions, lasted approximately 60 to 90 minutes. 

During research trips in the United States and Germany, I enhanced these materials with semi-structured interviews. Questions were prepared in advance however, I intentionally structured interviews to allow follow-up queries to insightful responses. While a valuable "primary source by themselves, the interviews were also very helpful for gaining access to private archives and document centers otherwise not open to the public. 

Examples of open-ended questioning are What are you taking this medication for , How do you take your medication , and What do you do when you miss a dose of your medication Closed-ended questions will not really tell the interviewer how much the patient understands about the dosing and purpose of medications without further questioning. Avoid questions such as Do you take all of your medicine once a day , Do you miss any doses , and Did your doctor tell you what this is for . All of these questions could be answered with either yes or no, and additional questioning would then be required for clarification. The open-ended style is efficient in that one type of question tells the interviewer all the patient s strong knowledge points and also pinpoints weak areas. 

The medications prescribed will help prompt the interviewer to ask about specific medical problems such as antihypertensives being prescribed for the patient who has hypertension. Open-ended questions help the interviewer to become the listener and the patient to become the information provider. 

Table 6.9 summarises the mean (and median) WTP estimates computed so far. The approximately two-fold difference between mean WTP estimates based on the answers to the open- ended questions and those based on data from the binary choice question calls for a closer examination. In the first year, there may have been a certain degree of compliance bias, also known as yea saying . This phenomenon is frequently referred to in critiques of referendum style CVM studies and the allegation is that individuals accept the bid in order to free themselves as quickly as possible from the interview, because it is easier than thinking seriously about the question, given the artificiality of the survey context, etc. 

Networking is also about visibility—getting yourself out there. If you learn about an actual job opening through your target list, you are ready to start interviewing. (Chapter 5 has more specific information about the interview itself.) Whatever you decide, think carefully about what you want to say and the questions you d like to ask. Then write them down. 

Learning how to use success stories effectively cannot be overemphasized. There is simply no better way to showcase your achievements and prove your suitability for a job. It takes some skill to weave success stories into an interview, but this can be done with relative ease if you rehearse them many times before you go to the interview, and use all of your communication skills to tell your stories once you get there. You will have to take some initiative to find openings for your success stories. Even if your interviewer asks you a question that can be answered with a simple yes or no, resist the urge to give a one- or two-word answer, as in the following example. 

If you haven t heard from your interviewer or human resources contact by the appointed time, follow-up with a call of your own or send an e-mail. A good way to re-open the conversation with your contact in human resources, or with the interviewer, is to call back a few days after the interview and ask if you can clarify or add to any of the answers you gave during the interview. 

The first type of interview to be discussed in this chapter—the informational or networking interview—is different from the others because there may not be an actual job opening. Such interviews will help you research an industry, company, or job category. You will also be discussing your strengths and career aspirations in the hopes that industry professionals know of suitable contacts or open positions for you. In a standard interview, you will be required to ask and respond to questions. However, the objective of an informational interview is to illustrate the strength of your skills, the best qualities of your personality, and the breadth of your accomplishments. This chapter teaches you how to reach that objective through the judicious use of well-crafted anecdotes. 

Most important, don t forget to enjoy the interview. Nowhere is it written in an interview has to be cheerless, tense, confrontational, frightening, or boring. Make your stories as interesting as possible— they will invite questions and responses from your interviewer that will open up the conversation even more. 

You ve hit that moment in your conversation where it s clear there s nothing more to be asked, answered, or discussed—at least for now—and it s time to go. Your interviewer has stood up and is smiling. You ve shaken hands and smiled, and now you re both headed toward the door. How are you going to leave things so that you re still in the driver s seat Quick, before your interviewer says something polite like, "Well it was a great pleasure to meet you. Have a good day," you need to re-open the door. 

Remember that most questions interviewers ask have no right or wrong answer. A good interviewer asks lots of open-ended questions that leave plenty of room for a variety of responses. But if you find that the only answer you can give to a question is "I don t know," relax. It s a temporary setback. You can always ask for clarification from the interviewer by saying, "I m not sure that I understand the question. Would you mind restating it " or you can ask that you come back to the question at the end of the interview. 

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