Job Interview

Specific purpose:
Give information to all people about the environment during the interview and the right way how people should react before, during and after the interview.

Central idea:
By exposing the environment in public and private organization, it helps to determine what type of interview that people will face and also what kind of situation that people should handle in order to promoting themselves to be selected in the interview.

1. Introduction

1.1 Interview


Interview is a conversation between two or more people (the interviewer and the interviewee) where are asked by the interviewer to obtain information from the interviewee. Interviews can be divided into two rough types, interviews of assessment and interviews for information.

1.2 Job interview

Job Interview is a process in which a potential employee is evaluated by an employer for prospective employment in their company, organization, or firm.

1.2.1 Role

A job interview typically precedes the hiring decision, and is used to evaluate the candidate. Interviews are usually preceded by the evaluation of supplied resumes, selecting a small number of candidates who seem to be the most desirable. A company seeking to fill a single position will typically interview a handful of candidates - perhaps as many as ten if the level of application has been high. While job interviews are considered to be one of the most useful tools for evaluating potential employees, they also demand significant resources from the employer and have been demonstrated to be notoriously unreliable in identifying the optimal person for the job.

Multiple rounds of job interviews may be used where there are many candidates or the job is particularly challenging or desirable; earlier rounds may involve fewer staff from the employers and will typically be much shorter and less in-depth. A common initial interview form is the phone interview, a job interview conducted over the telephone. This is especially common when the candidates do not live near the employer and has the advantage of keeping costs low for both sides. Once all candidates have had job interviews, the employer typically selects the most desirable candidate and begins the negotiation of a job offer.


1.2.2 Types of Interview

Interviewing is often just as stressful for the interviewer as it is for the job seeker. Knowing the different types of interviews, and why and when they are successful, can help make your interviews more comfortable for both parties. Organizations frequently try to come up with their own style for interviews. They have a perception about what interviewing can accomplish. Because of this practice, people who are looking for a job find the inconsistency in interviews, from organization to organization, hard and extremely stressful.

a) Telephone Interviews

The telephone interview is the most common way to perform an initial screening interview. This helps the interviewer and the candidate get a general sense if they are mutually interested in pursuing a discussion beyond the first interview. This type of interviewing also saves time and money. They may be tape recorded for the review of other interviewers. The goal, for the candidate during the phone interview, is to arrange a face to face meeting.

b) Computer Interviews

The computer interview involves answering a series of multiple-choice questions for a potential job interview or simply for the submission of a resume. Some of these interviews are done through the telephone or by accessing a web site. One type is done with pushing the appropriate buttons on the telephone for the answer you are submitting. Wal-Mart uses this method for screening cashiers, stockers, and customer service representatives.

Another type of computer interview is provided by accessing a website while using a computer keyboard and a mouse. Lowes Home Improvement uses this type of screening. Some of the questions on both of these types of interviews are related to ethics. As an example, "If you see a fellow co-worker take a candy bar and eat it, do you a. Confront co-worker, b. Tell the supervisor, c. Do nothing."

c) One-on-One Interviews

This is the traditional interview in which candidates meet with employers in person, one-on-one. Each candidate is given a somewhat unique interview. It can be loosely structured. Both the candidate and employer usually walk away from this interview with a sense of whether or not the fit is right.

d) Panel Interviews

In a panel interview, the candidate appears before a committee or panel of interviewers. This type of interview is usually done for time and scheduling efficiency to accommodate the panel. Candidates are evaluated on interpersonal skills, qualifications, and their ability to think on their feet. This type of interview can be intimidating for a candidate. The candidate sometimes feels that they have no control over the panel.

In a panel interview, the candidate should focus on one or two key members and control their reaction. However, it is very important to make eye contact and communicate individually with each member of the group or panel. An example of a situation in which a panel interview was used was Tulsa Community College's job opening for a Provost; many universities and other public institutions use panel interviews.

e) Group Interviews

In a group interview, a company interviews a group of candidates for the same position all at the same time. This type of interview gives the company a sense of a candidate's leadership potential and style. The interviewer wants to view what tools of persuasion the candidate uses. Does the candidate use argumentation and careful reasoning or does the candidate divide and conquer. An interviewer may call on the candidate to discuss an issue with the other candidates, solve a problem collectively, or discuss the candidate's qualifications in front of other candidates.

This type of interview can be overwhelming for a candidate. The candidate needs to understand the dynamics the interviewer establishes and determine the rules of the game. He needs to avoid overt power conflicts, as they make the candidate look uncooperative and immature. The interviewee needs to treat other candidates with respect while exerting influence over them. Simultaneously, he needs to keep his eyes on the interviewer so that he does not miss important cues. This is done to assess specific skills. Candidates can be given a specific, hypothetical situation or problem. They are asked how they would handle it or to describe a potential solution. This can prove to be difficult if the interviewer does not provide enough information in order for the candidate to recommend a solution or a course of action. This type of interview is used to select candidates for a job opening for Customer Service Representative in a department or discount store.

f) Stress Interview

A stress interview is generally intended to put the candidate under stress and assess their reactions under pressure or in difficult situations. A candidate may be held in the waiting room for an hour before the interviewer greets her. The candidate may face long silences or cold stares. The interviewer may openly challenge the interviewee's beliefs or judgment. They may ask the candidate to perform an impossible task on the fly, such as, convincing the interviewer to exchange shoes with the candidate. Insults, rudeness and miscommunication are very common. All of this is supposed to be designed to see whether or not the candidate has what it takes to withstand the company culture, the company's clients or any other possible stress.

Example stress interview questions:

Sticky situation: "If you caught a colleague cheating on his expenses, what would you do?"

Putting you on the spot: "How do you feel this interview is going?"


Oddball question: "What would you change about the design of the hockey stick?"


2. Main Point

2.1 Preparation

It is very important to be well prepared for an interview. A common reason employers gave the University of Delaware's career center for not hiring an applicant is the inability of the applicant to fully explain the contents of his or her resume. It is therefore of paramount importance to be able to discuss in detail every item listed on one's resume, and if possible to give examples where appropriate. It is also important to research the company before the interview. To avoid being nervous, practice answering difficult questions. A good source of interview questions can be found by searching the Internet.

2.2 Dressing for Interview Success

While the college campus may be the perfect forum in which to exhibit your flair for the latest in fashion style, the interview is not the place to do so. Campus fashions and work fashions are two different worlds. Below are the guidelines for successful interview dress:

a) Men and Women

Conservative two-piece business suit (solid dark blue or grey is best)
Conservative long-sleeved shirt/blouse (white is best, pastel is next best)
Clean, polished conservative shoes
Well-groomed hairstyle
Clean, trimmed fingernails
Minimal cologne or perfume
Empty pockets—no bulges or tinkling coins
No gum, candy, or cigarettes
Light briefcase or portfolio case
No visible body piercing (nose rings, eyebrow rings, etc.) or tatoos


b) Men

Necktie should be silk with a conservative pattern
Dark shoes (black lace-ups are best)
Dark socks (black is best)
Get a haircut; short hair always fares best in interviews
Fresh shave; mustaches are a possible negative, but if you must, make sure it is neat and trimmed
No beards (unless you are interviewing for a job as a lumberjack!)
No rings other than wedding ring or college ring
No earrings (if you normally wear one, take it out)

c) Women

Wear a suit with a jacket and skirt or slacks; no dresses
Shoes with conservative heels
Conservative hosiery at or near skin color
No purses, small or large; carry a briefcase instead
If you wear nail polish, use clear or a conservative color
Keep your makeup simple and natural (it should not be too noticeable)
No more than one ring on each hand
One set of earrings only

2.3 Nonverbal communication

Nonverbal communication (NVC) is usually understood as the process of communication through sending and receiving wordless messages. Such messages can be communicated through gesture; body language or posture; facial expression and eye contact; object communication such as clothing, hairstyles or even architecture; symbols and info graphics; prosodic features of speech such as intonation and stress and other paralinguistic features of speech such as voice quality, emotion and speaking style.

Scholars in this field usually use a strict sense of the term "verbal", meaning "of or concerned with words," and do not use "verbal communication" as a synonym for oral or spoken communication. Thus, sign languages and writing are generally understood as forms of verbal communication, as both make use of words although like speech, both may contain paralinguistic elements and often occur alongside nonverbal messages. Nonverbal communication can occur through any sensory channel sight, sound, smell, touch or taste.

2.3.1 The Most Important Interview Nonverbal

“What you say is not nearly as important as how you say it”

Many interviews fail because of lack of proper communication. But communication is more than just what you say. Often it is the nonverbal communication that we are least aware of, yet that speaks the loudest. Following are the top four nonverbal, ranked in order of importance when it comes to interviewing:

a) Eye Contact

If you look away while listening, it can indicate a lack of interest and a short attention span. If you fail to maintain eye contact while speaking, at a minimum it can indicate a lack of confidence in what you are saying and can even send the nonverbal cue that you may be lying. Do not just assume you have good eye contact. Ask. Watch. Then practice. Ask others if you ever lack proper eye contact. If they respond that they did notice, ask if it was during speaking or listening. I have met a number of candidates who maintained excellent eye contact while listening, but lacked eye contact when speaking. Or vice versa. Next, watch a recording of yourself. It does not necessarily have to be your mock interview; in fact, if you were recorded informally (that is, you were not aware you were being recorded), this will provide even stronger evidence. Then sit down with a friend and practice until you are comfortable maintaining sincere, continuous eye contact throughout the interview.

b) Facial Expressions

Take a good, long, hard look at yourself in the mirror. Look at yourself as others would. Then modify your facial expression. First, eliminate any negative overall characteristics that might exist, and then add a simple feature that nearly every interviewee forgets to include (a smile). Give a true and genuine smile that tells the interviewer that you are a happy person and delighted to be interviewing with the company today. You do not need to keep the smile plastered on for the full interview, but remember to keep coming back to it.

c) Posture

Posture sends out a signal of your confidence and power potential. Stand tall, walk tall, and most of all, sit tall. But height is not what’s important, posture is. When standing, stand up straight. When you are seated, make sure you sit toward the front of the chair, leaning slightly forward, moving within an overall range of no more than 10 degrees back or 20 degrees forward, intent on the subject at hand.

d) Gestures

Contrary to popular belief, gestures should be very limited during the interview. So please don’t use artificial gestures to try to heighten the importance of the issue at hand (pardon the pun). It will merely come off as theatrical. When you do use gestures, make sure they are natural and meaningful.

2.4 Do and Don’t

a) The things you should do:

Be on time
Learn the name of you interviewer, and do not forget it.
Greet you interviewer with a firm handshake
Show interest in the conversation: listen carefully and do not interrupt.
Relax (it sounds easy) and answer the questions concisely, do not talk too much.
Be honest; do not lie about your qualifications.
Be positive, cooperative and enthusiastic
When you leave, thank the interviewer.

b) The things you should never do in the interview.

Arrive late
Chew gum
Give a poor handshake
Leave your cell phone on
Eat
Treat the receptionist impolitely.
Say something negative about your past employer

3. Conclusions

In conclusion, to be a success candidate we must determined the real environment involving in the interview process. The study process of the environment include of what type of interview that we will face and how we should handle it. It is important for us to be prepared well before we can attend any interview. We actually can predict what environment of interview that we will face. It is because the environments are different in public and also in private organization. Public organization is more towards selecting people who are manage to support the government sector and most of the interview will using the Malay language. On the other hand, the private organization is more towards selecting people who are having a skill and manage to give full effort in achieving the company target and most of private organization will use English language in the interview session. The most important aspect for every people who would like to attend the interview is how they should prepare themselves. The key element is the way they dressing, communicate; give feedback such as asking questions, the movement of body posture and gesture. If they have prepared for all this, they will feel confident in facing any type of interview.

4. Recommendation

a) It’s important to candidates to be prepared.
b) Avoid nervous by relaxing your mind.
c) Think positive and speak confidently when answering the questions.
d) Focus and respect the interviewer.
e) Making eye contact with the interviewer.
f) Don’t forget to say thanks to the interviewer after the end of interview session in order to show that you are appreciated to be interview in that time.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:


Job interview Retrieved Sept. 11, 2007, from World Wide Web: http://www.hotjobs.yahoo.com

Job interview Retrieved Sept. 12, 2007, from World Wide Web: http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/job_interview.com

Job interview Retrieved Sept. 12, 2007, from World Wide Web:
http://www.jobfairy.com

Job interview Retrieved Sept. 14, 2007, from World Wide Web:http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/nonverbal_communication.com

Job interview Retrieved Sept. 14, 2007, from World Wide Web:
http://www.humanity-radzi.blogspot.com