CHAPTER 7

Types of Interviews

Chapter Objectives and Integrator Guide

The opening page of each chapter in Communicating at Work lists desired learning outcomes.
The Integrator Guide will assist you in locating activities and resources relevant to each
objective.

Integrated Objectives Resources

Plan and conduct an information-gathering In the text:
interview that will help you clarify and/or achieve Page references: 201-209
your career-related goals. Activities: 1,4,5
Career Tip:
Key terms: diagnostic interview, exit interview, Informational Interviewing and Searching for
research interview, investigative interview, survey Company Information
interview
Instructor's Manual online:
Discussion Launchers: 1,2
Classroom Activities: 1-3
Identify and demonstrate the steps to prepare for, In the text:
participate in, and follow up after an employment Page references: 209-228; 232-241
interview. Activities: 2,3
Career Tips:
Key terms: career research interview, employment Networking Organizations
interview, scannable resume Negotiating a Salary
Creating a Portfolio
Cleaning Up Your Digital Dirt
Ethical Challenge:
Promoting Yourself with Honesty

Instructor's Manual online:

Personal Reflection for Journaling
Discussion Launchers: 3,4
Classroom Activities: 4-9

Student Online Learning Center:

Internet Exercises 1 & 2, from Ch 6
Internet Exercises 1 & 2, from Ch 7
Business Document Templates:
Cover Letter Template
Resume Template
List various types of workplace interviews, and In the text:
describe how you can prepare for each one. Page references: 213

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 Activities: 1
Key terms: audition interview, behavioral On Your Feet:
interview, panel interview, stress interview Preparing for Behavioral Interviews

Instructor's Manual online:

Discussion Launchers: 5,6
Classroom Activities: 10
Distinguish between legal and illegal employment In the text:
interview questions, and identify several methods Page references: 228-232
of responding to illegal ones.
Instructor's Manual online:
Key terms: bona fide occupational qualification Discussion Launchers: 7
(BFOQ) Classroom Activities: 11
Describe how you can prepare for and effectively In the text:
participate in a performance appraisal. Page references: 231-245
Activities: 6
Key terms: listen-and-tell performance appraisal
style, performance appraisal interview, problem- Instructor's Manual online:
solving performance appraisal style, tell-and-listen Discussion Launchers: 8,9
performance appraisal style, tell-and-sell Classroom Activities: 12
performance appraisal style

Other Resources found on the Online Learning Center:

Student online center
Glossary
Key Term Flashcards
Key Term Crosswords
Self-Quizzes
Instructor online center
PowerPoint Files

About Chapter 7

This chapter highlights various customary interviews that, in the course of their careers, most
students will be asked to participate in, either as interviewee or interviewer: the information-
gathering interview, the career research interview, the employment interview, and the
performanceappraisal interview. Some skills already learned (using specific language and low-
level abstractions) prove significant in several places in this chapter for structuring goals,
creating interview questions, giving and receiving praise and criticism, and backing up answers
during employment interviews. Each of these instances provides a functional review of these
language skills.

Chapter 1 provided an introduction to the importance of informal networks in an

organization; this chapter reinforces the relevance of networking in order to get connected to
those who know about employment opportunities. The section about the information-gathering
interview prepares students to participate in investigative interviews, diagnostic interviews, and

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exit interviews. It leads students through the steps involved in being an interviewer: acquiring
background information, defining goals and questions, choosing the right interviewee, and
following up. Next, the text leads the student through an interview from the viewpoint of the
interviewee: conducting background research on employers, developing networks for potential
employment interviews, answering interview questions with specific evidence, and following up
with a letter of thanks. It is instructive to link the section about answering interview questions
with evidence to lessons learned in Chapter 4 about accompanying abstract statements with
lower-level abstractions.

Behaviors that create a positive impression are discussed, including appropriate attire and a
constructive attitude. These strategies link back to characteristics of communication learned in
Chapter 1 (communication is unavoidable) and in Chapter 4 (nonverbal communication is
powerful and always has communication value). The ethical obligations of the interviewer and
the interviewee and bona fide occupational questions can be framed within the ethical platform
introduced in Chapter 1. The Publicity and Professional Ethic tests are especially relevant.

Employment interviews compel familiarity with conventional interview questions and with
the law regarding employment interviews. Performance appraisals require knowledge of styles of
performance appraisals and steps in the process: reviewing progress, discussing successes,
problems and needs, setting goals, and preparing a written record. Students increase their
chances of success in the professional world as they become competent in each type of interview.

Skills taught in this chapter include detecting appropriate attire, answering nonlegal
questions,

Personal Reflection for Individual Journaling Assignment

One of the first steps in preparing for a job interview is to equip yourself with some brief
narratives that demonstrate your experience and will capture the attention of the
interviewer(s). Consider a job that you are currently qualified to apply for. For each of
the following four topics, write down one brief, lively, very specific story that
demonstrates your competence in relation to this specific job: education, prior work
experience (volunteer work is OK), career-related goals, an outstanding personal trait.
End each story with a statement explaining how that experience makes you an excellent
candidate for this job.

Discussion Launchers

1. Since the purpose of an information-gathering interview is to gain information about a

topic, why does the text exhort you to gather background information first? What might
go wrong if you fail to do adequate research before the interview?

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 2. What problems are associated with traditional job-search methods? What problems are
associated with non-traditional ways? Do you think there could be legal, moral, or ethical
questions about non-traditional ways? Do non-traditional ways smack of a "good old
boy" network? Do non-traditional formats tend to keep out women and minorities?

3. What do you think are the most necessary steps for an applicant to take before coming to
an employment interview? What did you do to prepare yourself?

4. What are the most frequent complaints of job interviewers about their interviewees?
How could you avoid being the type of interviewee an interviewer might complain about
(or joke about) after the interview?

5. Compare the primary functions of each type of interview covered in this chapter. Think
of a variety of situations in which each type might be used.

6. Recall the most threatening interview situation you've experienced. What made it seem
threatening? Did the interviewers use a panel, an audition, or a behavioral format? If
you had a chance to do that interview over again, how would you prepare differently?

7. Review the section in your text titled "Interviewing and the Law," and rank-order the
suggested responses from least to most effective. (Note to instructors: Emphasize to
students that no one response is always best; they will need to consider the specific
context to make a productive decision.)

8. If you were having a performanceappraisal interview, what type would you prefer your
supervisor use: tell-and-sell, problem-solving, listen/listen and tell? Would it depend on
the job?

9. Which do you think is easier to give in an appraisal interview: praise or criticism? Does
the context make one or the other more expected?

Classroom Activities
1. Identifying Sources for InformationGathering Interviews

Objective: The purpose of this activity is to help students develop skills in identifying
people who are sources of information when they are preparing for the interview process.
Additionally, students should better understand the multiple sources of information available
to them.

Procedure: Provide the following instructions to your students, and have them identify the
potential sources of information available for each of the proceeding questions.
Instructions to students: Working alone or with one to three partners, identify all of the
possible sources you can for answering the questions below. You do not have to answer

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 the questions, but you should identify the possible sources. Then, rankorder the sources
to indicate the best one to explore first. Identify the best source as #1, the next best as #2,
etc. Be prepared to explain to your classmates the reasons for your rankings. YT=Your
town (city).

1. What is the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in the YT area?

2. Who are the best internists in town?
3. What have been the rates of return on investments over the past five years for
index mutual funds, certificates of deposits, and corporate bonds?
4. What is the academic success rate for students in each age group: 17 and below,
1824, 2530, 3140, 41+?
5. Who are the biggest employers in YT? Who hires the greatest number of college
graduates?
6. What's the lowest airfare from YT to London?
7. Where can you find the best price for a personal computer with 32 megabytes of
RAM, 3.2GB hard disk storage, a CD-ROM, and a modem with at least 56K?
8. What are the best elementary schools in YT?

Class Discussion: After students have completed this activity, the following questions could
be used to initiate a class discussion.
Is there a consistent source that most students ranked #1? Why or why not?
Which criteria did you use to identify the source of information you ranked #1?
Which question is the most difficult to obtain a source of information for? Why?

2. Receiving Accurate Information

Objective: Students will recognize communication elements that may interfere with
receiving accurate information and suggest methods for managing those challenges.

Procedure: Elicit from students the general purpose of all information-gathering interviews,
whether highly structured, nonstructured, or moderately structured. Then, review the
communication model from the first chapter, focusing on elements of the communication
process that might interfere with receiving accurate information. In your discussion, include
the interpretations of receiver and sender; message characteristics such as jargon and high-
level abstractions; choice of channel; physical, social, chronological, and cultural contexts;
and various facets of noise, including physiological factors and information overload.
Next, divide the class into groups. Assign each group one of the following information-
gathering tasks listed below. Each group will choose a method and a structure for conducting
the interview, brainstorm factors that might impair the accuracy of the information they
gather, and provide a specific example to illustrate each factor. They should then suggest
how they could design their interview to minimize these potential interferences.
Information-gathering situations could include the following:
You are members of a student group trying to discover which cafeteria items are most
popular and least popular among the student body.

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 You have been assigned to design a better system for keeping students, faculty, and
staff informed about campus events. As a first step in this project, you have decided
to gather ideas from the student body, faculty, and staff.
You want to find out more about a career you are interested in.
You have to decide on your major by the end of the semester. You have been
perusing the course catalogue, but you feel overwhelmed by all the choices.
You have always wanted to open your own lawn-care business, but you have no idea
how to go about it.

Class Discussion: Allow groups to share their findings. Encourage the rest of the class to
ask questions of and give suggestions to one another. As students share ideas, construct on
the board a master list of suggestions for improving information transmission.

3. Preparing Questions

Objective: The purpose of this activity is to provide students with the opportunity to prepare
a list of questions for various interviews.
Procedure: Individually or in small groups, have your students identify the type of
interview each situation below represents, develop four quality questions they might ask in
each situation, and label each question according to its type.

A. Assume you are interviewing a person for a college teaching position in the [name a
department] Department, and you are trying to determine whether this candidate
possesses the appropriate interpersonal skills to be hired by your college, which has
as its motto: "The student is the number one customer."
B. A student has dropped this class. You are members of a college retention committee
assigned to do exit interviews to determine why students do not complete classes and
what can be done to improve student retention in the future.
C. You are a student attending a job fair. You see a recruiter who represents a company
you are really interested in working for. Write questions you could use to help
determine if this company would be a good match for your skills and personality.
D. You are a newly hired member of the human resources department of the ABC
Company (you decide what type of company it is). You have been assigned the task
of redesigning the performance appraisal process. Describe the process you would
recommend, and then develop at least four questions you would encourage
supervisors to ask their subordinates during an appraisal interview.
Class Discussion: The following questions could be used to lead a class discussion.
What rationale did you use in developing each question?
How would you prepare for each of these situations differently? Why?
In what way do questions differ across the three contexts?
How is the information obtained from each of these situations used in different
ways?

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4. On the Web: Searching for Company Information

Objective: The purpose of this activity is to provide students with an opportunity to practice
finding appropriate information about a company in preparation for an employment
interview. Additionally, students should obtain skills in relation to navigation of
organizations' web locations.

Procedure: Assign to individual students or groups of students particular organizations for

whom they are likely to want to work. (An advantage of a group is that several students
might have similar career interests). Using page 195 in the text, On the Web: Searching for
Company Information, ask students to find the information they would need to minimally
prepare for a job interview with the respective company. Additionally, you could provide
students with a short list of questions that are specifically related to knowledge about the
organizations. As an example, the following questions could be used:
Why would you like to work for us?
How did you hear about this opening?
What material have you read about our organization?
What do you know about our products or services?
What do you know about the history of our organization?

Class Discussion: After completing this activity, the following questions could be used to
lead class discussion.
What information was easy to locate on the Internet?
What information, if any, would you need to know but found unavailable on the
Internet?
What other methods are available to you for finding information that is not available
on the Internet?

5. Tricky Employment Interview Questions

Objective: The purpose of this activity is to allow students to brainstorm satisfactory

answers to some common, tricky questions asked in employment interviews.

Procedure: Divide the students into groups of four or five, and assign to each group one of
the questions listed below. Ask students to discuss why the question would be considered a
tricky question. In addition, each group should develop one example of a poor answer and
one example of an appropriate answer to the question, with a skit to demonstrate both
answers to the class. After each skit, the class will briefly discuss each question.
1. What is your greatest weakness?
2. What do you think youll be doing in ten years?
3. How would you evaluate your last boss?
4. What is your greatest strength?
5. I notice that your summer jobs were not in your field.
6. Why did you sign up for this interview?
7. Tell me about yourself.

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 8. What kind of salary would you need to join us?

Class Discussion: After each skit, spend time briefly discussing each question as a class.
Why is this question considered a tricky question?
What would you say the interviewer is seeking to learn from this question?

6. Mock Job Interviews

Objective: Students will gain professional assistance in answering job interview questions
effectively.

Procedure: Obtain several brief descriptions of jobs that students can prepare to "apply" for.
Distribute the descriptions, and ask students to come to the next class prepared for an
employment interview. Invite an on-campus recruiter or counselors from your college
placement center to come to your class and conduct mock job interviews with a few student
volunteers.

Class Discussion: Ask the professional interviewer involve the class in critiquing each
interview. After the interviewer leaves, ask students to compare the interviewers advice with
the guidelines from the text. What did students learn that was new? That was different from
the guidelines? Similar to the guidelines?

7. Impromptu Speech: Answering Interview Questions

Objective: Students will practice thinking on their feet as they truthfully answer
interview questions.

Procedure: Review the text sections titled Prepare for Important Questions, Respond to
the Employer's Needs and Concerns, Be Honest, Emphasize the Positive, Back Up our
answers with Evidence, Keep Your Answers Brief, Be Enthusiastic, and Have Your Own
Questions answered. Next, distribute the worksheet titled Sample Interview Questions
located at the end of this section, or use the questions listed in Table 7-3 of the text.
Students will take turns playing the role of interviewee and interviewer. For each
round, the interviewee will state which job they are applying for. This must be a job they
are currently qualified for (babysitting and mowing lawns are fine). The interviewer will
ask the interviewee a relevant question from the Sample Interview Questions list. The
interviewee will answer in accordance with ethical standards (that is, answers may not
include any fabricated or exaggerated information). The interviewee will then ask the
interviewer a question about the organization or job they are interviewing for.

Variation: Ask students to compose four or five of their own open-ended job interview
questions. Before the interview, the interviewee will hand their questions to the
interviewer, who will ask any one of the questions. This variation gives students practice
in composing as well as answering questions. This variation provides plenty of challenge
for students, even though they have written their own questions.

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 Class Discussion: After each set of five mock interviews, take a break and evaluate the
questions and answers according to standards set forth in the text sections you reviewed
with the class.

8. Simulated Job Interview

Objective: Students will learn additional tips for answering job interview questions
effectively.

Procedure: Instruct students to visit the OKC Community College site at

http://www.okc.cc.ok.us/rloving/SuccessInterview.html to complete the online practice
interview.

Class Discussion: After all students have completed the online interview practice on
their own, conduct an open-ended discussion to find out what they have learned. Elicit
their experiences and reactions. Whenever possible, tie students' comments to specific
guidelines found in this text.

9. Negotiating a Salary

Objective: The purpose of this activity is to provide students an opportunity to practice

discussing and negotiating for salary and non-salary compensation in the course of an
employment interview.

Procedure: In groups of two, have students role-play a section of an employment interview

in which the interviewee is negotiating for salary or non-salary compensation. Using the text
box Career Tip: Negotiating a Salary, have students design the specifics of the interview
and state the goal of the interviewee.

Class Discussion: Have some or all students perform their role-play for the class, and then
use the following questions to lead a class discussion.
What words and phrases worked well for you?
What was difficult about this process?
What was easy?
What skills are important in negotiating for salary?

10. Types of Employment Interviews

Objective: Students will gain experience with job interviews in panel, audition, and
behavioral formats

Procedure: Divide the class into six groups. Assign to each group one of the job
interview formats (panel, audition, and behavioral). Allow seven minutes for each group
to construct a role play demonstrating three or four questions and answers in their
assigned format.

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 Class Discussion: For each format discuss questions such as
Have you ever participated in this type of interview before?
How does this format differ from traditional job interview formats?
What advice would you give to a friend who will soon be interviewed in one of these
formats?
What should an interviewee avoid doing in this type of interview?

11. Bona-Fide Occupational Questions

Objective: Students will become more familiar with the BFOQs.

Procedure: Invite a representative from your college human resources department to visit
your class to explain the following aspects of BFOQs: (1) how the concept of BFOQs
developed in the U.S., (2) the rationale behind these regulations, (3) basic guidelines for
remembering which types of questions are BFOQs and which are not, and (4) suggestions for
responding to interviewers who ask BFOQs. Ask students to peruse Table 7-5 before class
and prepare questions to ask the guest speaker.

Class Discussion: Allow the guest speaker time to present her or his remarks. Follow with a
question-and-answer session. Prepare some of your own questions in case students forget.
You might ask:
Whats all the fuss? Is this concept really important, or is just nit picking?
Im overwhelmed by all the details in Table 7-5. How can I ever remember which
topics Im not supposed to ask about?
What if I accidentally inquire about a topic that is not a BFOQ? Will I be liable
for damages?
In your experience, is it worth protesting if an interviewer asks me questions that
are not BFOQs?
What do you think is the most effective response to a BFOQ that I think could
hinder my chances of getting the job?

12. PerformanceAppraisal Interview

Objective: After completing this activity, students should develop skills to practice
preparing and conducting an appraisal interview.
Procedure: Please see the performance appraisal assignment in the Major Assignments
section, and use the "Performance Appraisal Interview" handouts located at the end of this
section. For a smaller class version, students might prepare and participate in a performance
appraisal as a class activity. Have your students brainstorm to generate a list of the
performance standards for the ideal student. As the class offers these standards, write them on
the board. Try to achieve consensus on the best six criteria. Students usually come up with
ideas like class contributions, class participation, and contributions to classroom climate, and
attendance. Students will use the top six standards to prepare to be both the interviewee and
interviewer for a performance appraisal. Assign students to groups of four, and have them

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decide who will interview whom. At the next class period, students can begin conducting
appraisal interviews that should last about seven or eight minutes.
Class Discussion: Once all the interviews are completed, discuss how the students felt doing
this exercise, what problems they had, and areas they were comfortable and uncomfortable
with both as interviewer and interviewee.

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 Sample Job Interview Questions

Interest in the Organization

1. Why would you like to work for us?
2. How did you hear about this opening?
3. What material have you read about our organization?
4. What do you know about our products or services?
5. What do you know about the history of our organization?

Work-Related (General)
1. Which position has given you the most satisfaction?
2. How have your previous work positions prepared you for this experience?
3. Why did you choose this career?
4. What did you do that was innovative in your last position?
5. What do you think your previous supervisors would cite as your strengths?
6. What is your greatest weakness?

Work-Related (Specific)
1. When you are supervising others, how do you get your point across?
2. Describe a typical strategy that you would use in a sales call.
3. What criteria do you use when assigning work to others?
4. Tell me about a situation in which you made a wrong decision and how you corrected it.
5. How do you follow up on work assigned to others?

Education and Training

1. What special skills do you have?
2. Which aspect of your education has best prepared you for this position?
3. Which course did you like most in college?
4. If you had your education to do over, what would you do differently?
5. Why did you choose ____________ as your major?
6. Describe a book youve read recently and what impact it had on you.

Career Plans and Goals

1. What are your longrange career plans?
2. If you join our organization, what would you like to be doing five years from now?
3. How do you feel about the way your career has gone so far?
4. What are you doing to prepare yourself for advancement?
5. Who influenced you the most in your career choice?

Job Performance
1. How do you ensure that you are receiving feedback regarding your performance?
2. All of us have pluses and minuses in our performance: What are some of your
pluses/minuses?
3. Which criteria do you use when making decisions?
4. How were you evaluated during your last two evaluations?

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Additional Resources

Print
Beatty, R. The five-minute interview (2nd ed.). (1997). New York: John Wiley & Sons.
The author details the significance of the first five minutes of an interview in the hiring
process. Separate sections focus on assessment centers, psychological assessments, and various
types of interviews: situational, group, targeted, structured, unstructured, screening, and others.

Brett, P. (1993). Rsum writing for results: A workbook (2nd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
This workbook walks through several important steps of rsum writing: knowing
yourself, knowing your audience, writing the rsum, and job search letters. Includes information
and examples of how to include volunteer activities, military service, and leisure activities.

Criscito, P. (1997). Rsums in cyberspace: Your complete guide to computerized job search.
Barrons Educational Series, Inc.

The title says it all. There's plenty of practical advice for job seekers.

Fry, R. (2000). 101 great answers to the toughest interview questions. NJ: Career Press.
Practical advice for anyone preparing for a job interview.

Gifford, R., Ng, C. F., & Wilkinson, M. Nonverbal cues in the employment interview: Links
between applicant qualities and interviewer judgments. In J. DeVito, & R. E. Denton (Eds.), The
nonverbal communication reader (pp. 99106). Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press, Inc.
The authors emphasize the importance of nonverbal communication in this context.

Gill, A. M., & Lewis, S. M. (1996). Help wanted: An inexperienced job seekers complete guide
to career success. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland.
The authors divide their book into four sections: getting started, getting noticed, getting
offers, and getting ahead. Of particular note are the chapters on "Networking," "High-Impact
Interviews," and "Negotiating for Job Satisfaction."

Gutman, A. (2000). EEO law and personnel practices (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA:
Sage Publications.

Kapoor, J., Dlabay, L., & Hughes, R. (1999). Personal finance. New York: Irwin
McGraw-Hill.

Summarizes the types of information most employers are looking for

when they interview recent college graduates for jobs.

Thomas, I. M. (1996, March). First impressions. Hispanic, 4244.

This article details what recruiters do and do not want to see and hear in a selection
interview.

Video
Effective Answers to Interview Questions. 30 min. Insight Media.

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 Addresses concerns like the real meaning behind the interviewer's questions and difficult
questions to answer. Effective methods to use to answer questions are demonstrated in two job
interviews.

Sell Yourself: Successful Job Interviewing. 22 min. Learning Seed Video.

Shows reenactments of successful versus ineffective interviews and suggests ways to handle
difficult questions.

Web
AdviceMavens
http://www.advicemavens.com/dt/dtfs/252/16152
Offers advice about various aspects of job interviews.

Dane County, Wisconsin, Resource Pages

http://danenet.wicip.org/jets/jet-9407-p.html
Lists reasons to conduct informational interviews about your occupation, summarizes the steps to
follow, and suggests possible questions to ask.

Free Management Library

http://www.managementhelp.org/commskls/intrvews/intrvews.htm#anchor4293519341
From this page you can access links describing various types of interviews such as exit
interviews, interviewing job candidates, and interviewing as a research method.

CollegeGrad.com
http://www.collegegrad.com/intv/
From this home page, students can access articles about each step in the job interview process.

Job-interview.net
http://www.job-interview.net/sample/Demosamp.htm
Try your hand at mock job interviews on this site.

Virginia Tech Career Services

http://ei.cs.vt.edu/~cs3604/careers/interview.html
Excellent and concise information about various topics concerning job interviews, such as
business etiquette. Types of interviews, lawful and unlawful questions, and tips on resume
writing. Includes a questionnaire you can use to rate your dress sense.

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