Guide to Interviewing

Contents
Types of interviews Three steps in successful interviewing

The interview schedule

The interview guide Conducting the interview

Rapport
Questioning Interview review

The interviewee
Dos and donts Further assistance
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Interviews
Interviews are in essence guided dialogues to gain information, made effective by using a well prepared interview guide.
Some examples are:

Requirements gathering interviews Post implementation review interviews Job and team selection interviews Performance review interviews Exit interviews
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Three steps in successful interviewing

Preparation: produce an interview schedule and interview guides.
Execution: conduct the interviews Review: write up the interview notes

Steps in the interview process

Preparation Execution Review

Interview schedule

Interview guides

Interview

Interview notes format

Who you are going to interview, why, when and where?

What questions are you going to ask?

Structure Rapport Listen Probe Clarify

What results were obtained? Information found Decisions Actions

An interview guide should be created prior to all interviews to ensure the interviews are focused and efficient and enable comparison and summarisation.
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The interview schedule

Name John Smith

Position R&D Manager

Rationale

Date

To understand R&D strategy 25/4 and get future R&D expenditures To get facts on competitor Xs latest development. In particular: Potential customers Our position 27/4

Roy Wilkinson

Head of metalurgical research

Bob Johnson

Lab assistant

An interview schedule is helpful, to track who is going to be interviewed, when and why.
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Preparing the interview schedule

Identify what the objectives of the interviews are, what information you need to find out and therefore what areas of the business you need to obtain information from. Identify who needs to be interviewed to obtain this information. Create an interview schedule, allowing time to review and record notes between interviews. Book the interviews and record them in the schedule.

The interview guide

Section Introduction Question 1. Personal background 3. .. Sub Question Education 2. Key mission of the department Work experience Major activities Major interfaces Body 4. Recent development in area x Major products 5. Customer reactions Competitor activities 6. . 7. . 8. . Wrap up 9. Future trends 10.Restate key points Switching costs Timing of change Next S - curve Timing

To make the most out of an interview, a well thought through interview guide is extremely helpful.
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Preparing the interview guide

Determine the objectives of the interview.

Plan the structure of the interview. Prepare interview questions. Prepare additional notes if they assist. For example having an organisation chart helps in clarifying roles and responsibilities.

The interview guide enables standardisation of interviews for effective comparison and summarisation
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Guidelines for structuring an interview

Focused Many interviewees tend to go off on tangents during interviews. Your interview guide should clearly state the boundaries for your interview. These should be stated generally at the beginning with more specific instructions to refocus when appropriate. Quantifiable Open questions tend to produce long answers that are difficult to quantify and compare. If you need measured responses ask the interviewee to assign a value to their answer so direct comparisons to be made. For example How reliable is the current system, what score would you give it out of ten? Complete Check that the guide addresses all the objectives of the interview and have a colleague review it.

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Interview execution
Interviews are exceptionally rich sources of information. However, no two interviewees are alike: some tend to ramble, others are suspicious and curt, some will need only the slightest encouragement to speak their minds, while others will have to be guided along. The interviewers job is to conduct the interview to gather the information required, which takes skill, practice and structure. Once you have concluded your interviews, they must be summarised to yield the big picture. Your questions should therefore allow for valid comparison and summarisation of your interviewees viewpoints.

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How to conduct the interview

Introduction

Conduct at their place of work where possible Always state the reason for the interview and how it will be conducted Put the interviewee at ease Ask the interviewee if they agree to you taking notes Body Listen to the answers and request clarification if necessary Avoid making criticisms or taking sides Keep control of the interview: refocus the interviewee if they are rambling or clarify if they misunderstood the question Stay focused and follow your interview guide Allow the interviewee to ask questions
Wrap-up

Thank the interviewee Advise them what the next steps are and the timeframe
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Build rapport
Your interview needs to balance the building of rapport and collecting of required information. Introduction Gain rapport first. Explain the context, set the tone, and make the interviewee feel at ease. The introduction serves to: Introduce yourself Gauge the interviewees style, expectations and concerns Confirm the timeframe Sequence the interview items Items should be ordered by importance and sensitivity. The more sensitive your interviewee, the more important it is to avoid an inquisitorial interview tone. A non-threatening format for interviews involves the careful arrangement of interview topics: General before specific External before internal

Historic before current

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Listen and question

Listen To reassure the interviewee you are listening and to gain information: use non-verbal cues such as head nods to show you are listening. wait until the current question is answered before preparing the next one

listen for emotions and attitudes as well as facts

interrupt only if you sense avoidance of answering the question or if the interviewee has drifted too far from the topic request clarification and ask follow on questions

Ask open questions

To initiate discussion on a broad subject and to encourage a comprehensive explanation:

use clear, direct phrasing that asks a single question ask how, what or when but avoid the intimidating why question

Ask closed questions To elicit a specific reply: use this type of question sparingly to avoid appearing as an interrogator ask in order to understand rather than impress be concise
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Open questioning
Examples: So what do you enjoy about the role?

Are there any other issues I should be aware of?

Advantages Disadvantages

Puts interviewee at ease

Interesting for interviewee

Provides depth of detail Reveals other areas of enquiry

You may lose control May use up too much time Interviewer may appear unprepared Harder to analyse later Lower reliability of data

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Closed questioning
Examples: Is the new form better or worse than the old form?

Is it Mary or Jane who enter the application details?

Do you stamp the form before or after the details are recorded? Advantages

Disadvantages

Efficient use of time Easy to compare interviews Higher reliability of data

Can be boring for interviewees Doesnt provide the opportunity to qualify answers You may miss other areas

Less interviewing skill needed

Focuses interviewee

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Probe questioning
Probe questioning is honing in on a particular area of interest and drilling down to obtain more detail. It includes asking for more information to clarify a vague phrase or statement made by the interviewee such as quite high or often late. Probe questioning needs to be balanced with open and closed questioning to avoid the interview seeming like an interrogation. Examples: How does that happen?

How did that change impact your department? What specifically do they do as a result of that?

Advantages

Disadvantages

Provides data on new aspects Supplies detail in context Shows interest in conversation

Can appear threatening

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Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing is a technique used to confirm or clarify something the interviewee has said or implied. There are three levels of paraphrasing: 1. The first level confirms or clarifies expressed thoughts and feelings, for example: so there are three factors that determine the present situation 2. The second confirms implied thoughts or feelings, for example: so you would really like to change this situation 3. The third surfaces core thoughts or feelings, for example: you are afraid that it might make things worse for you or so you think the strategy is wrong (Note that with paraphrasing of feelings you can trigger a strong emotional response particularly with this third option )

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Interview review
A standard interview note format is useful in orienting interviews to results:
Key Steps Format

Write interview notes as soon as possible after the interview Outline key findings, note emerging hypotheses Consider how findings fit with earlier evidence Identify gaps to be filled in subsequent interviews

Interview Notes Interviewees: Interviewers: Location: Date:

KEY FINDINGS

BACKGROUND AND SITUATION

DISCUSSION NOTES

NEXT STEPS

Interview notes are valuable when sharing information with other team members.
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The interviewee may be

Assuming no possible improvement Assuming they have the full picture Assuming knowledge on your part Describing work out of sequence Covering up their own failings Exaggerating Scoring off others

Overwhelmed by you
Protecting others Exaggerating the immediate problem Overestimating the importance of the job telling you what they think you want to hear

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The interviewee can be

Inarticulate A jargoneer A familiarist An obstructionist Too familiar with the job Shy Loud A deceiver A hypochondriac An empire builder

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Adjust your style to suit the interviewee

The nervous interviewee Be very explicit in setting the scene, tell why you are there and what they can expect. Establish rapport and make sure you are relaxed and confident The non-talker Make a special effort to build rapport and find common language and experiences. Avoid closed questions, use open questions to draw them out The angry/hostile interviewee

Do not tolerate threatening behaviour.

If anger is directed at you: admit your mistake if you are wrong stay calm, avoid getting angry in return

If anger is directed at others:

do not get involved and do not taking sides correct misinformation tactfully ie do not challenge honestly held opinions
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Poor interviewing behaviour

Examples:

Did not make an appointment Arrived late Was rude Exhibited one upmanship Did not explain the purpose of the interview Did not explain the scope of interview Used jargon Became confrontational Was inconsiderate Talked down to the interviewee Abruptly ended the interview Did not explain what happens next
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Do not

Arrive without warning Forget interviewees name or role Show off Criticise Interrupt Be impatient

Use coarse language

Fidget, lounge or appear bored Go over time without agreement from interviewee Fail to thank the interviewee for their time

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Do
Create rapport Make notes Be sincere Be objective Be courteous Verify your findings Separate fact from fiction Pitch the interview at the right level Keep within the scope of the interview Establish the option to ask follow up questions Wrap up the interview and thank the interviewee
for their time.
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Further assistance
For additional supporting guides refer to:

Guide to communicating
Guide to requirements gathering Guide to conducting meetings and RAP sessions

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