Interviewing Is Just Talking to People, Isn’t It?
HR4Hire Blog March 2010
It would seem a simple task to interview, as it is alternatively speaking and listening to another person. Employment interviewing may have more specific parameters, as one is assessing qualifications and fit for a job requiring specific skills within an organization with its own culture. But the actual interview, regardless of context, embodies the same basic principles we use when talking – in a sense, every conversation is an interview.
Before tackling interviewing do’s and don’t’s and how’s and how not to’s, this blog examines some of the principles of successful interviewing which can be applied to all our interactions with others. After all, in the broadest sense, all communication can be considered an interview.
The definition of an interview is a communication process involving two people, one of whom has a definite purpose and both of whom speak from time to time and in which the non-verbal, intentional and unintentional behaviors of one party cannot be analyzed. It is two people acting together, influencing the other and, in turn, being influenced. Even when group and panel interviews are used, they contain multiple two-person relationships. Rapport building, often disguised as chatting or small-talk, also has a distinct purpose in the interview.
There are four qualities that specifically affect two-person interviews or dyadic communication:
- Proximity
- Intimacy
- Uniqueness
- Simultaneous Message Exchange
Proximity
You have probably listened to a lecture or an after-dinner speaker and yawned out of fatigue or boredom. This probably went unnoticed by the speaker, but in an employment interview, it can have significant impact. For example, glancing at your watch or scratching your nose can result in a number of interpretations or misinterpretations, such as “Am I talking too long?” or “Doesn’t she like me?” Communication behaviors that have little effect in larger informal situations can become critical in the interview.
Intimacy
Dyadic transactions have the most pleasant and paradoxically the most destructive of relationships. Classic confrontations, i.e. mother/daughter, husband/wife, employer/employee, can provide enjoyment and support, but also deteriorate into personal warfare. Interviewers must realize the constructive and destructive potential of any one-on-one situation.
Uniqueness
Each interview has its own set of rules. Think of how you express the same idea to your closest friend, your parents and your supervisors. Would you use the same words, tone of voice, gestures? Probably not. Each communication requires subtle adjustments.
How the above qualities, proximity, intimacy, and uniqueness, interact can be seen it what is known as “elevator communication.” People may be talking freely and laughing; however upon entering the elevator they fall into very hushed tones or more typically, silence, their eyes riveted to the flashing floor numbers. When the doors open, there is usually a sigh of relief, particularly if riding with strangers or where the environment in unfamiliar. This occurs because riders are thrown from one spatial environment to another, the levels of intimacy change, and the comments, gestures and postures used outside become inappropriate in the elevator. The same thing occurs in most interviews. A good interviewer must be able to sense and make adjustments to each unique interviewing experience.
Simultaneous Message Exchange
The fact that interviewer and interviewee are sending messages simultaneously greatly complicates the communication behavior and often places roadblocks. While one person is speaking, the other person is responding to their language, facial expressions, dress, attitude, body position and perceived status. While the speaker is speaking, they are attending to the many behaviors of the listener, necessitating effective interviewers to speak and listen at the same time.
During an employment interview, the interviewee may observe the interviewer arching eyebrows, shaking head, leaning forward or back, smiling or frowning. This non-verbal feedback may begin to control the interviewee’s communication behavior. In many instances, if the interviewee perceives they are not coming across, their rate of speech may increase, their pitch may rise, or their gestures may be more frequent and energetic. As the interviewer in an employment interviewer, a good question to ask yourself is “What has the effect of my non-verbal behavior been?”
Employer / employee interviews are conducted for many different reasons. Among them are:
- Hiring
- Orientation
- Goal-setting
- Problem-solving
- Counseling
- Discipline,
- Exit interviews
It is most helpful to bear in mind that information getting and giving encounters which happen throughout every working day are basically interviews.
It is my hope that this blog will serve to make you more aware of the many factors involved and make you a better interviewer. Our next one will highlight the do’s and don’t’s of interviewing and structuring process questions.
HR4Hire can act as your recruiting function or assist you with structuring any interview, whether it be a disciplinary or counseling one, to ensure that you achieve the results you want and that the potential for litigation is greatly minimized. We also offer Executive Coaching and can train your staff to fine-tune their interviewing skills, regardless of the interview’s purpose.
Our “Hiring Right the First Time” presentation, which can be found here on our website, may be of benefit to your company or organizations of which you are affiliated with.
Please call us to set up an in-person meeting at 415-437-6755 or 707-935-3333 or email us at info@hr4hire.com.
Cordially,
Gae Shulman, President
HR4Hire
HR Intelligence Check:
What constitutes Disparate Impact Discrimination? In many HR areas, it is not always clear. In 1978, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission adopted the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures (UGESP). UGESP provided guidance for employers about how to determine if their tests and selection procedures were lawful for purposes of Title VII disparate impact theory. Under the guidelines, what is the “four-fifths rule”?
C) Four-fifths of employment tests must be multiple-choice questions.
D) Four-fifths of employment tests must be True or False questions.
Answer to be given in next month’s blog!
Answer to previous blog’s HR Intelligence Check:
It is permissible to ask whether a person has ever been convicted of a crime, within certain limits, on the job application. For specific examples, please contact info@hr4hire.com, and putting in the subject line: Conviction Status Questions
If you’d like to see the question this answered, please click here to read Be Ready to Hire Your Next “Best” Employee.
