Top Tips
Interviewing Tips
- Interview formats
- Interview questions
- Preparing for interviews
- Legal considerations
Job Description Template Word.doc (92Kb)
Interviewing Tips
A looser ‘semi-structured’ approach is recommended by IRS, which can allow more
opportunity for follow up questions for interviewer, and involves them covering a planned
series of topics with the candidate.
Interview formats
Interviews can take a range of formats, and can be carried out by one or more interviewers.
One to one interviews have the advantage of putting the candidate more at ease, but
make it more difficult for the interviewer to concentrate on and consider the interviewee’s
responses. They also make it more likely for unfair bias to occur as the interviewer will not
have to justify their opinions to anyone else.
This can be partly addressed by using two interviewers, or carrying out a panel interview.
However, this is more likely to be a formal and intimidating situation where the candidate will
find it difficult to act naturally.
It is also possible to carry out a sequence of interviews where several people interview the
candidate but never more than one or two at a time. For this to be successful, it is important
for interviewers to agree in advance which areas they are planning to cover so the candidate
is not asked the same question many times. This requires careful planning and building
additional time into the selection process.
Interview questions
General tips for asking questions include:
- Avoid asking closed questions to which the candidate can simply answer ‘Yes’, ‘No’, or ‘That’s right’.
- Ask open questions, such as those starting with ‘what’, when’, why’, ‘where’ and ‘how’.
- Avoid asking questions that give away the answer you are looking for.
- Ask one question at a time. Asking multiple questions will confuse the candidate.
- Some different types of questioning styles are given below, but not all questions fit neatly into a category. It can be helpful to ask some more chatty questions at the beginning of the interview to help put the candidate at ease.
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