n s; ,e il rl t. lnterviewing is one HR function that almost all managers are involved with at some point. Here are some tips for conducting interviews that identify the best candidates: . Be prepared-Make sure the place where you interview is accessible and comfortable for you and the candidate. Read the candidate's r6sum6 and other paperwork ahead of time, to avoid asking for information that has already been provided. Prepare a list of questions, as well as infor- mation about the company's history, culture, and other details the candidate might be interested in knowing. t Put the applicant at ease- A nervous or cautious job candi- eate !'!':ay not show his or her es. qua\itres. Express your appreciation tor the candr- date's time, and let the person know you're glad to meet him ''; i- i lr' or her. Briefly explain what to expect during the interview. . Ask about past behaviors- Talking about specific events makes it harder for a candidate to focus on guessing what the interviewer wants to hear, and the answers give clues about what the candidate will do in new situations. For examPle, depending on the type of job, you might ask, "Ptease telt me about a time when you received a customer comPlaint and how you handled it," or "This job involves tight dead- lines; could you tell me about a time when you faced a dif- ficult deadtine?" . Listen-fhe interview infor- mation is only as good as the interviewer's ability to gather it. Let the candidate do most oi \he ta\krng, and par; atten- tion to what is being said and not said. lf a candidate sounds vague or too good to be true, ask follow-up questions to gather details. . Take nofes-As much as you can without distracting Your- self or the candidate, jot down notes to remind you of keY points. Also schedule 5 or 10 minutes after each interview for writing down your impressions. r At the end of the interview, make sure the candidate knows what to expect next- for example, a phone call or additional interviews within the next week. Sources: U.S. Department of Com- merce, Minority Business Development Agency, "Tips on How to SuccessfullY tnterview Job Candidates," November 17. 2009, raruw.mbda.gov; University o{ South Carolina Division of.Human Resources, "Tips on lnterviewing University Job Applicants, " http://hr.sc.eoi.r, accesseo' March 23,2010; and Dun & Bradstreet, "How to Conduct an E{iective Emp\oyee lnterview," Small Business Solution s, http:l/smallbusiness.dnb.com, accessed March 23,2010. t-I rl i. i. s .S k S t t 5 t S { Preparing to lnterview Organizations can reap the greatest benefits from intervierving if they prepare care- fully. A well-planned intervierv should be standardized, comfortable for the partici- pants, and focused on the job and the organization. The interviewer should have a cluiet place in rvhich to conduct interviervs r.vithout interruption. This person should be trained in how to ask objective questions, u'hat subject matter to avoid, a.

1. n
s;
,e
il
rl
t.
lnterviewing is one HR function that
almost all managers are involved
with at some point. Here are some
tips for conducting interviews that
identify the best candidates:
. Be prepared-Make sure the
place where you interview is
accessible and comfortable
for you and the candidate.
Read the candidate's r6sum6
and other paperwork ahead
of time, to avoid asking for
information that has already
been provided. Prepare a list
of questions, as well as infor-
mation about the company's
history, culture, and other
details the candidate might be
interested in knowing.
t Put the applicant at ease- A

2. nervous or cautious job candi-
eate !'!':ay not show his or her
es. quaitres. Express your
appreciation tor the candr-
date's time, and let the person
know you're glad to meet him
'';
i- i lr'
or her. Briefly explain what to
expect during the interview.
. Ask about past behaviors-
Talking about specific events
makes it harder for a candidate
to focus on guessing what the
interviewer wants to hear, and
the answers give clues about
what the candidate will do in
new situations. For examPle,
depending on the type of job,
you might ask, "Ptease telt
me about a time when you
received a customer comPlaint
and how you handled it," or
"This job involves tight dead-
lines; could you tell me about
a time when you faced a dif-
ficult deadtine?"
. Listen-fhe interview infor-
mation is only as good as the
interviewer's ability to gather
it. Let the candidate do most
oi he takrng, and par; atten-

3. tion to what is being said and
not said. lf a candidate sounds
vague or too good to be true,
ask follow-up questions to
gather details.
. Take nofes-As much as you
can without distracting Your-
self or the candidate, jot down
notes to remind you of keY
points. Also schedule 5 or 10
minutes after each interview for
writing down your impressions.
r At the end of the interview,
make sure the candidate
knows what to expect next-
for example, a phone call or
additional interviews within
the next week.
Sources: U.S. Department of Com-
merce, Minority Business Development
Agency, "Tips on How to SuccessfullY
tnterview Job Candidates," November 17.
2009, raruw.mbda.gov; University o{ South
Carolina Division of.Human Resources,
"Tips on lnterviewing University Job
Applicants, " http://hr.sc.eoi.r, accesseo'
March 23,2010; and Dun & Bradstreet,
"How to Conduct an E{iective Empoyee
lnterview," Small Business

4. Solution
s,
http:l/smallbusiness.dnb.com, accessed
March 23,2010.
t-I
rl
i.
i.
s
.S
k
S
t
t

5. 5
t
S
{
Preparing to lnterview
Organizations can reap the greatest benefits from intervierving
if they prepare care-
fully. A well-planned intervierv should be standardized,
comfortable for the partici-
pants, and focused on the job and the organization. The
interviewer should have a
cluiet place in rvhich to conduct interviervs r.vithout
interruption. This person should
be trained in how to ask objective questions, u'hat subject
matter to avoid, and how
to detect and handle his or her own personal biases or other
distractions in order to
fairly evaluate candidates.
The interviewer should have enough documents to conduct a
complete interview.

6. These should include a list of the questions to be asked in a
sffuctured interview, with
pienty of space for recording the responses. When the questions
are prepared, it is
also helpful to determine how the answers will be scored. For
example, if questions
ask how interviewees would handle certain situations, consider
what responses are
best in terms of meeting job requirements. If the job requires
someone who motivates
others, then a response that shovrs motivating behavior rvould
receive a higher score.
The interviewer also should have a copy of the interviewee's
employment application
177
178 PART 2 Acquiring and Preparing Human Resources
L*7 Explain how
employers carry out
the process of making
a selection decision

7. and r6sum6 to revierv before the interview and refer ro during
the intervierv. If pi,-
sibie, the interviewer shouid also have printed inforrnation
abour the organi:.li:-:,
and the job. Near rhe beginning of the intervieu', it is a good
idea ro go orer rhe :. :
specifications, organizational policies, and so on, so that the
interviewee has a c1e::::
understanding of the organization's needs.
The inten'iewer shor-rid schedule enough time to revieu,the job
requirements, J:,,
cuss the inten'iew questions, and give the interviewee a chance
to ask questions. T;
close, the interviewer should thank the candidate for corning
and pro,,'ide information
about rvhat to expect-for exanple, that the organization *,ili
contact a {eu, finalists
rvithin the next two weeks or that a decision will be rnade by
the end of the week.
Seleeticn Seeisisns
After revier.ving applications, scoring tests, conducting
interviews, and checking ref-

8. erences, the organization needs to make decisions about which
candidates ro place in
nhich jobs. ln practice, most organizations find more than one
qualified capdiiiate
to fill an open position. The selection decision typically con-
rbines ranking based on
objective criteria along with subjective judgments about which
candiclare rvill make
the grea rest contribr r tion
How Organizations Select Employees
The selection decision should not be a simpie matter of u'hom
rhe supervisor likes
best or lvhich candidate u'ill take the lowesr offer. Also, as the
"HR oopsr" box
emphasizes, job candidates, confidence does not necessarily
mean they are compe-
tent. Rather, the people rnaking the selection shouid look for
the best fit betu'een
candidate and position. ln general, the person's perforrnance
rvill resr-rlt from a combi-
nation of ability and motivation. Often, the selection is a choice
an'rong a ferv people
who possess the basic qualifications. The decision makers
therefore have to decide

9. lvhich of those people have the best combination of ability and
rnotivation to fit in
the position and in the organization as a r,vhole.
The usual process for arriving at a selection decision is to
gradually narrow the pool
of candidates for each job. This approach, called the multiple-
hurdle model, is
based on a process such as the one shorvn earlier in Figure 6.1 .
Each srage of the process
is a hurdle, and candidates u'ho overcome a hurdle continue ro
the next stage of the
process. For example, the organization reviews applications
and/or r6sum6s of all can-
didates, conducts some tests on those who meet minimum
requirements, conducts ini-
tial inten'iervs rvith those who had the highest test scores,
follows up wirh additional
intervielvs or testing, and then selects a candidate ftom rhe few
who survived rhis pro-
cess. Another, more expensive alternative is to take most
applicants through all steps
of the process and then to review all the scores to find the most
desirable candidares.
With this alternative, decision makers may use a compensatory

10. model, in which
a very high score on one type of assessment can make up for a
low score on another.
Whether the organization uses a multiple-hurdle model or
conducts the same
assessments on ail candidates, the decision maker(s) needs
criteria for choosing
among quallfied candidates. An obvious strategy is to select rhe
candidates who score
highest on tests and interviews. Horvever, employee
performance depends on moti-
vation as r'vell as ability. It is possibie that a candidate who
scores very high on an
ability test rnight be "overqualified"-that is, rhe employee
mighr be bored by the
job the organization needs to fill, and a less-able employee
might actually be a better
fit. Similarly, a highly motivated person migl-rt learn sorr-re
kinds of jobs very qr-rickly,
Multiple-tlurdle tulodel
Process of arriving at
a selection decision
by eliminating some

11. candidates at each
stage of the selection
pr0c ess.
Cornpensatory Model
Process of arrlving at
a selection decision
in which a very high
score on one type of
assessment can make
up for a low score on
another.
&.
i
(
t
1
s
2

12. S
:
(
I
t
t
I
I
c
i
C
c
a
ELL

13. .]sed oql
ur uorlenlts lo ad^l e
palpuBr.l 0tls r0 aq M0q
aqucs0p 0l oleplpuec
aql s)se loMal^lalul
or.ll qsrqM ur M0l^lalul
p0lnlcnlls v
(l0g) /vlor^rolul
uorlducsa0 lo!APq08
'uorlenlls leql ul 0p
plnoM oqs r0 aq leqM
oleprpues 0Lll sISe
uoql'qot oql uo ssue
olAlalrl uollenlls e
soqucsap laMal^lalul
0ql qsrqM ul Mal^lalul

14. p0rnlcnlls v
Msrilolul leu0llenl!s
')se 0l loMal^lolul
aql loJ suollsonb lo
las paululalopald
e ]0 slsrsuoc leql
MAr^Jolur uollcalas v
'l^srilalul
p0lnlenlls
uouceles ur ssselq leuosled Jo lrslja eql ecnPel ol 'uoslsd euo
ueql eJoul,o
slueul
-Bpnt arp qtr^ uotlezrue8ro eql sepr,rord tI 'uollezlue8ro rerp
ul lserelul aldoad.troq
""i
p,r" eldoed eroul teeur ot orueqc e elBPIPu€o etp se.tr8
.{ellrelul leued y 'efBPIP

15. -uec rlJ€e .,trellJetul o-l }oeut uorlezrue8ro aql Jo sleguleru
I€JeAes 'm,e;lta1U; leued
e u1 .elqrssod e;e gcuordde slql uo suoll€IrBl 'rele,to11 'ef,eJ ol
ece; alBPIPuBc I{3Ee
.,lrarlJetur ot (uoltlsod tuec€A aql IoJ rosllredns oql Io
l€uolsseJord UH ue) IBnPI^
-lpul ue JoJ sr .rer^Jatur pernlcnrls Jo petf,erlPuou B Jeqlle roJ
dnles uoruluoc al{f
tl'[rtPtF'o rsag8tq
egt e^Eq ot puet secuauedxa lBnlre .salBPlPu€J lnoqe suollseno
'lsed agr ul uolle
.ntrs
Jo ed,{r e pelpuBll ar{s ro eq ,{oq eqlrcseP
ol slBPIPuEc aql slse Jea.rellrelul eql
qllq^ ur
^Aer^relur IBuoIlenlIS
E sl (log) ,^a!AJelu! uolldlJfsoP ;o!le{eQ $ o
0r'
eruBuuoJrad qo t SuucrPard

16. ur firprp6 q8rtl a.teg Letu .met,trelul Jo ed^l sIqI 'uollenlls lcl{l
ut oP PIno^ eqs
ro or{ terl^ ateplpuBr erlt DISE pue got aql uo sslrB ol [14111
uotlen]ls € seqlJrseP
ra^ar^relul eql qrlq^ uI
^Aal^relul Pernlcnrls
B sI /vel^rolu! Fuolil,JjlsorI .
e^rtserrpuou € qtrA ueql elqErler puB prlB^ elolu Jg [eru
s]1nsar aql
(Pelclllsel
Eureq oi roefqo ,4.eur sle,r,ler,tJelul q8noqrlv 'rsII eql uo lou
efe lerl] suotlsenb
8ur1se plo^E ot pesoddns sr re^Aer^relur eql'saf,uetradxe pue
'q1l1s 'a8pe1mou1
tuE^eler ra^of, puB slueluerrnber qof or pelEler ef€ suollsenb
aqr 'd11eep1 '1se
o] re,li1ar1retur eqt ro; suortsenb Jo tas e saqsrlqBtse
A,at1Jelu! peJn}fnJ}s $ o
'1e8e1 ue,La Jo PIIeA lou eJ€ l€ql suollsenb 1se sre'r'tet'tJelul
eruos Pu€

17. ,lear8 lou sr Llrlqerlar Jreqt
(epnlnel ePl. Ie,l ellIelul erp e,tt8 s^AeIAJeluI esaql
esnB)eg .ecuerJedxe ryo.t PuB 's1eo8 rae;ec 'sesseu>1ue.'rt
'sqlSuerls
s(alBPIPuBc
t,,*tii*i*eitiid;ii't:l';t,ar*1t;:;*i*i#t;';*
:!*!ta;le*ia$t at&g:it :i*&$d**r!i::sliti€ir4?:rit.
aqt tn
ol suo
Sursoo
-ulnu :
sn{t 'tl
-eziueE
-€uuo-Ir
eleert !
s.]uefrl

18. Pue str
eqt tE .
de.r srrl
Lue qr1
Pue tsrr
AAorl ur
eqt IUL
tce.ru:
uI PriE-!
ezrs lo a
ruro-Faa
-tueFrc
pere,+In:
;o Suru
-Loldur:
-lPeul l
,;o dterrr
'.(1e;es r
uEc selt

19. -PuEil I
e 3ur-(e1
Suuues;
'aldruer
-oc1e 'si
Jo esnel
ot elqE -'
{mp-rci-
ol sI 8ul
tt**r&tt&* *';t{i* *"*';#***tiiit:'i1"*t:*d*t;t:
raleorg leac e:,1 Ae5 oq6 e6e1ue:'la4
0809ovoz0
{1.re1ggr.ue1
oo1 6u11eed5
lsr!+
fue1es dn 6ug6u1.rg
sod{l

20. q+yn uolrerlldde
ue 6u1.rede.r4
i(;enrleronold
6urssa.r6
' r,uor'fsrut aur
1
uo77:dPq
'600Z'Vl raqura^oN 'leunor j€a,ls
/lelvl ,,'sralll) Mel^ralul esaLll PIo^V,,
'uolalPPly Puerc uo pose8 iaclnos
. e ole sJo!^eqgq alrros 'Allu€ll
'sl3edsord lalll llll uec slueclldde 'aneqoq Aeql nnoq uoll osle
pue
qot leql sAenn pagtluepr sleuotsse; tuaql llal slueclldde qoIleqm
uot]
-oid !H 'Aeruns luecol e ul 'J;oulnl uolteu;lolul laqle6
slaivtaln.talul