Interview Process

The methods and techniques used to interview candidates for a job regardless of the nature of the position are important because they help bring out the personality aspects and thus the fitness of the candidate for the job. Interviewing process that assists to bring out the behavior of the individuals is essential, because there are increasingly diverse talents that an organization or recruitment agencies should critically examine prior to picking an individual for a particular position. The broad demographic shift in workplaces should be put in mind during the selection (Pucik, 2007).

To begin with, a wide pool of candidates is also important if the process has to arrive at an individual suitable for the job. This may require some additional time and patience. It should be kept in mind that the goal of the process is to pick out the right person. Hurried shortlistings and interviews can negate the outcome.

Different circumstances call for different questions during the interviews. The evaluation methods should also change. When candidates are interviewed with this fact in mind, the chances of locating the right person are high. The past behavior of the candidates has to be examined first before continuing to seek answers to other questions that will shade more light on the ability or inability to perform the task. The interview panel does not necessarily have to depend on the candidates to understand their background. Former workmates, bosses or colleagues who might have known the candidate for a longer period can be requested to give their own opinions about candidates.

Although this can sometimes result to prejudiced judgments of candidates, it is still one of the most reliable sources of information. A follow-up and little information into controversial remarks made about the candidate can be done as a verification measure. The candidates can be asked to give their own accounts on diverse aspects of their backgrounds, especially in areas that help bring out their behavior. Different answers should be sought on the same issue from various sources. This will assist in making decisions and arriving at the right judgments (Pucik, 2007).

Frame questions that will assist in understanding the candidate’s abilities, skills and knowledge in as far as international positions are concerned. The question should also concern cultural factors, because international assignments are different from local ones. Different questions on culture subject will need to be asked. All the answers should carefully be listened to. To frame these questions appropriately, the interviewer will therefore need to comprehensively understand the location and culture of the place the successful interviewee is required to work from. The interviewer will also need to understand cultural biases, pre-conceived judgments, assumptions and values associated with the new workstation. The national culture of the candidate should be compared with that of the destination country.

Proper propping of the candidate’s previous international or expatriate assignments should be done. The candidate’s attitude, perceptions, flexibility and adaptability to new surroundings should be determined. Language proficiency of both the interviewee and interviewer is important. This is because communication is essential in all leadership positions. The interviewee needs to be articulate, have a good choice and respect for vocabulary. This will especially be helpful in public relations activities that many global leadership assignments demand (Nadler, 2003).

The next step for the interviewer is to think thoroughly how to elicit the responses that are necessary to make conclusions and determinations on particular candidates. For instance if the position requires that the candidate should be a team player, questions that elicit responses need to be asked. The questions should not make the candidate anxious. If they do, the same will need to be reframed to make him/her feel at ease to answer. This process requires the interviewer to brainstorm. International cultural contexts need to be factored while seeking answers to specific questions.

After getting answers to particular questions, it is advisable to develop subsequent questions if they had not been drafted before. In the event that the questions were drafted before the interview, it will be important to have fellow interviewers review them before asking. The same step should be taken while drafting questions prior to an interview.

Finally, it is important to analyze the answers given by the candidate prior to inviting another candidate for an interview. The analysis should also involve developing a scouring criterion that is easy to follow, apply and thus avoid biased selection. Asking some pertinent questions concerning the interview, and the candidate is a prudent step in analyzing. For example, how will a particular candidate fit in the country’s culture? What cultural linguistic barriers are likely to affect his/her performance? Is the candidate capable of handling the international teams he is likely to be working with? If the candidate is accepted for the international position, what factors will need to be considered before his posting? The risks associated with settling for a particular candidate will also need to be thought thoroughly (Baird, 2009).

The processes involved in picking a candidate are important, because they present a standardized method or format of arriving at the right person for the job. Without a set criteria or methodology on what to do during an interview, understanding the candidate’s weaknesses and strengths will be a hard task leading to poor selection. In addition, the process is important, because it assists in comparison of what interviewers think concerning individual candidates before moving on to the interview. The identification of specific weaknesses that may have occurred will also assist in the improvement of subsequent interview methodologies and procedures.