Recruitment Process and the Job Interview

Recruitment Process and the Job Interview

What usually happens in the recruitment process is that an employer will advertise a vacancy or a new post – sometimes both inside and outside the company. When replying to an advertisement, candidates often submit their curriculum vitae (CV), fill in an application form and write a covering letter. Then, after the companies have received all the applications, they shortlist the candidates, choosing those who appear to meet their criteria. Sometimes candidates will take a psychometric test before the interview to access their mental ability and reasoning skills. Next, the employer will assemble an interview panel and call the candidates to an interview. Some employers choose to check references at this stage, while others wait until after the interview when they have chosen one of the candidates. Provided the panel are happy, the employer will make a job offer and the successful candidate starts work. Often they attend induction sessions or are given a mentor who helps to train new staff. These days it is normal for successful candidates to have to work a probationary period in a company. This is usually three or six months; after that they are offered a permanent post.

Job interviews can be divided into three main types. The first is the 'traditional interview'. This is usually a series of standard questions about education and qualifications, work experience, outstanding achievements and expectations. So the questions are like this: 'What duties did you have in your previous job?' This is still the model for a lot of interviews today. Another type is the 'case interview' which is particularly challenging. What happens here is that the interviewer presents a problem and then follows this with a series of questions to find out how the applicants would approach the problem. Something like this: 'Company X wants to increase the number of university graduates that it recruits every year by 50 per cent without exceeding its current budget, which is $2m. What would you advise them to do?' Now this puts the candidate in an uncomfortable position because they're really being asked to do several things - to demonstrate that they can analyse the problem logically, formulate appropriate questions and communicate effectively with the interviewer. So it's a stressful form of interview.

The third type is what's known as the “behavioural interview”. It's designed to find out how candidates actually behave in certain situations. The questions are usually based on anecdotes (a personal account of an event) from the candidate's own past. They're designed to find out about how the candidates handled tricky situations and conflicts in the past. A typical question might be 'Can you give me an example of a situation where you had to follow orders that you didn't agree with?' Now that puts the pressure on the candidate because they have to find a good example and they have to do the talking, and the interviewer gets to see more of the person who's sitting opposite.

Finally, as the job interview is a most stressful experience, there are some tips which should allow the candidate to overcome anxiety during the interview. Firstly, good preparation is essential: prior to this pivotal meeting, you need to gather full information on the company from its website and promotional material. When you are asked if you have any questions, you can show that you have done this preparatory work, which will impress the interviewer. Also there should be some questions ready to ask about the nuts and bolts of the job, and the company. On the big day a candidate should dress appropriately for the line of work which the prospective employer is involved in. If you are asked what your weaknesses are you should not be evasive. Instead of this you could mention a weakness that can also be a strength. For example, being pedantic is not always a bad thing in certain circumstances, because it also means that you are attentive to detail.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-04