Interviewing Job Applicants—

Abstract

The basic interview, where the hiring manager or recruiter asks questions about qualifications and attempts to get a "feel" for the candidate, is vulnerable to many kinds of error and bias, and, as a result, has almost no ability to predict an employee's future job performance. On the other hand, systematic interviews using structured questions that are based on careful analysis of the components of excellent job performance can improve the interviewer's ability to predict an employee's future performance from about 3 percent to near 25 percent. The best questions are matched with hypothetical answers that illustrate excellent, good, and marginal answers, and which may be compared to candidates' actual answers. The questions may be framed as historical (behavioral) or hypothetical (situational). Every candidate for a particular job is asked the same set of questions. Interview panels, probing and follow-up questions, and credential previews are all controversial, but prudence and common sense can be acceptable guides on those issues. The costs of developing structured interview programs are usually offset by the savings from avoiding poor hires and subsequent turnover, and line managers' responses to the structured interview format are generally very positive.