The inadequate interviewer
Featured in the Proactive Interviewee Skills training manual
By Beverley Williams
Category: Recruitment, Selection and Induction
Credit price: 4 download credits (Single user)
As an interviewee, most people are primarily concerned with how they will perform during their interview. There is, however, another crucial element they need to consider – how experienced and effective is the person who will be conducting the interview? Will there be a stream of multiple questions, interruptions and a sneaking suspicion that the interviewer hasn’t prepared for the meeting? The initial reaction to this thought is often one of helplessness: ‘What on earth can I do about that?’ However, there are ways to manage the inadequate interviewer. This training activity shows participants how to prepare for the inadequate interviewer by discussing the types of problems that may arise and using a checklist format to help decide how to deal with them. The training activity is very effective during interviewer skills development to raise awareness of how inadequate interviewing techniques look from the perspective of the interviewee. This will benefit the organisation as a whole as the skill levels of interviewing staff are enhanced.
You open the training activity by explaining that not everyone who is in the position of interviewer has the skills to manage the interview effectively. After eliciting the participants’ ideas regarding types of interview and problems that could possibly arise, you collect examples of problem interviewers. The key point is that in most organisations the style of a particular interviewer is likely to be known. Working in pairs, the participants think about specific actions they could take to overcome some of the problems discussed so far in relation to the range of in-house interview situations. They then participate in a short role play where they put what they have discussed into action. This is followed by facilitated feedback. You close the training activity by taking key learning points from the participants before distributing a key learning points handout.
Who is it for: This training resource is intended for use by trainers to enable participants to consider specific problems that could arise with the inadequate interviewer and explores methods of dealing with them.
| Resource Type: | Activity |
| Min Group Size: | 4 |
| Max Group Size: | 10 |
| Typical Duration: | 02:00:00 |
| No of Pages: | 21 |
Resources: View standard resources for Fenman training activities
Purpose: This training resource is intended for use, as a foundation activity, by trainers with participants who will be interviewees in some form at some point. In practice, this will include just about everyone in an organisation as the majority of people are coached, appraised or interviewed for internal positions during their careers. It is also particularly suitable for those who interview others as it provides an opportunity to enhance their understanding of the needs of the interviewee.
Download the training activity, The inadequate interviewer as featured in the Fenman training manual; Proactive Interviewee Skills