Interview as a Selection Method and Limitations of Interview
Interview as a Selection Method and Limitations of Interview
Conducting an interview is one of the most familiar as well common method of selection with related to the organizations human resources process. The aim of an interview is to elicit information about candidates that will enable a prediction to be made about how well they will do the job and thus lead to a selection decision (Snell,S,.Bohlander,G., 2007).
Interviews are a kind of oral examination conducting for a candidate to fill vacant employment as stated by many scholars (Khan, 2008). According to (Armstrong, M.,Taylor,S. 2014), an interview is the most familiar method of selection, and further, these observations might important on to get decisions about how well the people behave once selected to the organization .Organizations might arrange different types of interviews based on the job position. Generally, structured interviews are conducted for both entry and middle-level job positions. As a set of practices, structured interviews might use a set of standardized questions (Mathis & Jackson, 2005). In the case of entry-level job positions, the applicants are asked some general questions, questions on academic background, current national and global issues, problem-solving questions (categorized as behavioral and situational interviews), (Kleiman,L.S. 2005) for the middle-level job positions, the applicants are asked some additional questions based on the job description and duties to be performed (Mathis & Jackson, 2005). In the case of the top-level jobs, the questions based more on case study type, as well, some team-work and brainstorming sessions also observable (Mathis & Jackson, 2005)
Interviewing people costs money. As a result, after candidates are selected, good use of time is critical to making sure the interview process allows for selection of the right candidate. In an unstructured interview, questions are changed to match the specific applicant; for example, questions about the candidate’s background in relation to their résumé might be used (Armstrong, M.,Taylor,S. 2014) In a structured interview, there is a set of standardized questions based on the job analysis, not on individual candidates’ résumés (Armstrong, M.,Taylor,S. 2014). While a structured interview might seem the best option to find out about a particular candidate, the bigger concern is that the interview revolves around the specific job for which the candidate is interviewing. In a structured interview, the expected or desired answers are determined ahead of time, which allows the interviewer to rate responses as the candidate provides answers. This allows for a fair interview process. (Fisher et al., 2004)
Even though conducting interviews are vital for an organization, there are certain limitations exists. Commonly these limitations can be identified as below mentioned.
Limitations of an Interview
As an example from the Development Finance Bank PLC, most of the situations, some personal biasness are visible. Especially the personal relationships, attractiveness, family backgrounds, in some instances the College or University attended by the interviewee would act as the basis for selection.
As an example, personal qualities such as fluent in communication especially in English language might affect as a halo effect on selection.
As an example, for an interview different type of people might attend, as such some aggressive personal without good communication skills. These type of incidents might influence to the overall interview quality.
As an example, some panel members might practice these type of scoring within an interview.
As an example, these types of projections might occur specially depending on the physical appearance of the interviewee. This is a common practice in some government sector (public sector) organizations.
As an example, group behavior of people might affect to these type of incidents. Commonly, stereotyping is not a rare condition within youth, and these type of incidents might affect to the quality of an effective interview.
As a conclusion, interviews consider as one of the most effective as well unbiased methods of selection, within the HR process. Majority of the organizations practice this method to hire most suitable people to the organizations due to the nature of less biasness. Even the interview process is a recognized method, there are certain limitations exists within. By getting an example from Development Finance Bank PLC, some real incidents have been mentioned. Further, even with limitations, interview method can be highlighted as one of the most suitable methods on selection.
REFERENCES
Ahmed, J. U., Tabassum, A. & Hossain, T. (2006) Human Resource Management Practices: A Case Study of the Supply Chain Department of Square Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Sri Lankan Journal of Management, 11: 1
Armstrong, M. & Taylor, S ( 2014 ) Human Resource Management Practice, 13th Edition
Fisher, C. D., Schoenfeldt, L. F. & Shaw, J. B. (2004) Human Resources Management,New Delhi: Biztantra.
Istvan,J ( 2010 ) Selection Methods used in recruiting sales team members ,Periodica Oeconomia
Jackson, J. H. & Mathis, R. L. (2005) , Human Resources Management, 3rd Edition,Bangalore : Thompson
Jovanovic, Boyan (2004), Selection and the evolution of industry. Econometrica, 50(3): 649-670
Khan,A.A. (2008) “Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations , 2nd Edition ,Dhaka : Abir Publications
Kleiman,L.S. ( 2005 ) Human Resources Management : A Managerial Tool for Competitive Advantage. 2 Nd Edition.New Delhi : Biztantra.
Snell,S.& Bohlander,G .( 2007 ) Human Resource Management ,International Student Edition, Thompson Higher Education,OH.
Hi Thusitha, agree with you, the questions asked vary from interviewer to interviewer and can be based on anything that the interviewer thinks is important. Managers prefer these types of interviews. Research has traditionally suggested that the reliability and validity of non-structured interviews may be somewhat reduced (Strewart and Brown, 2011).
ReplyDeleteThanks,
DeleteAccording to Snell and Bohlander ( 2006 ) ,a structured interview is an interview in which a set of standardized questions having an established set of answers is used. Non structured interviews are the other side.
The interview continues to be the most common selection device used by all organizations worldwide (Yeung, 2011). Furthermore, the interview tends to have a disproportionate amount of influence on the hiring decision. The applicant who performs poorly in the job interview is likely to be eliminated from the applicant pool regardless of experience, test scores, or letters of recommendation (Robbins & Judge, 2011). Very often the individual who is most skilled in interview techniques is the person hired, even though he or she may not be the best candidate for the position. For this reason, numerous books have been written about improving a job candidate’s interviewing skills (Corfield, 2011; Davis, 2011; DeLuca, 2011; Taylor, 2011).
ReplyDeleteThanks Janaka, According to Armstrong ( 2014 ) the the interviewer has to have the following key skills developed within himself, before an interview process as establishing rapport, listening to the interviewee and maintaining continuity.
DeleteAn interview process costs money and the good use of time is critical to making sure that the process allows for the selection of the right candidates. The interview process provides a flexibility to the interviewers and are able to judge the non-verbal behavior of the respondent. It also affords the candidates who are unable to read or write the opportunity to answer any questions verbally. Unconscious mistakes, which mostly occurs when the respondent has socially undesirable traits that he does not want to accept. These are some of the more important aspects of conducting interviews as it is of paramount importance to make a good judgment on who is admitted into the organization.( Group, S., 2020.)
ReplyDeleteGroup, S., 2020. Advantages And Disadvantages Of Interview In Research. [online] Sociology Group: Sociology and Other Social Sciences Blog. Available at: [Accessed 3 December 2020].
Thanks, Interviewing people costs money. As a result, after candidates are selected, good use of time is critical to making sure the interview process allows for selection of the right candidate.. Armstrong and Taylor ( 2014 ) discussed this matter in detail.
DeleteInterview is one of the methods being used by an organization to appraise and evaluate the suitability of an applicant for the job (Cable and Judge, 1997). It could be in many forms but most organizations use the formal structured interviews to recruit and select their employees (Cassell et al., 2002). The determination in most of the industry and sectors of the economy expressed that the best person should be appointed to fill the post in order to deliver in line with the mission and vision of the organization (Donnellan, 2010).
ReplyDeleteThanks, . According to Snell and Bohlander,(2007 ), an Interview is a purposeful exchange of ideas, the answering of questions, and communication between two or more people. Further, it should follow some specific guidelines, rather than just a conversation between the interview panel and interviewee (Carbonell et al., 2020)
DeleteIn an unstructured interview, questions are changed to match the specific applicant. In a structured interview, the expected or desired answers are determined ahead of time. This allows the interviewer to rate responses as the candidate provides answers (Armstrong, M.,Taylor,S. 2014).
ReplyDeleteThanks, according to Armestrong and Taylor ( 2014 ) In an unstructured interview, questions are changed to match the specific applicant . In a structured interview, there is a set of standardized questions based on the job analysis, not on individual candidates’ résumés
DeleteAccording to El-Kot and Leat (2008), there is a range of selection practices that may be used including: applications forms, curriculum vitae, one-to-one and panel interviews, psychometric testing, assessment centers, job trials, job specific aptitude or knowledge tests, graphology, group-based activities and references. El-Kot and Leat (2008) concluded that the selection interview had probably been the single most used technique in most countries throughout the twentieth century. Considering the banking sector in Bangaladesh , Some organizations may give importance to various tests, while others may emphasize interviews and reference checks.
ReplyDeleteSimilarly a single brief selection interview might be enough for applicants for lower level positions, while applicants for managerial jobs might be interviewed by a number of experts. Basic Bank gives emphasis to both tests and interviews and the HR unit of Basic Bank has different selection committees for applicants to fill both the lower level and higher level positions(Tabassum,2011)
Madura thank you and As a principle, the selection interview should not be a lengthy one as well should attempt to secure the maximum amount of information from the candidate concerning the suitability for the job under the consideration (Snell and Bohlander, 2007 ).
DeleteAlan (2004) describes selection interview and selection test as most appropriate methods to expect potential employee performance. Many explanations have been put up to defend this and they include the fact that selection interview helps to gain and evaluate information on the job for which they are being considered in comparison with the predictors made for other candidates.
ReplyDeleteThanks, In that sense, an Interview considered as a purposeful exchange of ideas, the answering of questions, and communication between two or more persons, as in a panel ( Scott et al.,2007 ). Further, an interview is a selection technique that enables the employer to view the total individual and directly appraise his behaviour as well as a method by which an idea about the applicant's personality can be obtained by a face to face contact (Armstrong, 2006;Swider et al.,20 15)
DeleteRecruitment and selection have several processes to identify suitable person and qualified them for the job, which enables the organization to get the maximum output from each and every individual employee to maximize the performance. The basic method for recruiting employee are to have a interview with him or her and it can be conducted as telephone interview, personal interview, behavioral interview, group or panel interview, video conference interview (Ullah 2010)
ReplyDeleteThanks Nigamuni, According to Kleiman ( 2005) An effective approach to recruitment and selection can help an organization to maximize the competitive advantages by choosing the best pool of candidates quickly and cost-efficiently .
DeleteInterview as a selection method is very vital to an organization, there are two common approaches; one is to ask a series of questions, targeted at each of the core competencies while the other involves in-depth probing questions which prove that the candidate has the necessary skills
ReplyDelete(Lewis, 2010).
Thanks, under structured and un structured in interview , Armstrong and Taylor ( 2014 ) discussed an in-depth analysis about interview approaches.
DeleteWhile agreeing with your statement wish to add, tests may be used later in the process to gather information that is used in conjunction with other assessments and interviews. This model, however, is more expensive to operate because this broader set of tools evaluates a larger portion of the applicant pool (Reynolds and Weiner, 2009).
ReplyDeleteThanks , Selection test can be identified as a selection technique which are commonly used in selection interview. According to Noe, R. A., Hollenbeck, J. R., Gerhart, B. & Wright, P. M. (2006) , Organizations may practice from an available set of selection methods such as completed application forms, assessment centers, work-sampling tests, mental ability tests, face-to-face individual or panel interview, medical examination,
DeleteKapoor (2018) says, an interview is a determined exchange of notions, the answering of questions and communication between two or more persons. Normally, an interview is a process of private conversation between people, where questions are asked and answers are obtained. The main purpose of the interviews is to acquire information about qualities, attitudes, prospectus and so forth. In various types of interviews, interviewers examine the behavior and communication abilities of the candidates.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kanishka. According to Carbonell N., Théophile Nassè , Alidou O., Bagassé H , Agyei A. and Moussa K.(2020 an Interview is a purposeful exchange of ideas, the answering of questions, and communication between two or more people. Further, it should follow some specific guidelines, rather than just a conversation between the interview panel and interviewee ,
DeleteRecently there has been an increased interest in using employment interviews to assess personality (Barrick, Patton, & Haugland, 2000; Binning, LeBreton, & Adorno, 1999; Huffcutt, Conway, Roth, & Stone, 2001). There are several reasons why it is worthwhile to evaluate interviews as a method of personality assessment. For one, research suggests that interviewer ratings of personality-related constructs may predict job performance ratings with higher validity than self-report personality scores (Huffcutt, Conway, et al., 2001). There is also evidence that interviews often result in more favorable applicant reactions than paper-and-pencil personality tests (e.g., Hamill & Bartle, 1998; Smither, Reilly, Millsap, Pearlman, & Stoffey, 1993; Steiner & Gilliland, 1996).
ReplyDeleteThanks, . ), According to Snell and Bohlander ( 2006 ) an Interview is a purposeful exchange of ideas, the answering of questions, and communication between two or more people.
DeleteInterview is a kind of test activity designed by the organizer, which takes the face-to-face conversation and observation of the examinee by the examiners as the main means to assess the examinees’ knowledge, ability, experience and other related qualities. It is a significant way for a company to select its employees. The interview provides a two-way communication opportunity for the company and the applicant to know each other, so that both of them can make more accurate decisions about whether to hire or not (Liang ,2020)
ReplyDeleteThanks , , The interview should follow some specific guidelines, rather than just a conversation between the interview panel and interviewee (Carbonell et al., 2020)..
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