Wednesday 7 September 2011

Quick Tips for Evaluating Candidate Interviews

All of the energy and effort devoted to capturing good job-related information during a selection interview is wasted if this information is not evaluated consistently and appropriately for all candidates. A key element of evaluation is the classification of the behavioural examples provided by candidates. Behavioural questions are designed to illicit information relevant to a specific competency. However, human behaviour can be complex. Accordingly, the following situations may arise:
  • a behavioural-based question will be asked focusing on one competency area, but the candidate will provide a behavioural example that demonstrates another
  • examples will be provided that relate to more than one competency area
  • examples that relate to the required competencies will be provided during the introductory phases of the interview, or during the close of the interview
The whole interview should, therefore, be reviewed carefully, for evidence of the competencies being assessed. One suggested method for doing this is to circle each behavioural example, and if it demonstrates a competency other than the one intended by the question, note the competency demonstrated along side of the example, and cross reference this example in the section of the Interview Guide devoted to that competency. In addition to classifying all of the examples, the interviewer should note whether the behaviour demonstrated is a positive or negative example relative to the type of performance expected on the job by placing a + (plus sign) or a - (minus sign) beside each example.

Once all relevant information from the interview has been reviewed and correctly classified, the interviewer is in a position to fully understand and evaluate a candidate’s past behaviour for each competency.

This post is based on content from 'Effective Interviewing' by Human Resource Systems Group, Ltd.

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