The organisation needs to decide whether the interview will be formal or informal. When making this decision the organisation must think about the impact that will be made on the candidate and the image of the company they will be conveying.
If a panel interview, is taking place there needs to be co-ordination among the panel. It must be clear to both the members of the panel and the interviewee who is leading the interview. The leader of the interview must direct the rest of the panel in a way that there is a continuous flow of questions and not long awkward silences. This displays good management skills and team working abilities to the interviewee, which will increase their demand for the position even more. It will also prompt them to give more answers that are detailed.
It is extremely important that appropriate questions be asked of all the candidates, there must be consistency, and this has to be done to ensure that there is no discrimination-taking place and everyone has a fair chance of getting the position. Candidates must not be unfairly disadvantaged. Asking the same questions allows the organisation to draw a fair conclusion and make comparisons of all the candidates. When conducting an interview the following along with many others not listed, legislations need to be obliged by:
- Sex discrimination Act 1975 & 1986
- Race relations Act 1976
- Disability discrimination Act 1995
Legislations are compulsory and need to be carried out throughout the entire recruitment and selection process and beyond in a systematic way.
A time and date will need to be organised and information of this will be sent to the applicant.
There are four main factors that have to be done to ensure a successful candidate is appointed for the position. The four factors are planning, delivery, evaluation and decision. These factors are extremely important to both the organisation and the candidates.
Planning the most important of them all has to be carried out. Planning has to be done from day one of the recruitment and selection process. Appropriate and relevant questions need to be thought of and reviewed. If a panel interview is, taking place each member of the panel should obtain a copy of the questions and be sure of who is asking what and who is going first, second etc.
Delivery of the interview. The interview needs to be delivered as planned so everyone is aware of what is happening. If a member of the panel suddenly starts, improvising the rest of the panel may become confused and this would show a negative side to the organisation as it shows there is not a strong team-working bond.
During the interview, the interviewer must ensure the candidate is comfortable and not intimidated. There needs to be rapport between the interviewer and the candidate. The candidate should never feel under pressure or feel they are being cornered or tricked.
Evaluation of the interview and interviewee. Was enough information obtained from the interviewee? If the interview was successful the interviewer should be able to answer yes to that question if not they need to sit down and work out why it was not. Did the interviewee meet the set requirements for the position? They need to be checked against the job description and person specification. The candidates’ then need to be compared against each other and the most suitable candidate should be offered the job.
Decision- if the interviewing process was carried out correctly the organisation should be able to find a suitable candidate for the post. However, there are times where one is not, if this is the case the organisation will need to go over the recruitment and selection steps they followed and find what made their attempt unsuccessful.
The organisation may make the decision to hire the most suitable candidate and they may also make the decision to complete the whole process again.
The importance of picking the right candidate
It is extremely important that the organisation picks the right person for the job as it can save them on a lot of time and money. If the right person is selected then the costly process of recruitment and selection will not have to be repeated.
If the wrong person is selected for the job the organisation may find they are spending funds on unnecessary reasons for example training, it is likely that out of the candidates short-listed some would have held some of the skills and experience required for the position. The position of an admission assistant would require someone who is friendly and likes dealing with people- if someone who prefers to work by themselves and not in a team is hired the organisation might find they will have to dismiss that individual.
Picking the right candidate for the job can save the organisation a lot of time and money.
