Page 66 - DENG401_Advance Communication Skills

Unit 3: Interview Skills

Introduction Notes

In the process of selection and recruitment, interviews play an important role. Interview is a
formal mechanism through which the recruiters or the companies or the organizations are able
to find the employees who are the most suitable to the jobs for which the interviews are held.
An interview is widely used not only in employee’s selection, but also for placement, orientation,
disciplinary action, exit or separation, counseling and general problem solving. An interview
reveals the views, ideas and attitude of the person being interviewed as well as the skills of the
interviewer. Both the interviewee and the interviewer must be well prepared for the interview.
Interviews are always goal-oriented, with the aim to assess suitability and make a selection. In
this unit, an attempt is made to discuss the meaning of interview, its types, tips on preparing for
interviews and other fundamental aspects relating to an interview.

3.1 Meaning of Interview

The term ‘interview’ has been derived from the French word ‘entre voir’ that means ‘to glimpse’
or ‘to see each other’. Interview is a face-to-face interaction between two persons for a particular
purpose, that is, for employee selection, for placement, appraisal and counselling and problem-
solving. It means a meeting for obtaining information by questioning a person or persons. In
this way, an interview is a classic example of communication that takes place through “the
process by which meanings are exchanged between people through the use of a common set of
symbols”.

3.1.1 Definition of Interview

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An interview can be defined as an oral tool to test a candidate’s traits for employment or
admission to a premier institution of learning. Being an oral test, it calls for your skills of oral
and non-verbal communication to support your performance before a panel of experts.
The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary provides the following definitions of interview:
“An interview is a conversation between two or more people (the interviewer and the interviewee) where
questions are asked by the interviewer to obtain information from the interviewee”.
“A formal meeting in person, especially one arranged for the assessment of the qualifications of an applicant”.
“A private meeting between people where questions are asked and answered about somebody’s life, opinions
etc.”

3.1.2 Nature of Interviews

An interview has a wide variety of uses in business and corporate-related jobs. Job applicants
are hired on the basis of interviews. Employees who experience personal problems may be
given counselling through interviews. In many organizations, managers regularly evaluate the
performance of their subordinates through schedule appraisal interviews. Disciplinary interviews
are conducted with workers who are involved in job-related problems, which lead to indiscipline
in organizations. Through an exit interview programme, a company makes efforts to learn the
reasons why employees leave.
When new employees join, they are often oriented to their duties through an induction interview.
Even through the interview, the management of an organization can acquire and transmit much
of the information required for efficient operations. A large number of employment interviews
have resulted in the selection of unsuitable individuals, counselling interviews often do not

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