After a series of reviews on some of my favorite subjects like cricket, movies, music, astrology I am turning to my latest interest: books & more specifically management or professional series books at that. There is a Marathi phrase ’Wachal tar wachaal’ which means ’Read’ so as to ’save yourself’ (from any adversity).
For a professional (or a to be) small books that give you the basics or essence of management are a life saver. It helps understand the big picture very easily. Makes you how fit in overall organization. What is expected from you. How you are looked upon by seniors and what not.
One of the most important activity (specifically in an growing) org is interview. It could be a Selection, Appraisal (Feedback), Counseling, Discipline or fact-finding interview. Apart from meetings, interviews are the essential and vital part of organizational activity. At times they are the only tool of making an impression and reaching across to seniors/juniors. Selection Interviews also impact how prospective interviewees would view your company as word of mouth spreads across.
Basically as a professional you got to read as much as possible on this topic to be effective. Apart from some big books available & also medium sized books on communication where this topic is covered as a chapter (effective communication by John Adair--review I wrote a few days back) I like the Management pocketbooks that cover a single topic with utmost efficiency.
’The Interviewer’s Pocketbook’’ is part of series of pocketbooks on which I intend to write in the coming days. The size of these pocketbooks is 6’’ X 5’’ only with some 100 tiny pages -- sort of a PowerPoint presentation of a 1/2 day professional course.
THE CONTENTS
PART1: Interviewing Skills
(1) Questioning Techniques: 10 Types of questions, When & how to ask them
Starting with two basic types: Questioning and Interactive Listening. The first one where the interviewer takes initiative and asks a series of questions that could go as empathetic questing to interrogation sort. The second one where you ask questions based only on the information provided by the interviewee.
Apart from this there are other types of questions: Close versus Open (What technology did you use versus whats your opinion about xxx).
Multiple Questions & Leading Questions (So you worked on this project for 4 months?)-- Never ask them! Probing Questions: Closed ones asking specific information to uncover facts or reduce ambiguity specially when the interviewee is rambling on or talking too much.
Blockbusting Questions: Close questions asking for precision in information. (Which?, How? All? Never? Everyone?, Compared to what?)
About Questions: To start interview. (Tell me about you exp, your acads etc etc). When in doubt ask About question! :)
Reflective Question: The questions that reflect back to interviewee what you think on what you heard from them (so you were pretty upset? etc)
Hypothetical Question: To test creativity (What would you do if...; What would happen if..) etc.
Challenging Questions: Open questions to test interviewee’s approach towards Evidence (What will you accept as evidence: To Test objective evidence analysis); Missing Link (What more information is needed before we...: To test analytical/planning ability)
There are others like Framing Questions & Using Silence as question (superb suggestion!)
(2) Listening Abilities
This one presents a great test of your Listening profile & also gives you reasons why we do not listen well & what we can do to improve it.
Listening Barriers: Relating everything you hear to your experience; Mind Reading: Jumping to conclusion on what others are ’really’ thinking; Rehearsing: While listening rehearsing the next question in your mind; Selective listening as per your priority; Daydreaming: You think 6 times faster than you talk. So using ’spare-time’ to day-dream! :) Labeling: Labeling the person & not listening to contents but who is saying that!
(3) Interpreting Body Language
This part explains how we interpret what people say and research shows that 7% comes from words, 38% from Paralinguistic (the ’way’ we speak) & 55% from facial expressions while saying things. The section gives you tips & advice on how to interpret paralinguistic (which we already do at subconscious level) : Timing, Tone, Speech Errors, Accent, Choice of words, Emphasis etc. Body language front: gives various scenarios, various acts of hands, face etc to explain what could be going in the minds of the people. As subject is vast it gives you ’’Further Reading’’ Section.
PART2: Interview Types and Tips
(1) The Selection Interview
Covers tips/guidelines on the type of preparation. Actual flow of interview, how to judge competencies based on a matrix, how to do further follow-up, validations of the references & such.
(2) The Appraisal Interview
One of the most delicate matters. Can affect Morales of your team-members. Again preparation, flow are very important but a few specific tips are life-savers: like: You should not use or quote a sole event/statement to push the appraise back & many more.
(3) The Discipline Interview
Tricky business. Real meaning is: Mental and Moral Training. Punishment comes as the last resort. Discusses the SNAP method (Specify--Name people--Ask for specific change -- Propose a prize/penalty for change/no change. The SNAP delivery technique with some examples (Late coming)
(4) The Counseling Interview
To Help someone. Discussed the W.R.A.F approach which is practical & effective.
(5) The Fact-Finding Interview
Similar but subset of the above activities, more probing & to the point, evidence without much beating around the bushes approach.
PART3: Skill Summaries
Summary of Questioning Techniques, Interactive Listening, Body Language: This one gives a quick excel-sheet/tabular sort of view to the all the practices and methods discussed. A quick reference for those who are in ultra-hurry! :)
CONCLUSION
A very handy considering Rs 40 price pocketbook specific to an area. Very useful and to the point, direct presentation, lot of DOs & Don’ts that make you effective. It is a great buy for someone in active in interviews or even someone who wants to appear for a interview. Reactions (or lack of) to unknown questions could have as much impact as the questions where you know the answers.
In a nutshell, it is useful to all the parties involved in this process & a highly recommended from a person who does it for living (well almost!) :))