Interviews & tests

In the fourth part of the recruitment process, the interviews and tests are held. The methods for this are structured interviews, ability tests and work cases, as they together predict the future best and create a clearer picture of the applicant and their possibilities. Work cases have the highest prediction of job success as the perfect correlation score for best job success prediction is 1, and the combination of ability test and a personality test scored the highest being 0,65, according to a study conducted by Schmidt and Hunter (1998).

It is recommended that tests are held before the interviews when it comes to the external applicants. This way the applicants can be screened again and there will be data that can be used in the interviews. The tests and cases are the same for the applicants. This is so that unified, measurable and comparable data can be collected for the selection decision. The work case has to be relevant for the vacancy they are applying to and the job they will perform.

Personal assessment and test are mandatory for all of the people who get a job offer. In internal recruitment, the tests can be held again even though the applicant already works in the company.

The tests are justified to be conducted again if the new position is significantly more challenging or differs a lot from the current position of the applicant. The company has a corporate agreement with Cut-e, which offers a broad spectrum of rests in several languages. The tests measure the performance level. The company recommends testing general mental abilities (GMA) of the applicant. They represent the level of which the applicant learns, understands instructions and solves problems. The general mental abilities are used to predict job performance across all organizations and positions. The better the applicant’s abilities are, the more complex work tasks and problems the person is able to solve. The results are comparable and reviewed closely when screening the applicants. It is taken into consideration that the environment and situation affect the results of the tests.

The main methods for employing and the personal assessment are the interviews. The main goal of interviews is to conduct as proper and professional personal assessment as possible. As it is an evaluation, it is known that it can contain inaccuracy, flaws and interpretation on both the interviewers and the applicant’s side. The factors that can impact the assessment negatively from the interviewer’s side are the experience, sense of duty, goals, expectations, skills, the situation, personal problems and competition, for example.

In addition, the interviewer must be aware of these factors and their possible impact, in addition to the halo effect, desirability, identification and self-replenishment effect. The reliability can be improved with having more than one person evaluating the applicant or several interviews. Notes should be made and the interviews and assessments should be well-thought and structured.

There are two interviews that the applicant has to go through. The interviews are divided in half in a way that the first interview focuses on the personality of the applicant, the introduction of the company, the team-fit and sometimes the substance. In the first interview, the interviewers are most likely the manager accompanied by a representative from the team that the applicant is looking to work with. If the applicant is from internal recruitment, People Operations representative is present as well. The goal of the first interview is to briefly get to know the candidate and evaluate the fit and the skills required for the job. The workplace is introduced and close attention to the creation of employer branding is kept.

The second interview will map the competence, the organization-fit and motivation and personality of the applicant more in depth. The second interview will likely have the manager’s or team’s manager and the People Operations representative. The goal is to only interview applicants that are at least 90% suitable for the company and job. The second interview is more challenging and requires more. It will analyse the personality deeper and see how the competencies are reflected in the person’s actions. The test results are discussed and analysed together with the applicants own behaviour. The recommendation is to interview only one person at a time, so that the applicant is more open and more likely less stressed. The interviews will as well introduce the workplace and go through the job and the tests.

Importance on the well-structured interview is paid. This is because it enables the possibility to compare the applicants. There are ready templates for the interviews, which include some ready interview questions to help the interview be more structured. Both interviews are structured and have the same questions and topics presented to the candidates. Each candidate should be offered the same amount of time and the process should be as professional and fair as possible.

The material maps out the structure of the interviews in a simple way dividing it to the start, the interviewing itself and the ending. The start of the interview pays a lot of weight on the first impressions, introductions, small talk, presenting the company and what kind of a person the applicant seems to be. There should be notes right from the start in order to compare and avoid false judgements, for example because of the first impressions. Time management is important and time should be discussed with the applicant as well. The applicant is given an opportunity to ask questions and lastly the practicalities and description of the assignments.

In the interview itself the flow is important and that the time is well used and managed without forcing the structure. It is recommended that open questions are preferred and closed and leading questions are avoided. The candidate should talk most of the time so that there will be as good a picture of the applicant as possible. The STAR-model can be used, if comfortable. The STAR-model stands for situation, task, action and result or review, it is a technique or a tool used by interviewers in order to understand the interview situation better and make improvements in behaviour (Cook, 2009, p. 37-38)

The ending to the interview includes a look into other processes and references, for example. The salary is discussed with the manager and the People Operations representative. The potential start date is agreed upon and the original documents are checked. The applicant has a chance to ask questions and attention is paid to the closure so that a professional ending to the interview is made.

After the interview, the interviewer often makes more notes on the candidate and the candidate is evaluated as well in order to increase professionalism. The purpose is to document the evidence as to whether the candidate is relevant for further process or not. It also secures and objective and comparable evaluation of each candidate. The company also wishes for the candidate to give feedback on the recruitment, and it is a suggested part of the process to send a feedback form to the applicant after the interviews.