Making the Best of a Good Job
May 29th, 2010 by Mac
If your last job interview took place five or more years ago, you could be in for some big surprise when you reenter the employment market. Interviews are now much less likely to take the form of a cosy fireside chat. Neither, at the other extreme, should you expect an intimidating interrogation supposedly designed to test your ability to cope with stress. These traditional approaches have gone the way of tea trolleys and two-hour lunch-breaks.
As lean modern companies have learned the costs of making bad appointments, interviews have become part of a multi-layered quasi-scientific selection process, and are increasingly likely to be conducted by managers trained in complex psychological techniques. They are also becoming high tech: before too long, candidates can expect many interview panels to include at least one member who participates by means of video conferencing technology from another site or even overseas.
One thing has not changed. It is still unusual to get a job without a face-to-face encounter with your boss-to-be. Interviews are TmrnpaniRs for every category of stuff they employ. The same proportion of firms believe that, of all the selection tools available, interviews have the most influence on their appointment decisions. But you cannot rely just on your skills as an interviewee to get the job you want. There is a good chance that you will have to start providing yourself well before you reach the interview room.
A recent analysis of recruitment methods by the Institute of Personnel and Development found that 61 per cent of firms also used aptitude tests, 43 per cent sent out personality questionnaires and 30 per cent evaluated potential staff at assessment centres. Professional and managerial staff are especially likely to be put through a wide range of selection techniques before they reach the final interview with the employer.
In today' s job marketplace, you can expect the interview to be a " structured^ ^event — each candidate will be asked the same predetermined questions — rather than a process guided by whatever questions happen to float into the minds of the panel. An increasing number of interviews are also "situated" . This means that candidates are asked questions such as "What would you do if...?", an approach that lets them provide practical examptes-ef4ioj/v_the^ould tackle particular situations, whether or not they have had any direct experience of them.
Despite their increasing rigour, interviews are generally becoming a lot less formal. Candidates and interviewers are now much more likely to sit on sofas than face each other across a large table. This new informality also reflects the decreasing importance attached to hierarchy within organisations. The biggest change in the style of interviews will be noticed by senior staff with skills currently in short supply in the labour market. At this level, interviews are increasingly a conversation between equals.
Yet despite all efforts to bring the interview process up to date, employers frequently make the wrong choice. Although the interview remains the centerpiece of organisation' s selection procedures, it is in fact a highly unreliable predictor of candidate' s suitability. It is found that interviewing came third from bottom in a list of eight methods of selection. But you would be best advised not to point this out to a potential employer—at least not until you have definitely been offered the job.
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