Interviewing techniques Essay Example for Free

Interviewing techniques Essay Things that made it difficult or uncomfortable One semester as an undergraduate, I tried out for a student-leader position on campus and one of the last rounds of interviews was to be done by a panel of five persons. The thing that made the interview most uncomfortable was the fact that so many persons were focused on me, assessing my abilities to perform in the office I sought. Things that made it welcoming and comfortable Once the interview got started, I was made to feel welcome as each person smiled and shook my hand. They asked me how I was doing, and were very explicit about wanting me to relax. Types of questions you were asked The questions they asked pertained to leadership. They asked me to identify the characteristics that I considered indispensable in any leader. They were curious to know how I would react in a number of scenarios in which students were portrayed as being disruptive or insubordinate. 4. On the basis of your memory: †¢ What were the characteristics of the interviewer? There were many interviewers, but the main one was the dean of women. She behaved more in the office of assessor. While the other interviewers asked most questions, she took note of the answers and restricted her actions to nodding and smiling. She did smil,e however, and her smiles were calming. †¢ What made the interview memorable? The interview was memorable because of the sheer number of persons that were all focused on me. However, it was a good interview mainly because of the smiles that the people wore and because of my preparation—which allowed me the ability to answer every question with depth and accuracy. †¢ Had you been the interviewer, what would you have done differently? As the main interviewer, I would have taken more charge of the interview, controlling the direction of the inquiries perhaps by asking some questions as well. Interview Questions: i. How long have you been studying the humanities? ii. What genre of the arts do you most prefer? iii. Do you have a favourite artist—whether painter, architect, writer, poet, etc.? iv. Name one or two of your teachers who had a profound influence on you while growing up. v. At what point did you make the decision to become a university professor? vi. How many years have you been lecturing? vii. Do you enjoy it? Why? viii. Describe the road you took to arrive at this stage in your career. ix. Was it a very difficult road? Why or why not? x. Would you do it over again if you had the chance? 1. What type of interview did you conduct? The interview was done with a professor in the humanities department. It sought biographical information as well as insight into areas of inspiration and struggle in the life of the university professor. 2. How effective do you think you were in probing and obtaining information? The interview was very effective first of all because the subject matter chosen was one of which the interviewee was a master. The use of ice-breaking questions, such as â€Å"how did you start out? † made it easy for her to begin (Wheeler, 2007). It also started out in an area where the professor was able to speak about her passion—whether art or literature. Probing an area in which she was passionate caused her to be very talkative and she provided a lot of information. The openness with which she spoke about these subjects allowed her to be open to answering the more personal questions that came later—regarding her influences and struggles with the subject. Furthermore, the fact that the interview used open-ended questions as well as probing words (such as â€Å"explain† and â€Å"why, or why not†) allowed me to probe, if necessary, to a greater depth of information on subjects. I also left a general, overarching question for the end (NIU, n. d. ) 3. Do you think your way of interviewing applies to any profession? Why? This way of interviewing does apply to a lot of professions. However, it would perhaps not apply to all, as the questions asked assume a very relaxed atmosphere and are relatively imprecise. Certain persons (like doctors) who have very tight schedules might not have time to give long stories about their lives and might prefer closed-ended questions. However, I believe that the type of questions I chose were appropriate for the type of person I interviewed. References NIU. (n. d. ) â€Å"Conducting interviews. † NIU English Department. DeKalb: Northern Illinois University. Retrieved on March 1, 2007 from http://www. engl. niu. edu/wac/interview. html Wheeler, K. (2007). â€Å"Research assignment #3: Conducting an interview. † Composition and Literature. Carson-Newman College. Retrieved on March 1, 2007 from http://web. cn. edu/kwheeler/researchassignment3. html