Interview Questionnaire Guide

The following Interview Questionnaire Guide has been developed to provide hiring administrators with a resource from which to select questions that will help identify the candidate who will be most successful in a position. Because research has shown that past behavior is predictive of future behavior, the questions are behavior-based. They will prevent a supervisor from missing important information, overlooking job motivation and organizational fit, and asking illegal, non-job-related questions. The same set of questions should be used to interview all candidates.

The on-campus interview is one of the most crucial steps in the recruitment and selection process. All members of the search committee must be committed to providing an interview process that is fair, consistent and respectful of candidates while fulfilling the purpose of the interview.

The purpose of the interview is to gather information about the candidate to see if he or she is a good fit for the position as advertised. The interview should be designed in a manner to illicit information from the candidate to guide the search committee in making a decision whether the candidate can fulfill the job-related requirements. Keeping in mind that while “personality,” “collegiality” and “good fit” are important aspects to consider when evaluating candidates a person should not be eliminated solely because of those factors. Moreover, recent court cases suggests that using “personality” ”collegiality”, and “good fit” as a reason to deny an opportunity has been called into question, partially due to the fact that these factors can easily become a smokescreen for subtle forms of discrimination.

In order to conduct a good interview, the search committee must plan all aspects of the process, the itinerary, the interview questions, who the candidate should meet, and so on. In addition, the search committee should consider devising an interview that will allow them to see the candidate “in action”. One way of accomplishing this is to ask behavior-based interview questions. Behavior-based interview questions are based on the principle that past behavior predicts future behavior. Behavior-based questions should be designed to allow the candidate to tell a story by giving a specific example of how the candidate “actually” behaved in a past situation that may happen in the position the committee is hiring for. Using the above dynamic to interview a candidate does not allow for hypothetical responses, but allows the search committee an opportunity to see how the candidate behaved in the past, which suggests how they will behave if given that situation today. Along with asking job-related behavior-based interview questions, the search committee should also include questions to find out what motivates candidates and what type of environments the candidate likes working in. Gathering information about what motivates and the types of environments the candidate likes working in is an excellent predictor of whether your position is a good “job fit” for the University, as well as the individual.

When developing interview questions, consider the following:

Ask only for information that will serve as a basis for the hiring decision; and
Know how the information will be used to make the decision

The search committee, with the assistance of key stakeholders, should develop behavior-based questions based on each major task and responsibility in the position description and on the knowledge, skills, and abilities required by the position. Problem solving questions that allow the applicant to think creatively should be included. When possible, refrain from asking questions that elicit only a “yes” or “no” response. The search committee should focus on asking open-ended questions, which allows the candidate the opportunity to provide an example.

A second way that the committee can devise a way to see the candidate in action is by requiring the candidate to perform a job-related activity while they are on campus, such as conducting a class lecture, general presentation, advising session, demonstrating how to use a software package, or similar. The key here is that the activity must be job-related. For example, it would be inappropriate to have a candidate interviewing for a computer technician position give a classroom lecture.

Keep in mind the goals of the interview process:

Gather and assess information about the candidate’s knowledge, skills and abilities.
Present a realistic description of the position.
Ensure that all candidates have been treated fairly, consistently and respectfully.
Foster a positive image of Missouri State University.

Prepare for the interview:

Develop the Interview Questionnaire. The Questionnaire should address each of the major tasks and/or responsibilities in the job description. If necessary assign specific individuals the responsibility of addressing a specific area, i.e. your subject matter expert asking all questions on a particular topic.
Develop the Evaluation Form for the search committee, as well as for the other constituents the candidates will interact with such as students, community members, and/or other stakeholders. The Evaluation Form should address each of the major tasks and/or responsibility in the job description, if appropriate for the audience. For example, a form that is designed for student evaluations need not address the candidate’s budgetary responsibilities.
Develop the itinerary for each candidate. Assign a primary point-of-contact for each candidate for the entire interview. In addition, assign a person from the search committee to escort the candidate from his/her appointments.
Review the candidate files, including reference checks, phone interview notes and other information that has been gathered.
Develop the search committee agenda for each candidate. The core group of questions should be the same for all candidates. However, it is appropriate to ask questions to clarify aspects of the person’s background, education, and or resume.
Consider hosting an interview workshop for the search committee as well as for the other constituents involved in the process.
Make sure that everyone invited to interact with the candidate has reviewed the appropriate and inappropriate question sheet.
Assign a primary contact person for the candidate whose responsibilities included: confirming the interview the day before the visit, providing the candidate with contact numbers, as well as a back up phone number, confirming with the search committee and other campus constituencies the candidate agenda, maintain contact with the candidate during the process to resolve any issues that may arise, and follow up with the candidate to see if he/she has additional questions.
Prepare the meeting rooms and confirm the hotel, travel arrangements and meal arrangements. It is nice to provide a welcoming basket for the candidate in their hotel room that includes an updated itinerary and literature about Missouri State University and the Springfield community.

Conduct the on-campus interview:

Establish rapport with the candidate. Make your candidate comfortable. Make sure all parties in the process are introduced, including their title.
Explain the purpose of the interview and set the agenda. Explain how the interview is structured, briefly describe the job and explain that the candidate will have an opportunity to ask questions.
Control the Interview. The interviewer must combine careful listening with good use of questions and follow-up questions. Give non-verbal signs of listening.
Describe the job and the organization. Provide the candidate with the details about the position and the department, including both favorable and unfavorable facts. Be straightforward.
Provide the candidate with an opportunity to ask questions.
Conclude the interview. Provide the candidate with a time frame of the next step in the process and thank him/her for their interest in the position and their time.
Stay on schedule.
Attend to appearance. Make sure people are properly attired for the interview.

Suggested interview timeline:

Activity	Time
Introduction	10 minutes
Interest in the position	5 minutes
Prepared interview questions	30-45 minutes
Candidate questions	10-15 minutes
Sell the position	3-5 minutes
Conclusion	2-5 minutes

Interview questions:

The following sections provide sample questions to be used in evaluating various performance factors. All questions in each section need not be asked. However, each candidate should be asked the same initial set of questions. In the case of multiple interviewers, the hiring administrator/search chair should decide who will be evaluating which factor(s). Each interviewer is then assigned three to four questions from the respective factor list(s) to ask of every candidate. The following sample questions are not an exhaustive list of performance factors. Other factors that may be considered include decision-making, performance management, integrity, adaptability, and collaboration. The Office for Institutional Equity and Compliance and/or Human Resource can work with the department to develop additional question that address these and other performance factors, if necessary.

Background Review Application/Resume

Questions designed to confirm the information on the candidate’s resume. Verify the address and phone numbers with information.

Initiative

Questions designed to gather information about an individual’s ability to identify tasks that need to be done without specifically being told to do them.

Stress Tolerance

Questions designed to provide information relating to an individual’s stability of performance under pressure. These questions are not designed to rate a person’s stress level. They are designed to give the interviewer an idea of how the applicant has reacted to past stressful situations.

Planning and Organizing

Questions designed to gather information relating to an individual’s ability to schedule their work and handle multiple tasks.

Technical and/or Position Specific

Questions designed to gather information relating to an individual’s past work experience, duties, and working conditions which are similar to those of the position for which the individual is being considered.

Work Standard

Questions designed to gather information relating to a person’s ability to work and get along with others.

Teamwork

Questions designed to gather information relating to a person’s ability to work and get along with others.

Communication Skills

Questions designed to gather information relating to an individual’s communication skills. This section also includes observations to be made during the interview. These questions should be customized to fit your position. Normally, only two or three questions would be used

Leadership

Questions designed to gather information relating to an individual’s utilization of appropriate interpersonal styles and methods in guiding individuals or a group toward task accomplishment.

Job Motivation

Questions designed to help identify an applicant’s motivation to do the type of work the position requires. The intent is not to see if they had good motivation/satisfaction in their previous jobs, but to see if the types of things they enjoy doing will be available in this position. For example, if a person said she enjoyed her last job because she liked to work outside and with people doing different things all of the time, a desk job in accounting would probably not provide high satisfaction.