Using Best Practice Skills in Conducting Interviews - Literature review Example

Using best practice skills In Conducting interviews By Name: University: Module: Instructor: Submission Date: © 2012 1.0. INTRODUCTION The present essay is set to discuss the best practice skills and models in conducting interviews. The essay starts by describing the different types of interviews and then zeros on in the particular area of job interviews. It will therefore evaluate the worthiness of conducting interviews on the basis of experience in the professional context of job interviews. The essay will further suggest guidelines that can be used in developing and justifying improved best practices in the field of job interviews. It will finally advise on the best ways to feasibly implement the said guidelines. 2.0. REVIEW OF LITERATURE ON INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION The purpose of this section is to review a variety of literature on interpersonal communication. A communication skill has been considered as an important tool, not only in any training environment, but also in business world today (Duck and McMahan, 2009). According to views proffered by Dwyer (2006), a good understanding of, and being fluent in communications skills is crucial in most aspects of contemporary life. Indeed, good interpersonal communication skills in areas such as writing letters or electronic mails, memos; negotiating in boardrooms; chatting with contemporaries, speech writing and delivering speeches to audiences; interviewing; training; etc, are undoubtedly very essential in everyday life (Orbe and Harris, 2008). Further, a research carried out by Roslyn and Peter (1999) demonstrates that how well information is transferred from one person/area to another depends on the medium of communication. In his final submission, Wood (2009) underscores the role played by face-to-face communication in the transfer of information. This form of information transfer is followed by “telephone exchanges, informal and personal letters, memos and electronic mails, formally written documents, and electronic (e.g. computer) printouts” in supremacy (Locker, 2000). A relatively new facet of interpersonal communication today is the growing use electronic mails, teleconferencing (including some aspect of telecommuting), video-call services such as Skype, and other Internet technologies. For this reason, an intelligent way or approach of using these technologies effectively is vital in order to overcome problems that may render communications within business operations and between workmates ineffective. A wide array of authors and/or articles has defined communication in a variety of ways. One reason for this is the basic nature of communication itself as it requires interpretation in terms of ‘who we are’ and/or ‘what we do’ (Chaney and Martin, 2007). However, a simple approach that has been consistently used in understanding communication, especially interpersonal communication, is to view communication as one of the following: action, or interaction, or transaction. The act of sending messages renders communication as an action; while communication is interaction if information is exchanged between different parties (Adler, Resenfeld and Towne, 1995). Similarly, communication is termed a transaction if the communicating parties are bound in one way or another, for example as in business contracts/transactions. These, according to Overton (2008) are reported to enjoy a tremendous binding formality. Based on the understandings of action, interaction and transaction as fundamental facets of communication, a wide array of communication theories all trying to elucidate and demonstrate the various variables and/or relationships that make communication a multifaceted, although a fundamental human activity, have been advanced. This article will focus on the transactional perspective of interpersonal communication in conducting interviews. In doing so, it will draw from social and psychological theories in carrying out a relational analysis of best practices in a communication process. This relational analysis will focus on two aspects of interpersonal communication, i.e. all variables that affect communication (e.g. skills, culture, and noise) are interdependent; and that all communication take place within a relationship connecting the parties concerned (Giddings, 2005). There are three aspects of communication behaviours that interplay to make interpersonal communication effective. These include “non-verbal communication, listening in communication and communicating assertively” as listed by DeVito (2009). For instance, before speaking, one may communicate by expressing oneself using body language, or manner of dressing, or gestures, postures or facial expressions that put forth a lot of meaning for the parties engaged in the communication. The parties concerned will ‘read’ the information put across via such non-verbal expressions, after which that information will be shared or transformed into meanings in conformity with one’s past experience and the already established ways of perceiving others or the world (Chaney and Martin, 2007). On the other hand, when one party speaks, another party will be listening and coding the spoken words into meanings by interpreting the words and then evaluating them to form a response within the context of the interaction. Furthermore, a response may require speaking back, and speaking with a strength that portrays the intent and/or understanding that may lead the interaction process in a particular manner. This example shows the three behaviours of non-verbal, listening and assertion in their interplay in interpersonal communications. Having said that let me briefly explain each aspect of these communication behaviours. Non-verbal communication does not use words but gestures etc as explained above, and as such several communication theorists have classified it into kinesics in which gestures and movement are used; chronemics that employs timing; proxemics utilizing the elements of distance and space; vocalics using silence or sound; and haptics that use the sense of touch (Duck and McMahan, 2009). Putting these types of non-verbal communication into meaning can not be done in isolation but interplay with words and assertion in the process of encoding and decoding of the meaning. For instance, a smile is a common gesture in interpersonal communication that may portray a wide range of feelings, such as pleasantness, friendliness, disdain, cynicism or sarcasm, etc, depending on the progress of communication (Duck and McMahan). The aspect of listening is a skill that entails one’s attentiveness to, or degree of engagement in a communication process. It is an interactive and proactive process of being party to the communication as explained by Steel (2007). In this sense therefore, listening becomes much more than hearing. In this sense therefore, some theorists have distinguished the following types of listening on the basis of reason or objective for listening: “passive or active, literal or selective (way of listening); for the purpose of information, pleasure or curative; and intention of listening such as building a relationship or enhancing promotion” (Windschuttle and Elliott, 1999). Assertiveness entails how one expresses; how one feels; or how one will act in a communication process. The main value of assertiveness is the endorsement of clarity in communication and will clearly bring out one’s responsibility, well-being, confidence or self-respect (Wood, 2009). Without assertiveness, Wood (2009) argues that a communication will risk being weak or ineffective in transferring or exchanging information. In interpersonal communication, the question of how well the interaction process within the participants is matters a lot. Here the purpose is to monitor and regulate the interaction process in order to enable the participants to be fully engaged in the communication so that the effectiveness of the engagement is achieved (Adler et al, 1995). In this respect, social psychology and cognitive theories attempt to explain interaction management to be made up of two major aspects namely: “how an impression is formed and how to maintain the impression” in the course of interpersonal communication (Adler et al, 1995). Formation of an impression involves how either party in a communication process perceives the other party and the impression formed of them. On this point, if impression formation is carried out carefully and accurately, then an effective communication will be achieved. For example, we may suppose that all the people smiling at us are friendly where, in fact, they may be deceitful (Woodruffe, 1993). On the other hand, to maintain an impression will involve how well we carry ourselves with others and therefore seek to sustain this impression. For instance, there may be some aspects of our lives that we may not want our bosses or workmates to know in order to sustain the impression we want them to bestow on us. In conclusion, forming and sustaining an impression are inherently in ourselves and are key components in creating an effective interpersonal communication. In interpersonal communication, we come across people who pose challenges or who may cause emotional drain in the process of communication. These difficult people may consume our scarce but valuable resources of effort and/or time as we try to overcome the communication barriers presented by them. However, we need to understand them so as to formulate an effective strategy of communicating to them. An example will suffice here. People in management or leadership levels should clearly distinguish between and balance, ‘task oriented and people oriented’ communication in order to effectively communicate and enhance performance, failure to which may lead to overworking some people while others may feel unappreciated or ignored or just frustrated in their work (Steel, 2007). It is worth noting that ‘difficulty’ as explained here is a form of communication conflict that can cause us think of all interpersonal communication as a way of surmounting this difficulty in our daily interactions. Consider too the fact that these conflicts are inevitable since people are different because of different backgrounds, expectations, attitudes, etc and will therefore almost always convey diverse meanings or understanding in our interactions (Adler et al, 1995). Conflict in interpersonal communication may be dealt with effectively by reducing its negative effects while enhancing the positive effects instead. 3.0. OVERVIEW OF THE BEST PRACTICE IN CONDUCTING INTERVIEWS This present section provides an overview on the use of best practices in interpersonal communication skills in general, and conducting interviews in particular, on the basis of the literature expounded in Section 2.0 above. Interviews are basically controlled exchanges which are carried out to achieve particular objectives. The nature and scope of the objectives to be achieved and the extent of control may differ greatly as may the participants’ behaviours. This implies that any two interviews will be basically different. It is quite important for majority of participants to come out of an interview with a feeling of safety and success. This is the case in formal human resource recruitment interviews where organisational and the participant’s successes are equivalent to trustworthy information on their part, and correct assessment of the participant (Carless, 2007) just like it is in less formal print and TV media interviews. With all types of interviews, there is an inherent aspect of opportunity and risk that should be carefully considered. For both interviewee and interviewer, there are potential benefits of effectively sustaining the impression formed in an interview. In this case, an interviewer develops confidence and learns from positive and past experiences which culminate to successful hiring of the right person for the job, while an interviewee secures the acceptance of the audience and the job. Since both the interviewer and interviewee take advantage of the interaction, DeVito (2009) considers this as an opportunity for securing the desired goals and/or objectives via careful management of interview. Similarly, risk can also be considered in terms of management of impression and is of paramount importance to both the interviewee and interviewer. If the interview is predominantly controlled by the interviewer for example, the interviewee will work hard in ensuring that the impression he puts across is positive and in line with the goals the interviewer is seeking (Hoevemeyer, 2006). In doing so, the interviewees will speak well of their experiences and skills and the success achieved in the projects they may have previously undertaken. Equally important, maintaining a positive impression may require sustaining a strong attitude during the interview and/or looking directly at the interviewer in a relaxed and composed mood in an otherwise stressful interview situation (Lee, 2005). In addition, an interviewer may also work hard to conceal the fact that they are not familiar with the interviewee or lack sufficient experience in the job. Lee (2005) suggests that one way of overcoming this predicament is to have a previously prepared set of questions that will be followed in the questioning. Interviewing is different from normal conversation as underlined by DeVito (2009) who indicates that “the interviewee and interviewer exchange information automatically with the later holding the predominant control of the exchange”. Although there is a certain degree of rigidity here, this doesn’t discount the theories and concepts of interpersonal communication expounded earlier in this discourse. This however encourages theorists and practitioners to adopt the “best practice” skills and models in interviews in order to create an interview-atmosphere that is conducive and effective in attaining the desired goals. It is therefore noteworthy to observe that there are several “best practice” forms of interview. While some are specific, others are general in nature. An example of the former case is a job interview while the latter purports to be applicable in most situations. Furthermore, some interviews will be directed to the interviewers, touching on what they should do prior to; during and after the interview (Wood, 2009) while other interviews are directed to the interviewees, indicating how best they should carry themselves in an interview. The ‘best practice’ of conducting a job interview In discussing the ‘best practice’ of conducting a job interview, I need to adopt the perspective of Windschuttle et al (1999). The authors assert that in conducting an effective interview, both the interviewee and interviewer should espouse good interpersonal communication skills of listening keenly and attempting to understand others while sending direct and clear communication messages (Quoted by Victoria, 2009). They also intimate that interviewing, like other types of communication, is a skill that should be learned and carefully practiced in order to achieve the desired goals. A starting point for any interview is adequate preparation for it on the part of all involved. In this respect, an interviewee secures an interview by getting an invitation from the interviewer for the job applied for. The interviewee should then carefully counter-check the date, venue and time of interview. Next, the interviewee should arrange for an appointment by getting information on three key points namely: The purpose of the interview, The duration of the interview, The number of interviewers and sometimes their names. Based on these points, the interviewee could prepare a list of the anticipated questions accompanied by the possible answers. This will enable the interviewee to be articulate during the interview in a broad sense of the subject matter as observed by Victoria (2009). Similarly, the interviewer needs to be prepared for the interview by being very clear on the objective of the interview. If several interviewers are involved, they should be consistent on the type of information and the overall goal they will elicit from the interviewees. To avoid confusion or dampen their strength of questioning, Hoevemeyer (2006) advises that the interviewers should formulate and discuss interview questions beforehand. In addition to the questions, the nature and location of the interview should be carefully considered. Sometimes, the interviewers may need to carry out some form of research on the backgrounds of the interviewees as noted by Lee (2005). After the initial preparation, Windschuttle et al (1999) clarify that the next stage is the actual conducting of the interview (cited in Victoria, 2009). At this point, they advise the interviewees to exercise fluent non-verbal interpersonal communications skills such as body language, etc as mentioned in other sections of this essay. The interviewees are further advised to be “relaxed and answer questions naturally and at ease; dress well to create a good impression; sit upright and avoid crossing the legs; put hands on the table when lightly clasped; use their natural voice as they maintain good eye contact with the interviewers; make sure they understand the questions put to them and answer them frankly and directly; ask the interviewers genuine questions at the end of the interview, if given the chance to do so” (Victoria, 2009). 4.0. EVALUATION OF BEST PRACTICE IN CONDUCTING INTERVIEWS In this section, I discuss the factors to consider in evaluating the ‘best practice’ in conducting interviews. This is done in line with the requirements for effective interpersonal communication. The evaluation process will be carried out in form of review questions as listed in the Windschuttle et al (1999) perspective. Additionally, the best form of evaluation of interpersonal communication skills can also be referred to as self-monitoring, which in most cases is a form of self-evaluation or self-criticism. According to Carless (2007), self-criticism is a very powerful form of self-improvement because guiding questions like: “did you perform well or not; how would you improve it the next time you do it; etc are asked (Victoria, 2009). Conducting self-monitoring and assessment should be done in parallel to results assessment by probing the following questions: “did you arrive at an agreement; and did you put any effort to create a conducive and friendly atmosphere to conduct interviews?” In addition, a keen assessment of the interviewee’s feedback is particularly important for the interviewer and vice versa. This point is further stressed by Woodruffe (1993) who underscores the importance of using questionnaires professionally developed by scholars for assessment of interpersonal communication. Further, Woodruffe (1993) maintains that competence in communication is really an interaction that is friendly and that achieves the desired objectives. In view of this, Hoevemeyer (2006) recommends the use of the following points in assessing a communication process: 1. Consider and clarify from whose perspective (interviewer or interviewee, for example) is the assessment being conducted. 2. Carefully consider an effective measuring scale. 3. Consider, too, whether the measure relates to the present situation (called state measure) or a general measure applicable in many situations over long periods (called hit measure). Notwithstanding this, the evaluation of an effective communication strategy is multifaceted in conflict situations and needs careful consideration of reasons that are involved in interactions (DeVito, 2009). 5.0. CONCLUSION In this essay, the author has purposed to introduce the issue of best practice skills and models in conducting interviews. The essay has also described the different types of interviews, majoring specifically on job interviews. In this instance, the author has further purposed to evaluate the worthiness of conducting interviews on the basis of experience in the professional context of job interviews. This was done by drawing on the guidelines provided by Windschuttle et al (1999) suggesting the following actions on the part of the interviewers: Observing basic rules for conducting interviews such as recognising the vulnerable points of an interviewee in order to bring out the strong points of the same, Starting interviews on time since the interview schedule is of paramount importance, Minimising any form of distractions, Ensuring that all questions are clear and direct, and Allowing both sides to reflect freely on what has been discussed and what has been left out in order to ensure the effectiveness of the interview. Apart from the foregoing, the essay concludes by outlining the strategy to be adopted by the interviewees namely: Considering the aspects of their details the interviewer should know. Making an analysis of their disadvantages and/or weakness that should be minimised. Considering what to know concerning the job and/or organisation in order to decide whether to accept the job or not. REFERENCES Adler, R., Resenfeld, L & Towne, N. (1995). Interplay: The process of interpersonal communication. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace College Publishers. Carless, S. A. (2007). Literature review on best practice recruitment selection techniques, Melbourne, Monash University. Chaney, L. & Martin, J. (2007) Intercultural business communication. New Jersey: Pearson prentice Hall. DeVito, J. A. (2009). The Interpersonal Communication Book (12th Ed.). Boston: Pearson Education Inc. Duck, S. & McMahan, D. (2009). The basics of communication: a relational perspective. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications. Dwyer, J. (2006). The business communication handbook. Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson Education. Giddings, L. S. (2005). A theoretical model of social consciousness. Advances in Nursing Science, 28(3), 224-239. Hoevemeyer, V. A. (2006). 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