Recruitment interview procedure (1)

Standard Operating Procedure – Human Resources

Recruitment Interview- Appendix-I

Assessment of Core Competencies

A. OBJECTIVES OF INTERVIEW
 Determine if the candidate has the skills and experience to do the job.
 Confirm the integrity of the information supplied by the candidate in their resume.
 Assess whether the candidate's career objectives are consistent with what we are
offering.
 Determine that the candidate has the requisite qualifications and certifications required
by the position.

B. GET ACQUAINTED

Review your interview process with the candidate to make sure they understand it. Tell
them to please tell you at any time during the interview if they believe this particular job is
not for them. Mention that you will do the same for them. Some suggestions for how you
might start the interview are:
 Do you have any questions before we begin?
 The purpose of this interview will be to focus on your skills, experience and qualifications
for the job.
 If we believe you meet our requirements, we ask you back for a second interview.
 The second interview will be with me [or_______________] and it is designed to help
us to better understand you as a person.
 After which we shortlist the candidates and the shortlisted candidates will have an
interview with the peers and direct reports for which you may have to travel to
__________.
 The final decision will be made after considering all the feedback. The entire process
may take _____ days.

C. CAREER / EDUCATION / QUALIFICATIONS
1. Why did you choose your career?

2. How do you feel your career has gone so far?

3. If you had it to do over again, what would you do differently?

D. WORK EXPERIENCES AND PREFERENCES
1. Have you ever been involved in a work related or business failure?
___No ___Yes, explain

2.Have you ever had a problem with someone that caused you to leave the company?

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3.Describe your 3 strongest skills? That is, things that you are very good at doing. Take
a moment to think about them before answering. Start with the skill that you believe is
your best:
1.
2.
3.

4.In what areas do you think your skills are not very strong? That is, things you are not
particularly good at doing.

5.Describe the most difficult work situation you have ever encountered.

6.What has been the biggest disappointment in your career so far?

7.Review their employment history from their resume and review their career
progression with them:
 Understand why they made each job change.
 Are the important events discussed in the preceding questions consistent
with their resume?

8.In your own words, what are the three most important areas of your work experience?
1.
2.
3.

9.In your own words, what are your three most important work-related achievements?
1.
2.
3.

E. ATTITUDES TOWARDS MOST RECENT EMPLOYER
1.How would you describe the role or function of your department in your most recent
employer?

2.What positions reported to you?

3.Describe the organizational structure in your department or group? (Positions and
numbers)

4.What budget responsibilities do you have?

5.When was your last performance review and what areas for improvement were noted?

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6.What do you like most about your most recent job?

7.What do you like least about it?

F. BUSINESS AWARENESS ISSUES
1. How do you keep current on changes or improvements in the industry?
(Tick all that are mentioned, do not prompt)
____ studying the competition ___Conventions ___Company seminars ___Industry
Literature
___Other industry seminars ___Professional Bodies ___Other, describe

2. What journals do you read on a REGULAR basis?

3. Referring to your most recent employer:
 What is the company/Hotel's revenue: $___________ Group
$__________
 No. of employees ________ Group ___________
 What category of Hotels/Resorts does it fall under?
 What is the market strategy of the company/Hotel?
 Who is the competition?
 Where do rank this company/hotel?
 What does the company see as its unique selling points (USP's)?
 What are the major branches, divisions or subsidiaries?
 How do rate the overall success of the company/hotel?
 Where do you see the potential for improvement?

G. PERCEPTION OF THIS POSITION
1.What areas of your experience do you think is most relevant to this position (the one
you are interviewing for)?

2. What do you see as the most important challenges facing the Company and the
industry?

3.What do you see as your particular strengths that you would bring to this position
that you think the Company needs?

4. Based on your current understanding of the job, what do you think might be some of
your weaknesses for this position?

5. What types of fringe benefits are most important to you in a job?
(Interviewer - Do not prompt candidate. Number them 1, 2, 3, etc. in the order they
are mentioned. If they are not mentioned, do not list them.)
Car___ Vacations (length)______ Bonus___ Commission___ Pension plan___ Private
health plan____ Profit sharing plan_____ Other, describe:

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___Did not seem to be an issue ___Did not mention anything as being significant.

H. OTHER
1. Ask questions about other issues that are specific to job performance, such as PC
literacy, foreign languages, travel, etc.

G. INTEREST AND AVAILABILITY

1.Based on what you now know about this opportunity, what elements of this job are
most attractive to you?

2.Based on what you now know about this opportunity, what concerns do you have about
it?

3.Does your current employer know that you are looking? ___Yes ___No ___Between
jobs

4. Are you currently considering any other job offer?
___No ___Yes - How would you compare the other job to this one?

What is the timing for deciding on the other job?

5. How do we contact you during the next few weeks?

6. What is your notice period? _______When would you be available to start?______

7. What questions do you have about this opportunity?

8. Do you feel that you have told me all the important aspects of your work skills and
experience as they relate to this opportunity? ___Yes ___No, explain

J. AFTER INTERVIEW CONSIDERATIONS BY INTERVIEWER

1. Do you think you might consider this candidate?
___Yes or Possibly
a) Remind them that you have not completed your interviewing process and,
consequently, you cannot tell them more until you have finished.
b) Explain what happens next:
___When do you plan to meet with others.
___When will you be conducting a follow-on soft skills interview.
___When and how will you let them know what happens next.
c) Do you need copies of any degrees/certificates?
___No ___Yes, tell them to mail a copy to you as you need it before...

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d )Give them your business card and tell them to call you should they have any further
questions.

___No - Tell them why.

K. AFTER THE INTERVIEW

Review the candidate's resume and the responses to your interview questions. Answer the
following questions:
1. Did the candidate appear to take due care in completing the information?
___Yes ___No, explain

2. Was the candidate able to describe past achievements, skills and key areas of
experience without a lot of prodding on your part?

3. Were the dates entered completely and were they correct?

4. Does there appear to be a logical career progression for this candidate?

5. Were there any gaps in employment that you uncovered?

6. How has this candidate obtained most of the jobs?
___Agencies ___Advertisements ___Headhunted ___Personal contacts
___Direct approach to companies ___Promotion ___Other, describe

7. This candidate has had ______ different employers in the last ______ years.
Explain excessive job changes

8. What is your preliminary assessment of how this candidate will fit in with the
organisation:
___Good fit ___Close fit ___Too soon to tell ___Not a good fit

9. How does the candidate meet each of the following criteria for the position?
Criteria Meets (Put an X on dotted line)
All Most Some Few
Education & Certifications |---------------------------------------------------|
Skills |---------------------------------------------------|
Experience |---------------------------------------------------|
Potential |---------------------------------------------------|

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1. Other comments:

Interviewer________________________________
Date_____________________________________

Recruitment Interview -Appendix II

Soft Skills Assessment

A. OBJECTIVES OF INTERVIEW
 Assess the candidate's interpersonal skills.

 Determine how the candidate makes decisions and evaluate his/her judgement
processes.

 Appraise the candidate's personal style / perception of oneself / leadership skills.

 Evaluate whether the candidate's personal characteristics will match with our
organizational needs.

B. INTRODUCTIONS

Review the following with the candidate:
 This interview will help us to better understand you as a person and to determine
your working style; consequently, there are no right or wrong answers.

 It will also help us to make sure that your personality will be a good match for our
company.

 You will have an opportunity to clarify any questions that you might have about the
position.

C. CAREER ASPIRATIONS

4. How would you describe your ideal job?

5. What job or position are you aiming for in three to five years' time?

6. What do you consider your single greatest achievement?

7. What are the things that motivate you?

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8. What are your career ambitions?

D. INTERPERSONAL SKILLS

1. 1.What do you expect most from people you manage?

2. What are some of the things that frustrate you most with people you manage?

3. What are some of the things that frustrate you most about the people you report to?

4. How would you describe the different roles of managers and staff in a good working
relationship?

5. What traits or qualities do you admire most in others?

6. What personal qualities do you look for in assessing people for employment or
promotion?

7. Do you tend to lead by example or instruction?

8. What techniques do you use to motivate others?

9. Do you usually keep a tight or a loose rein over those that you manage?

How has it changed over the past years?

10. To what extent do you socialize with co-workers after hours?

11. How do you handle confrontation?

E. DECISION-MAKING / JUDGEMENT PROCESSES

1. Tell me about a situation where you made a wrong decision.
2. What did you learn from it?

3. Were there other alternatives you considered at the time?
___No ___Yes, what were they?
4.
5. What types of decisions do you find most difficult to make?

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6. How would you balance the need to meet both deadlines and quality standards when only
one can be met?

7. In what areas have you improved your management style over the past few years?

8. What techniques do you use when influencing others to accept your viewpoint?

9. How do you decide what work to delegate?

10. How do you monitor work that you have delegated?

How has your style changed in the past few years?

11. When you assign responsibilities to your staff, when would you also grant authority?

12. Have you ever been in a situation where you reported to more than one person and each
gave you instructions that conflicted with the other? How did you handle it? (If none,
use hypothetical)

13. What would you do if you were in a business meeting and a senior person made a decision
about something that affected you and with which you strongly disagreed?

14. How would you adapt to working in an unstructured environment?

15. What types of work pressure do you consider unnecessary?

F. PERSONAL STYLE / PERCEPTION OF ONESELF / LEADERSHIP SKILLS

1. How would others describe your management style?

2. If you were asked to participate in a project team at work, what functional role would
be your natural style? (Why?)

3. Would you say you were more people ___% or task ___% oriented? What percentage
would you give to each?

4. What do you think are your two greatest strengths?
1.

2.

5. What do you think are your two most significant weaknesses?
1.

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2.

6. When we ask the person you will use as a reference, what will he/she say are your two
greatest strengths?

7. What will he/she say are your two most significant weaknesses?

8. What would your wife / husband / partner say are your weaknesses?

9. How would you describe your ability to make oral presentations?

10. How would you compare your verbal skills to your writing skills?

11. Would you say you are naturally well organized or do you have to work at it?

12. In what areas do you procrastinate at work?
Did they correctly understand? ___Yes ___No - Ask again explaining: For example, put
things off.

13. When your projects are substantially completed,
___Do you tend to stay with it to finish off all the open items? Or
___Do you generally move on to other matters letting others deal with the remaining
open items?

14. How would you define a leader?

15. Describe your leadership skills:

16. In which specific areas do you think your leadership skills could be improved?

17. Describe a situation where you successfully made a change based on an idea of your
own?

Use one or more of the following to expand as appropriate to the situation:

18. What were the benefits of your idea to others (or the business)?

19. What was the initial response of others to your idea?

20. How did you persuade others to follow your idea?

21. What was the investment vs. the return for your idea?

22. What was your involvement in the actual change?

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23. What type of activities are you involved in outside work?

24. On a regular basis outside work, what do you read for general information or
enjoyment?

25. Do you tend to socialize with a small group of close friends or a large group of
acquaintances?

26. How would you describe your ability at small talk?

27. Do you prefer:
___Peace and quiet, such as when reading a good book?
___Noise and activity with lots of people around you?

28. How would your close friends describe you?

29. How would you describe your sense of humor?

30. What are the most significant stresses in your life now?

31. What did you do to prepare for this interview?

G. PERCEPTIONS OF THIS JOB

1. Describe this job, as you understand it.
Interviewer - Did they have:
___Good understanding, no clarification needed.
___Some misunderstanding, clarification needed.

2. What do you see as the most important challenges for you in this job?

3. Describe the personal skills that you can bring to this position, which you think our
company/property needs.

4. What do you see as your personal weaknesses or soft spots as they relate to what
you think the company needs?

5. What do you see in this job that is of particular interest to you?

6. What are your views on the salary level for this position?

7. What would you consider a good salary increase after one year?

8. In a potential interview with the company, what would you be looking for that might
indicate that this is not the right position or company for you?

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___Had not thought about it.

9. How would you evaluate your success in this job after one year?

10. Is there something important about you that we haven't talked about?

11. Is there anything you want to know about this job that we haven't already covered?
___N

H. END OF INTERVIEW

Interviewer: Do you think the candidate should be included on the shortlist?

If YES or PERHAPS - Ask:

1. Who will be your reference from your most recent job?
_____________________________
Position___________________________________
How long have you worked for this person?_____________
Do we have permission to contact them to confirm your information? ___Yes
___No
Telephone_________________________________ ___Home ___Work

2. Who will be your reference from a previous job?
__________________________________
Position___________________________
Company_______________________________
How long have you known this person?______________
When did you last talk to them and for what reason?
Do we have permission to contact them to confirm your information? ___Yes ___No

3. 3.Who will be your reference at a personal level?
_____________________________
Relationship___________________________________
How long have you known this person?_____________
Do we have permission to contact to confirm your information? ___Yes ___No

4. What copies of certificates / diplomas / etc. do we need? ___None

5. Are you currently considering any other job offer? ___No ___Yes
When do you have to decide on the other job?

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How would you compare the other job to this one?

6. How do we contact you during the next two weeks?

7. Interviewer, explain:
8. Where they stand in the interviewing process. Do we have more people to interview?

9. When will we let them know what happens next?

10. How will we let them know?

11. Who will conduct the [next] interviews?

12. How many people will be involved in the [next] interviews?

13. Will the candidate need to prepare any material for the [next] interviews?
14. Give them your business card and tell them to call you if they have any questions.

NO Tell them why and explain here:

Interviewer ___________________________________
Date________________ Time_______

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Recruitment Interview Appendix - III

Reference Check

Calling the Former Employer:

Calling is a better way to check references than writing because people will sometimes
tell us information that they don't want to put in writing.

Here are some tips:
 Whatever you ask, be sure it is job related.
 Call once to schedule the reference check, call back when you say you will.
 Allot plenty of time.
 Tell the reference clearly about the position the candidate is applying for and it's
responsibilities.
 Take good notes during the conversation.
 Sum up at the end and be sure to thank the reference for the information.

Employment Reference Phone Script

__________ has applied for a position with our organisation, you were listed as a
former employer. The candidate authorizes you to give us the following information.

Would you please verify that __________ worked for your company from ___ to
_____.

What was the _______________ job title.

Could you please give us a brief description of the responsibilities handled?

Please verify that the pay was _____________?

Would you rehire ______________?

What were ___________'s major contributions while in your employment?

Did _____________ get along with bosses, subordinates and peers?

What was the reason given for leaving your employ?

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Do you recommend ___________ for the position of _____________. The
responsibilities of the position are ___________________.

Do you think __________________ will be effective in this position.

Can you tell us the potential problem areas/ weaknesses of __________________.
Thanks for taking the time to speak with me. Is there anything else that you think I
might find helpful in making a hiring decision with respect to __________?

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Recruitment Interview Appendix - III

Reference Check

Personal Reference Check:

Personal Reference Phone Script

__________ has applied for a position with our organisation, you were listed as a
former employer. The candidate authorizes you to give us the following information.

How long have you known _______________?

What is the nature of your relationship?

Do you recommend ___________ for the position of _____________. The
responsibilities of the position are ___________________.

Why do you think __________ would be a good choice for this position?

Do you know of any reasons that could prevent _________ performing the functions of
the position?

When did ___________ contact you last and for what reason?

Any other information that you would like to share with us?

Thank you for your time.

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Recruitment Interview Appendix IV

Guideline for Peer/ Direct Report Assessment Meeting

A. Objectives of the meeting:

1. To determine the executive's suitability to fit into our culture.
2. To provide an opportunity to the potential executive to know the company better.
3. To provide an opportunity to the peers and direct reports to have a say in the
recruitment decisions of the company.

B. Meeting Guideline

1. Meeting should be conducted in an informal atmosphere in a quiet place away from any
disturbances.
2. Meeting should be conducted in a semi structured interview format.
3. Meeting should last for approximately 45mins to 1hr.
4. Meeting should take down notes during the course of the interview, help summarize the
interview and form an opinion.
5. Assessors should be objective and non-judgmental during the interview.
6. The form provided should be filled immediately after the interview and handed over to
the General Manager or the person designated in a sealed envelope. This should be done
individually and not in consultation with others.

C. Meeting Process

1. Preparation:

 As a representative of company, it is important that those communicating with the
applicant create a favorable impression. This impression formed during the visit may
have profound impact on the candidate's subsequent decision whether to accept or
decline the job offer.
 A timeline for the meetings should be established while paying enough attention to
making the candidate as welcome and comfortable as possible.
 GM or an Ex-Com member prior to the interviewing process should take the candidate on
a property tour.

In preparation of the meeting, those participating in the selection process should:

 Ensure interview questions are based on pre-established criteria;

 Review interviewing guidelines for effective interview techniques;

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 Review resume, CV and other related material submitted, noting areas that require
clarification, etc.,

2. Interviews

 Find out about the candidate's education (general & specific), experience, and
knowledge before he/she before the interview.
 Spend more time focusing on interpersonal skills than intellectual qualifications.
 Do not in anyway be overbearing, remember that you are interviewing a professional.
 Determine the difference between overall success and the candidate's input or
contribution to that success.
 Take notes during the interview. Make sure you record both positives and negatives,
starting from the outset of the interview, to help you make your recommendations after
the interview.
 Answer honestly to all questions put by the candidate.
 Always end the meeting on a positive note.

3. Post Interview Feedback

Please write down your feedback in the following formats and hand it over in a sealed
envelope to the responsible authority. Please fill this immediately after the interview,
do not discuss this with colleagues.

Name Of the Candidate:

Position being interviewed:

Date:

Interview Duration:

Location:

Your Assessment:

Your name:

Signature:

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INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
A LIST OF TESTED QUESTIONS
 WARM-UP QUESTIONS
 WORK HISTORY
 JOB PERFORMANCE
 EDUCATION
 CAREER GOALS
 SELF-ASSESSMENT
 CREATIVITY
 DECISIVENESS
 RANGE OF INTERESTS
 MOTIVATION
 WORK STANDARDS
 LEADERSHIP
 ORAL PRESENTATION SKILLS
 WRITTEN COMMUNICATION SKILLS
 FLEXIBILITY
 STRESS TOLERANCE
 STABILITY & MATURITY
 INTEREST IN SELF DEVELOPMENT
WARM-UP QUESTIONS
 How do you like the property? What are your first impressions of the property?
 What made you apply for a job with this company?
 How did you hear about this job opening?
 Briefly, would you summarize your work history & education for me?
WORK HISTORY
 What special aspects of your work experience have prepared you for this job?
 Can you describe for me one or two of your most important accomplishments?
 Describe for me one or two of the biggest disappointments in your work history?
 Why are you leaving your present job? (or, Why did you leave your last job?)
 What is important to you in a company? What things do you look for in an
organization?
JOB PERFORMANCE
 Everyone has strengths & weaknesses as executives. What are your strong points
for this job?
 When you have been told , or discovered for yourself , a problem in your area of
work, what have you typically done? Can you give me an example?
 Do you prefer working alone or in groups?
 What kind of people do you find it most difficult to work with? Why?
 Can you give me an example of your ability to manage people and situations?
 In your previous job what kind of pressures did you encounter?
 What would you say is the most important thing you are looking for in a job?
 What are some of the things on your job you feel you have done particularly well or
in which you have achieved the greatest success? Why do you feel this way?

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 What were some of the things about your last job that you found most difficult to
do?
 What are some of the problems you encounter in doing your job? Which one
frustrates you the most? What do you usually do about it?
 What are some things you particularly liked about your last job?

EDUCATION
 What special aspects of your education or training have prepared you for this job?
CAREER- GOALS
 What is your long-term career objective?
 How does this job fit in with your overall career goals?
 Who or what in your life would you say influenced you most with your career
objectives?
 Can you pinpoint any specific things in your past experience that affected your
present career objectives?
 What would you most like to accomplish if you had this job?
 What might make you leave this job?
SELF-ASSESSMENT
 What kind of things do you feel most confident in doing?
 Can you describe a difficult obstacle you have had to overcome? How did you handle
it? How would you describe yourself as a person?
 What do you think are the most important characteristics & abilities a person must
possess to become a successful ( )? How do you rate yourself in these areas?
 What do you consider to be your greatest achievements to date? Why?
 What things give you the greatest satisfaction at work?
 What things frustrate you the most? How do you usually cope with them?
CREATIVITY
 In your work experience, what have you done that you consider truly creative?
 Can you think of a problem you have encountered when the old solutions didn't work
& when you came up with new solutions?
 What kind of problems have people recently called on you to solve?
DECISIVENESS
 Do you consider yourself to be thoughtful, analytical or do you usually make up your
mind fast?
 What was your most difficult decision in the last six months? What made it
difficult?
 What was the last major problem that you were confronted with? What action did
you take on it?
RANGE OF INTERESTS
 What organizations do you belong to?
 What are your other interests?
 How do you keep up with what's going on in your company / your industry/ your
profession?
MOTIVATION
 What is your professional goal?

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 What motivates you ?
 What constitutes top priorities in the performance of your job.
WORK STANDARDS
 What are your standards of success in your job?
 In your area of work, how would you define doing a good job?
 When judging the performance of your subordinate, what factors or characteristics
are most important to you?
LEADERSHIP
 In your present job what approach do you take to get your people together to
establish a common approach to a problem?
 What approach do you take in getting your people to accept your ideas or
department goals?
 What specially do you do to set an example for your employees?
 How frequently do you meet with your immediate subordinates as a group?
 What sort of leader do your people feel you are? Are you satisfied?
 How do you get people who do not want to work together to establish a common
approach to a problem?
 If you do not have much time & they hold seriously differing views, what would be
your approach?
 How would you describe your basic leadership style? How do you practice this?
 Do you feel you work more effectively on a one to one basis or in a group situation?
 Have you ever led a task force or committee or any group who doesn't report to you,
but from whom you have to get work? How did you do it? What were the
satisfactions & disappointments

ORAL PRESENTATION SKILLS
 Have you ever done any public or group speaking? Recently? Why? How did it go?
 Have you made any individual presentations recently? How do you prepare?

FLEXIBILITY
 What was the most important idea or suggestion you received recently from your
employees? What happened as a result?
 What do you think about the continuous changes in company operating policies &
procedures?
 How effective has your company been in adapting its policies to fit a changing
environment?
 What was the most significant change made in your company in the last six months
which directly affected you, & how successfully do you think you implemented this
change?
STRESS TOLERANCE
 Do you feel pressure in your job?
 What has been the highest pressure situation you have been under in recent years?
How did you cope with it?

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STABILITY & MATURITY
 Describe your most significant success & failure in the last two years.
 What do you like to do best?
 What do you like to do least?
INTEREST IN SELF DEVELOPMENT
 What has been the most important person or event in your own self-development?
 What kind of books & other publications do you read?
 Have you taken a management development course?
 How are you helping your subordinates develop themselves?

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Recruitment interview procedure (1)

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