Job interview

Selection – what can you expect?

During the selection process, the employer examines candidates for a vacant position based on different conditions and expectations. It ranks them according to who - based on their involvement in the selection process - are the ones that are most likely to succeed when they fill that position. The selection process for different companies can be very diverse and depends on many things (company size, profile, management expectations, organizational culture, experience, traditions) but the goal is always to get the most suitable candidate (s) to the company.

 


Steps of selection and the most commonly used selection tools

I. Curriculum vitae (CV) and motivation/cover letter

After the application closes, on the basis of the received CVs and motivation letters, those who do not meet the basic criteria (eg. education, qualifications) are screened out, ie. the range of potential candidates is determined.
Therefore, when applying for a job, it is very important to send a well-written resume and draw your attention with your motivation letter. Lack of this can result in us dropping out in the first round, meaning we won’t even have a chance to prove we’re the best fit.
 

II. Interview

Most of the selection process involves a personal conversation, as the impressions created during the personal contact and the meeting cannot be replaced by paper-based screenings. However, there are many types of interviews, and which ones we find ourselves facing in a job application can vary from company to company (or even job to job).
 
There are basically two types of interviews: the structured and the unstructured interview.
 
a) During an unstructured interview, the interviewer does not pre-determine the course of the interview. Its process is similar to an informal conversation, during which the interviewee has the opportunity to influence the direction of the interview, to highlight his or her strengths that he or she considers important.
b) During a structured interview, the interviewer directs the conversation in a pre-determined way and according to a system.

 

Types of Interview:

a) Professional interview

The emphasis is on the schools, training, work experience and, above all the knowledge, skills and competencies currently applicable.
 
 
b) Panel interview
 
Several interviewers ask the applicant, divided in advance who is looking at what area. In general, professional knowledge plays a key role because the main strength of a panel interview is that it reduces the impact of personal impression, increasing objectivity by involving more actors.
 
 
c) Interview series
 
The applicant will be interviewed by several people (separately) with whom he/she will have to work or have a working relationship if hired. Upon completion, the interviewers discuss their experiences; they examine how well each candidate is fit to fill the position, how well they fit into the company.
 
 
d) Behavioral interview
 
Its essence is that past actions affect future ones. Therefore, the interviewer asks about specific events that have taken place and draws conclusions from this.
 
 
e) Stress interview
 
The interviewee's stress tolerance, problem-solving, and situation management skills are examined, not knowledge or professional experience. During the interview, the applicant is put in an awkward position and their reaction to that situation is examined. Such an awkward situation can be, for example, a glass of water poured on the table, indecent, intrusive questions, a falling chair, an irritated question, and so on.
 

 III. Writing test

Test writing is used by companies because it is a fast and objective method of measuring different abilities or attributes and can be used to easily rank applicants. There are several types of this as well:

 
a) Aptitude tests, during which the employer tries to shed light on the applicant's abilities (capabilities)
 
b) Intelligence tests, which measure the tester's mental abilities and prior knowledge (mental abilities)
 
c) Special aptitude tests that measure aptitude (suitability)
 
d) “On the Job” tests, which can also be called job tests, because the candidate is asked to perform the tasks of the job to be filled and this is examined (working test)
 
e) Personality tests try to map the human factors influencing behavior, such as emotions, personality, perspective (such tests should only be performed by professionals in a relevant field, usually psychology)

 


 IV. Assessment Center  (AC)

The essence of the method is a system operating within an organized framework, which includes in an integrated form all the techniques aimed at “screening” the individual. Typically, with a group of 4-7 candidates, external experts, psychologists, and pre-trained in-house professionals (usually professional leaders) who are familiar with the job to be filled will conduct a specially prepared set of tests and exercises in teamwork. Their behavior and reactions are observed, they are often even videotaped and then evaluated during and after the program.

 
It is an extremely reliable method, giving a comprehensive and in-depth evaluation of the applicants, so the probability of success of the selected individual is very high. The special feature of AC is that it means not only an assessment of the candidate's emerging abilities, skills and behaviors, but also what latent reserves and opportunities there are that could be brought to the surface through training or other means.
 
Experts believe that, especially for key management positions, the AC method is the most effective, the “non plus ultra” of selection methods.
 
However, as it is very costly and time consuming, its use is usually justified for complex jobs requiring a wide range of knowledge and skills. It is even less used in Hungary, but it is spreading.
 

 V. Graphological examination

Graphological analysis can also be a selection method used by employers. This form can only be encountered by the employee in the case of managerial applications, but it does not hurt to know what it is all about.

In this case, a handwritten text is requested from the applicant (it is possible to ask even for a CV in this form), and this is examined by the appropriate specialist, who tries to map the applicant's personality traits, characteristics, motivations exclusively for the job.
 
The employer can then compare the analysis with what is expected to successfully fill the job.
 

Advices

If we get past the first stage of the selection process, that is, after submitting our resume and motivation letter we are invited to the company for an interview, it can be useful to do a few things:

  • It is not possible to prepare for selection methods that examine our personality, we are “as we are” and such tests are a very difficult and prepared thing to manipulate, not to mention that it might not even be worthwhile to look completely different and then disappoint the employer and ourselves later on
  • However, the situation is different with the methods that test our professional knowledge. We can prepare specifically from professional material related to the company profile; and it is also worth preparing because this is usually one of the most weighted aspects of the selection process.
  • We can make a good impression in an interview if we know a few things about a given company, we don’t go there completely unfamiliarly. In the age of the Internet, it is not a big problem to look up the main profile and organizational structure of a company.
  • Before the personal meeting let's look at the wages related to the job to be filled and our profession in the labor market, so that the possible question of how much salary we were thinking about does not come unexpectedly

 


Source:

www.hrportal.hu
www.grafologusok.hu
www.job-center.hu

angol