Selection interviewing skills

Overview

This highly participative one-day course has been designed to enable participants to make the right decisions in the recruitment of new staff. The emphasis is on the use of a structured approach where good preparation and effective interviewing techniques ensure that the right candidates are taken on by the organisation.

Training objectives

Having attended this event participants will be better able to:

• Identify the key legislative issues involved in the recruitment process
• Decide upon appropriate selection criteria
• Plan and prepare for the selection process
• Demonstrate the essential skills and techniques required for effective selection interviewing
• Make objective recruitment decisions

Audience

Managers and HR staff who are required to take part in recruitment interviews.

Format

This one-day course is based upon a series of short lecture sessions and the use of a progressive case study to illustrate the various stages in the recruitment process. Participants are given experience in preparation and interviewing techniques and, finally, some practical experience in conducting an interview. In view of the highly inter-active nature of the programme, we recommend a maximum of 12 participants.

The expert trainer

Lesley is a very experienced HR consultant and an extremely accomplished trainer and facilitator. She began her management career working for Marks & Spencer, and later went on to work for the Industrial Society and for Habitat / Mothercare, before founding her own consultancy in 1983, specialising in advising line managers at all levels on human resource and legal issues. Over the last twenty years she has built an impressive client list, ranging across the public sector (eg, local authorities, police authorities and care organisations) and the not-for-profit sector (eg, professional institutes) as well as businesses in the manufacturing, construction, retailing, financial and business services sectors.

A lay member of the Employment Tribunal, Lesley is an award-winning author, with two books and several hundred articles to her credit. She sits on the editorial board of a well-established HR journal and assists in updating the many loose-leaf legal and management guides she has contributed to over the years.

She is a very popular and accomplished trainer, as shown by the following comments from participants in some of her recent courses:

'Good sound advice, clearly structured and illustrated with 'live' examples so easy to understand.'
Boodle Hatfield

'Excellent course. There was a wealth of useful information which will enable the company to improve its policies and procedures.'
GlSDA

'Great course, very helpful. Answered all my questions.'
Gefco UK Ltd

'Good balance of teaching and discussion. Plenty of opportunity to ask questions.'
Merseytravel

Course outline

1. The legal aspects of recruitment
   This session will be used to outline the legal framework governing recruitment and selection. Statutory obligations will be explained, as will the importance of ensuring that all selection procedures are carried out in a fair and non-discriminatory way.
2. Winning the contract
   Using examples, participants will examine the stages of the selection process where the importance of formulating objective criteria against which to select suitable candidates is demonstrated.
   
   Topics covered in this session include:
   • The stages of the selection process
   • Assessing the vacancy
   • Carrying out exit interviews
   • Job descriptions
   • Job specifications
   • Personnel specifications
   • Choosing your selection criteria
   • Placing advertisements
   • Testing
3. Preparing to Interview
   Continuing with worked examples, participants will progress into preparing thoroughly to interview a candidate.
   
   Topics covered include:
   • Using specifications and application forms or CVs
   • Preparing questions
   • Structuring the interview
   • Ensuring that the candidate gets a fair hearing
   • Working with an interview panel
   • Practical exercise in planning and preparing for a selection interview
4. Interviewing techniques
   Interviewing techniques will be developed with the use of a plenary practical session and the worked examples will be further developed to enable participants to carry out a demonstration of a selection interview.
   
   Topics covered include:
   • The physical organisation
   • Opening the interview
   • Stating objectives
   • Structure
   • Getting people talking
   • Questioning techniques
   • Listening skills
   • Controlling the interview
   • Achieving objectives
   • Closing the interview
   • Evaluating information and making decisions
   • Practical exercise in questioning techniques
   • Demonstration of a selection interview
5. Review and close