A model to predict the outcome of a job interview

A model to predict the outcome of a job interview.

Career professionals, once offered a job interview appointment, want to know the probability of being offered the advertised position.

The ability to predict the outcome of a job interview can help a candidate decide whether or not to attend the job interview or, more importantly, allows them to reflect on what aspects of the job interview they need to improve to increase job postings for positions that have the related skills, competencies, and confidences.

The interviewer makes hiring decisions based on logic: The analytical process of a job interview is designed to predict future job performance.

However, decision making is a two system process. Logical part – slower analytical process and emotional – quick judgments based on stereotypes and prejudices.

Thus, an employee applying for the same position, within the same organizations, who gives the same level of detailed response to the same set of job interview questions may receive different scores if interviewed by two different hiring managers.

There is a two-step process for forming an applicant’s opinions at a job interview;

• unconscious biases

• Identity Interview

Job interview biases.

An initial impression of an applicant is created once the interviewee is introduced to the employer. The impression is emotional: a presentiment, where unconscious stereotypes and prejudices affect the formation of the interviewer’s perception.

Many varied stimuli trigger unconscious bias, some favoring an applicant while others create a negative opinion. Research has shown how an applicant’s weight, ethnicity, age, religion, attractiveness or background can be used, subconsciously, to form an opinion about the interviewee.

Having common ground can increase likability between employer and applicant, which increases potential job interview question score (affinity base) and reciprocal liking, liking someone more because they like you also creates a good relationship.

Being seen as ‘attractive’ improves the hiring manager’s opinion of applicants, even increasing the level of trust they have in the applicant.

And hearing how a candidate is a strong candidate, for an internal promotion interview, can sow the idea of ​​the suitability of said candidate creating the ‘halo effect’.

Association is a powerful bias. The religious bias investigation found how an applicant who changed his name from ‘Mohammed’ to ‘Mo’ increased the number of interview offers he received. And age, race, and gender are well documented to either increase or decrease each applicant’s opinion of the advertised position for which he is applying.

An example of this is how women applying for traditionally male roles are seen as less suitable than a male candidate.

The power of the subconscious in a job interview.

This initial opinion is not a conscious thought. The employer, in many cases, is unaware of the unconscious bias that has come into play.

The interviewer, in the female example applying for a male job, is not sexist. Instead, unconscious bias slightly affects how the applicant is scored during the job interview. With many quotes being made about the difference of a few minor points between the successful applicant and the second choice, therefore this set of points can make all the difference.

Employer reactions to a stereotype.

Some people have an ‘isum’; sexist, ageist, racist and many other isms. We lump these people together as aware and don’t care: If an applicant has a stimulus that the employer doesn’t like, it would be difficult to change their initial opinion of the applicant, even when evidence contradicting their belief has been presented.

Conscious and careful: This is when an unconscious bias becomes clear (the interviewer realizes that they like and dislike an applicant that is not based on logical reasoning). By being mindful, the interviewer can challenge themselves (or being mindful may be enough to adjust how they rate the applicant). If for example, a recruiter made a negative opinion of a candidate based on the candidate being obsessive (a study was completed where applications were submitted with a candidate’s photo. Half were submitted with a picture of an obsessive candidate and half another half were sent with a picture of an “average” weight applicant. The experiment found that overweight applicants were less likely to get a job interview offer), they may ask if an applicant’s weight is important to the job in question. Or find examples of an overweight employee who is very successful in their field.

In some cases, the stimulus has no effect on the interviewer’s decision-making process. Stereotypes and prejudices are formed through experiences and beliefs and the culture from which a person has grown up. If, for example, an employer grew up in a household where men and women were viewed as equals and gender was never questioned, it would be rare for the employer to be sexist: unaware and unaffected. (but the interviewer could be affected by a second bias)

The structured job interview.

The Structured Job Interview has been designed to use an analytical process to help create a ‘fair’ job interview process.

In a structured job interview, each applicant is asked the same interview questions based on the criteria of the job posting. Guidance is provided to each interviewer on how to score each interview question based on the perceived level of applicants’ competencies using a numerical scoring system.

It is during the initial interview responses that applicants can help change employers’ perception of them. If, for example, the applicant’s style of dress, body language, and communication styles have created an impression of “unprofessional,” the applicant has a short window to override this initial impression.

For a ‘knowing and not caring’ employer, changing a deeply held belief can be very difficult.

Analyzing people is difficult and stressful. This is the reason why the mind resorts to schemes, stereotypes and prejudices of the past, to make decision making an easier process.

Initially, the employer, at the beginning of the job interview, will consciously analyze the candidate’s verbal and non-verbal communication to guess the suitability of the interviewee based on their perceived level of knowledge/experience and confidence.

Within the first 2 interview questions, the data (opinion) received will create a new interview identity, which becomes the filter for all upcoming job interview answers. This is similar to the process behind ‘affinity bias’: an association has been made that changes the way an applicant is scored within the job interview.

Identity Interview

It is the applicant’s perceived level of industry knowledge and sector experience versus their level of confidence in the interview, when combined, that forms the ‘interview identity’. This has little to do with how well an employee performs in the actual workplace; as this cannot be observed in a job interview, it is therefore how applicants’ interview performance is measured against the requirements for the advertised job position.

Interview prediction test:

To Verify Your Job Interview Identity: How An Employer Sees You, read the 4 statements under each subheading and choose the one that most closely resembles you.

LEVEL OF KNOWLEDGE/EXPERIENCE

Specialized experience/knowledge

4 points: more than 10 years of experience in the sector; able to draw on industry-related academic research that contributes to the field

3 Points – 3-10 years of industry experience; experienced in implementing proven theories and models in business as usual

2 points – 1-3 years of relevant experience; academic level of industry knowledge with no experience applying concepts to daily tasks

1 Point – No experience; has soft skills; communication, teamwork, problem solving

academic ability

4 points – Master’s – Doctorate/Postgraduate degrees (Level 7-8) Industry professional qualification (for example, a chartered engineer)

3 Points – Graduate Level Qualification through Bachelor’s (Level 6)

2 Points – Graduate – up to Higher National Diploma (Level 4-5)

1 point – GCSE/A-Level (Level 2-3) or below

Read the following 4 statements under each subheading and choose the one that sounds best to you. Add both points together and for an odd number result round down to the nearest even number

CONFIDENCE LEVEL

Self esteem

4 Points – A self-promoter fully aware of his experience. He demands to be treated with authority and respect, and will challenge anyone with conflicting opinions.

3 Points – Believe in your ability, recognize your own skill set, and will discuss strengths when asked

2 points – Aware of both strengths and areas for development, but can easily reveal weaknesses and mistakes without prompting from others

1 point: You have a negative view of your abilities and lack self-esteem.

communication style

4 points: Get noticed and dominate meetings. Complex ideas are explained clearly and competently by combining statistics with examples. Able to influence others to adopt a new point of view, using logic and reasoning to overcome barriers to objections.

3 points: Speaks with authority, presents ideas within a structure, and uses vocal variety to maintain interest. Able to debate a technical topic, clearly arguing points while expressing own ideas.

2 points: Can discuss a familiar topic when asked, but finds it difficult to respond when challenged. He feels tense when explaining new concepts, however, with comfortable topics he speaks clearly and varies his tone and volume.

1 Point – You feel nervous when you are the center of attention. Communication is weak due to hesitation, excessive filler words, low volume, and short, concise sentences.

You will now have two figures; one indicating her knowledge/experience level and the second, her confidence level. Their combined score indicates her identity in the interview.

Once an interview identity has been chosen, a description is provided that explains how an employer views this interview identity, and its strengths and areas for development.

For a full overview of your interview identity, click the Interview Prediction Grid.