{"id":22612,"date":"2021-07-02T12:19:30","date_gmt":"2021-07-02T16:19:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cpa.ca\/psychology-works-fact-sheet-preparing-for-an-interview\/"},"modified":"2024-11-27T13:36:08","modified_gmt":"2024-11-27T18:36:08","slug":"psychology-works-fact-sheet-preparing-for-an-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cpa.ca\/fr\/psychology-works-fact-sheet-preparing-for-an-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cPsychology Works\u201d Resource: Preparing for an Interview"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>What to expect from an interview<\/h2>\n<p>A job interview is a social interaction between two or more individuals, (1) interviewer(s), and (2) a job applicant. Before an interview, it is likely that the interviewer and the job applicant know very little about each other. They have likely never met before, and the majority of the information would have come from the applicant\u2019s resume, a pre-interview test results, or some initial correspondence via email or telephone.<\/p>\n<p>As such, the interview process is a tool to gather additional information so both parties can make an informed decision about whether they want to continue or start an employment relationship.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For example, the interviewer is trying to assess two key \u201celements of fit\u201d:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Person-job fit: based on skills and experience<\/strong>, is the applicant qualified to perform the duties of the position?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Person-organization fit: based on personality and values<\/strong>, will the applicant be a good fit with the company&#8217;s values, culture and preferences or interest?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>At the same time, the applicant is trying to understand whether they will feel comfortable in that job\/position and happy working for that organization, so they are also assessing the organization as a potential partner for this employment relationship. To promote themselves as a great place to work, the organization may highlight positive aspects about the job, the working conditions, and other organizational benefits during the interview.<\/p>\n<p><strong>During an interview, there is often some embellishment on both sides. For<\/strong> a job applicant, there is an incentive to put your best foot forward, which can lead to exaggeration or dishonesty about your skills or experience. In the same way, some organizations may embellish about the position, organization or benefits in order to recruit the best potential candidate.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, there is a time element on all of this. There is a lot of information being shared in usually less than an hour. So there are cognitive demands on both sides to do a lot of things in a very limited amount of time.<\/p>\n<p>Interviews can vary in a number of different ways, including format, interviewer(s), and medium:<\/p>\n<table width=\"666\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"4\" width=\"666\">\n<h3><em>Format<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"147\"><strong><em>Type<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"171\"><strong><em>Brief Description<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"169\"><strong><em>Pros<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"179\"><strong><em>Cons<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"147\">One-to-One<\/td>\n<td width=\"171\">One internal interviewer from the hiring organization<\/td>\n<td width=\"169\">Most common type of interview, making the format more predictable<\/td>\n<td width=\"179\">Singular perspective\/assessment; more potential for bias<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"147\">Panel<\/td>\n<td width=\"171\">Multiple interviewers from the hiring organization<\/td>\n<td width=\"169\">More diverse perspectives\/less bias, can share tasks and responsibilities among interviewers<\/td>\n<td width=\"179\">More cognitively demanding for applicants to interact with multiple interviewers<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"147\">Group<\/td>\n<td width=\"171\">Multiple applicants interviewing at the same time with one or more interviewers (e.g. for large organizations)<\/td>\n<td width=\"169\">Cheaper for the hiring organization; chance to \u201ccheck\u201d the competition for applicants<\/td>\n<td width=\"179\">May be more stressful for the applicant; fewer opportunities to put \u201cyour best foot forward\u201d when being assessed alongside other applicants<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"147\">Serial<\/td>\n<td width=\"171\">Back-to-back interviews at the same organization but with different interviewers<\/td>\n<td width=\"169\">Opportunity to gather different perspectives for the hiring organizations. Chance to meet with more people to assess the company for the applicant<\/td>\n<td width=\"179\">Cognitively demanding for the applicant; can be confusing as to who\/what you said in each interview; requires a lot of preparation<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<table width=\"666\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"4\" width=\"666\">\n<h3><em>Interviewer(s)<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"147\"><strong><em>Type<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"171\"><strong><em>Brief Description<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"169\"><strong><em>Pros<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"179\"><strong><em>Cons<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"147\">Supervisors\/Colleagues<\/td>\n<td width=\"171\">Future supervisor or potential colleagues<\/td>\n<td width=\"169\">Opportunity to highlight in-depth expertise and background\u00a0 (e.g. use of jargon and\/or technical terms)<\/td>\n<td width=\"179\">Not always interview experts, which can lead to\u00a0 interview being conducted in a very unstandardized way or introduce different types of bias<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"147\">HR Professionals\/<\/p>\n<p>I\/O Psychology Consultants<\/td>\n<td width=\"171\">External professionals with expertise in interviewing\/HR processes<\/td>\n<td width=\"169\">Expertise in how to conduct and\/or design fair and appropriate interview assessments; more structured, less bias<\/td>\n<td width=\"179\">Not experts in the job\/subject matter, so language needs to be adapted (avoiding jargon and\/or technical terms)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<table width=\"666\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"4\" width=\"666\">\n<h3><em>Medium<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"147\"><strong><em>Type<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"171\"><strong><em>Brief Description<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"169\"><strong><em>Pros<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"179\"><strong><em>Cons<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"147\">In-person<\/td>\n<td width=\"171\">Face-to-face meetings between interviewer and candidate<\/td>\n<td width=\"169\">More room to clarify\/expand on answers; opportunity to develop rapport and give-off a great impression using non-verbal cues<\/td>\n<td width=\"179\">Heightened pressure\/interview anxiety; difficulties with scheduling and more costly<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"147\">Phone<\/td>\n<td width=\"171\">Interview over the phone<\/td>\n<td width=\"169\">May mitigate some interview anxiety; eliminates geographic distance<\/td>\n<td width=\"179\">Less time to \u201csell yourself\u201d; difficulties building rapport, zero non-verbal element<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"147\">Synchronous Video<\/td>\n<td width=\"171\">Live\/video-conference interv<strong>i<\/strong>ew<\/td>\n<td width=\"169\">Similar to in-person, but more flexible and cheaper\/easier to schedule<\/td>\n<td width=\"179\">Risk of technical issues, poor internet connection, limited non-verbal elements<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"147\">Asynchronous Video<\/td>\n<td width=\"171\">Recorded video format<\/td>\n<td width=\"169\">Most flexible option (can complete where and when you want). Very standardized and thus fair by default<\/td>\n<td width=\"179\">Risk of technical issues, no interaction with an interviewer (so no verbal or non-verbal feedback), no opportunity to probe or follow-up<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2>What kinds of questions can be asked?<\/h2>\n<h3>(1)\u00a0\u00a0 Traditional \/ Popular<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Examples<\/em>: \u201cwhat is your main weakness?\u201d what is your main strength? where do you see yourself in 5 years? why should we hire you?\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Reatively easy to prepare because they are quite generic (a quick \u201cgoogle\u201d to find most common questions should do the trick!)<\/li>\n<li>Can be considered as poor\/sub-optimal interviewing techniques<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>(2)\u00a0\u00a0 Knowledge-based<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Examples<\/em>: \u201cwhat is the best technique to deal with\u2026\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Focused on job-specific questions, such as tools, techniques, methods, concepts, etc.<\/li>\n<li>As an expert in the field, you should have the background and expertise to answer these types of questions quite easily<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>(3)\u00a0\u00a0 Past-behavioural<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Example<\/em>: \u201ctell us about a time when you\u2019ve dealt with\/experienced\u2026.?\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Based on actual behaviour \u2013 asked to reflect on what you have done in the past, ideally in a workplace or school-based context, to demonstrate whether you possess job-relevant skills or abilities<\/li>\n<li>Aims to assess if you have specific skill(s) such as leadership, communication, problem solving, time management and stress management \u2013 the question is often matched to the type of skill they are trying to assess.<\/li>\n<li>Can be considered as a \u201cbest practice\u201d for interviewing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>(4)\u00a0\u00a0 Situational<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Example<\/em>: \u201cimagine that you are working in\u2026?\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Based on intentions \u2013 aims to assess similar skills as past-behavioural questions by asking how you would handle a specific, hypothethical workplace situation\/issue<\/li>\n<li>May include some kind of dilemma or challenge you to decide between two or more potential alternatives to solve a problem<\/li>\n<li>Usually includes a lot of details to create a specific context, including what the problem is, what you resourcing constraints are, etc.<\/li>\n<li>Can be considered as a \u201cbest practice\u201d for interviewing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>(5)\u00a0\u00a0 Brainteasers<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Example<\/em>: \u201cwhy are manhole covers round? how many ping pong balls can you put in a Boeing 747?\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Not looking for the right answer, but instead, aims to assess your cognitive\/problem-solving processing: how do you react to this weird situation where you have a bit of pressure on you? What kind of logic you do follow?<\/li>\n<li>Can be considered as poor\/sub-optimal interviewing techniques<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>How to prepare for an interview<\/h2>\n<h3>(1)\u00a0\u00a0 Try to identify the \u201cselection criteria\u201d<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Selection criteria is what the company is looking for &#8211; what are the skills, abilities experiences qualifications that they want to assess in this interview?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>How and where?<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>In the <em>job ad<\/em> \u2192 Role description and required qualifications, skills, or experience<\/li>\n<li>On the <em>company<\/em> (career) <em>website<\/em> \u2192 Culture, values, etc.<\/li>\n<li>Reaching out to <em>connections<\/em> within the organization<\/li>\n<li>Using online job descriptions\n<ul>\n<li>O*NET (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.onetonline.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/www.onetonline.org\/<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>NOC (<a href=\"https:\/\/noc.esdc.gc.ca\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/noc.esdc.gc.ca\/<\/a>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>(2)\u00a0\u00a0 Demonstrate how you can match the selection criteria<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Identify potential questions and find a relevant experience<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/docs\/File\/Publications\/FactSheets\/FS_Preparing_For_an_Interview_EN_2021-demo.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>(3)\u00a0\u00a0 Use the STAR technique<\/h3>\n<p>When asked to describe a past experience or emphasize qualifications<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Situation<\/strong> \u2013 What was the context, when did it happen, what problem did you face?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Task<\/strong> \u2013 What was your role, position, or responsibilities (e.g., leadership)?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Action<\/strong> \u2013 How did you react, what action did you take, what decision did you make?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Result<\/strong> \u2013 What was the result or outcome for you, your team, or your organization?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3>(4)\u00a0\u00a0 Use honest impression management tactics<\/h3>\n<p>What does that mean?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Present your skills, abilities, and experiences in a <em>true but positive light<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Emphasize how your beliefs, core values, or personality<em> align<\/em> with the interviewer\u2019s or the organization\u2019s<\/li>\n<li><em>Take responsibility<\/em> of your past errors or failures, but explain what happened, and describe how you learned from these experiences (e.g. providing contexting, such as COVID-19)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>(5)\u00a0\u00a0 Apply effective coping strategies to manage interview anxiety<\/h3>\n<p>Use\u2026<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u2026 emotion-oriented coping strategies (e.g., share your anxiety with others, like friends, family members, partners, colleagues)<\/li>\n<li>\u2026 or problem-oriented coping strategies (e.g., practice, use breathing techniques)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Adapting to video interviews<\/h2>\n<p>As more and more businesses shift to a remote or hybrid working format, a lot of interviews are moving from in-person to video or technology mediated.<\/p>\n<p>Video interviews come in two key formats: (1) synchronous video interviews (SVIs) using tools (e.g. zoom, skype), or (3) asynchronous video interviews (AVIs) using a platform where you actually are invited to go online and answers questions without any live interaction, and then those answers are watched later on by an interviewer.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/docs\/File\/Publications\/FactSheets\/FS_Preparing_For_an_Interview_EN_2021.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<table width=\"680\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"315\"><strong><em>SVIs<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"365\"><strong><em>AVIs<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"315\">\u2022 Live interaction<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\u00a0Similar to in-person<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\u00a0Can be facing a panel of\u00a0 interviewers<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\u00a0Somewhat flexible (location)<\/td>\n<td width=\"365\">\u2022\u00a0Not live (recorded only)<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\u00a0Talking to your camera only a largely novel experience<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\u00a0Multiple raters possible or\u00a0 automatic (AI-based) scoring<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\u00a0Very flexible (location + time)<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\u00a0Preparation or re-recording\u00a0 opportunities<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2>Tips for video interviews<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Use the same 5 tips as with traditional interviews<\/li>\n<li>But also\u2026\n<ol>\n<li>Check your tech (computer, webcam, sound\/mic, internet)<\/li>\n<li>Find the right time and place (quiet, natural light, book enough time, etc.)<\/li>\n<li>Consider your background (no distraction or bias-inducing content)<\/li>\n<li>Use options available to you (preparation time, re-recording)<\/li>\n<li>Practice even more!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>For more information:<\/h2>\n<p><strong>More on the psychology of interviewing from Dr. Nicholas Roulin<\/strong>: \u201cThe Psychology of Job Interviews.\u201d (2017). Taylor &amp; Francis.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.ca\/books\/edition\/The_Psychology_of_Job_Interviews\/RS6EDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&amp;gbpv=0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/www.google.ca\/books\/edition\/The_Psychology_of_Job_Interviews\/RS6EDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&amp;gbpv=0<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>More on video interviewing<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/how-to-land-a-job-when-companies-have-shifted-to-virtual-hiring-144997\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/theconversation.com\/how-to-land-a-job-when-companies-have-shifted-to-virtual-hiring-144997<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>An article on virtual hiring<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/how-to-land-a-job-when-companies-have-shifted-to-virtual-hiring-144997\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/theconversation.com\/how-to-land-a-job-when-companies-have-shifted-to-virtual-hiring-144997<\/a><\/p>\n<p>This fact sheet has been prepared for the Canadian Psychological Association by<em> Dr. Nicholas Roulin, PhD, Associate Professor of I\/O Psychology, Saint Mary\u2019s University<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Date:\u00a0 June 30, 2021.<\/p>\n<p>Your opinion matters! Please contact us with any questions or comments about any of the\u00a0Psychology Works\u00a0Fact Sheets:\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:factsheets@cpa.ca\">factsheets@cpa.ca<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Canadian Psychological Association<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Tel: 613-237-2144<br \/>\nToll free (in Canada): 1-888-472-0657<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What to expect from an interview A job interview is a social interaction between two or more individuals, (1) interviewer(s), and (2) a job applicant. Before an interview, it is likely that the interviewer and the job applicant know very little about each other. They have likely never met before, and the majority of the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[108],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-factsheets-fr"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-24 22:23:29","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cpa.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22612","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cpa.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cpa.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cpa.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cpa.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22612"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/cpa.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22612\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40693,"href":"https:\/\/cpa.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22612\/revisions\/40693"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cpa.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cpa.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cpa.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}