Term Paper on "Effective Interviewing in the Private Sector"

Term Paper 15 pages (3968 words) Sources: 10 Style: APA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Interviewing in the Private Sector

The objective of this work is to review effective interviewing in the private sector and to write a proposal for research in the area of effective interviewing in the private sector.

In today's globalized business environment, much of the hiring process is geared toward outsourcing or filling positions with individuals who work as 'virtual' assistants and fill some role in the company whether it be payroll, data entry, scheduling, secretarial, or whether fulfilling some other role within the organization. In terms of outsourcing hiring for these positions, new problems present and oftentimes the interviewer never actually meets the potential employee.

STATEMENT of THESIS

In today's business world, specifically in the private sector the interviewing processes that will be most effective for a company will begin with external interviewing and screening then to be followed by internal screening pushed by the outsourcing that is increasingly being used in this business sector on a global basis. Because there is an allowed flexibility in the hiring process in this sector of the business world, the human resources manager must necessarily utilize that flexibility through a many-faceted view of the candidate being considered by the company. Effective interviewing includes documentation that is still useful in the near and realistic future for filling positions that open within the organization. The interviewing process that is efficient is one that is highly systematic and that makes complete documentation of available skills and talents of candidates considered by the company.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Questions that this research will focus upon answering are the questions of: (1) How does today's interviewer determine which candidate is best for the job, which is seeking by the company to be filled? (2) What is 'best practice' for virtual interviewing of potential candidates for employment? (3) What are the most effective interviewing techniques in today's culturally diverse private sector? (4) Are 'structured' interviews better than informal interviews? And if so in what industries of the private sector of business? (5) What are the new processes in interviewing in organizations? (6) What changes has outsourcing brought about in terms of the methods used in the interviewing process in the private sector? (7) What options and theoretical framework presents as the most effective in today's business in the private sector.

METHODOLOGY

The methodology of this research, due to limitations of time will be in the form of a review of available, relevant and peer-reviewed literature relating to this subject area of human resources management interviewing methods.

DATA COLLECTION & ANALYSIS

Data collection and analysis will be through a qualitative review of literature in this subject area and will be in the form of descriptive and interpretive analysis. This analysis will include reporting of quantitative case study findings of published work in this subject area.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Strategic human capital planning "is the process by which an organization takes stock of how its people and people-management activities align with and support that organization's strategic goals." (Develop an Effective Strategic Human Capital Plan, 2006) the successful strategic human capital plan is one that "reflects the outcomes of the agency's systematic, ongoing business-planning. It is mission focused and lays out workforce strategies aimed at strengthening the agency's capacity to deliver on that mission." (Ibid) the work entitled: "Behavioral Interviewing Skills for HR Managers and Recruitment Specialists" states the fact that the human resources manager, recruitment and hiring managers should:

1) Understand why behavioral interviewing will lead to successful hiring at every job level;

2) Identify the behavioral competencies that lead to success in your organization's culture; and 3) Create a pre-interview screening methodology to save time and costs; (4) Develop effective behavior-focused interview questions;" (Develop and Effective Strategic Human Capital Plan, 2006)

This work further asks the question of how the organization might "...ensure a 'talent edge' in the industry?" The answer provided to this question is as follows: "By hiring candidates that exemplify the right values and behaviors to match your organization's unique culture." (Ibid) in the work entitled: "Hiring the Best People for Your Agency" that the legislation established by Congress Department of Homeland Security in November 2002 has granted more flexibility to all Federal Agencies in hiring practices and specifically in their practices of recruiting in that they will be able to use methods similar to those the private sector uses. In other words, there is the flexibility in hiring practices to select the best candidate for the job. This fact illustrates the importance that a company should vest in the interviewing process and in making sure that this process is highly effective. This requires special training in the human resources department and specifically in terms of those in management in charge of interviewing and hiring new employees. In exploring the methods utilized in the private sector it is discovered that the questions asked in the private sector when interviewing are generally inclusive of the following: (1) Tell me about some of the skills you acquired during the course of your college education; (2) Tell me about a recent work experience you found particularly challenging. What obstacles did you overcome and what results did you achieve? (3) Tell me about an occasion where you achieved something as a member of a team. (4) What was your role and how was the project organized? And (5) What factors will influence your decision to accept an offer? (6) What personal skills do you bring to your work, which would be an asset to the working relationships at our firm? (7) Tell me about a time when you had to work under time constraints? How did you get the job done? (8) What have you learned about our firm from others with whom you have spoken? Are there any remaining questions that I might clarify? (9) What are you hoping to gain from working with a firm like ours? (10) What work-related contribution has been most satisfying to you?

However, the effective interviewer will understand how to plan for the interview and how to conduct a thorough and objective interview. Furthermore, the effective interviewer will use effective questioning techniques and ensure compliance with applicable laws. (Effective Interviewing, 2007)

One method for studying the effective interviewing practice is reported in the work entitled: "Effective Workshops for Private Equity Professionals" written by Elaine Yew (2007) the work states that in response to 'increasing interests from clients with whom we have worked closely over a significant period of time" the company, Egon Zehnder International has, in recent years, begun to offer Effective Interviewing Workshops which present the case for a systematic approach to interviewing, and provide a basic overview of the competency-based methodology we use in our assessment of candidates in a search." (Yew, 2006) the workshop lasts one-half of a day and involves approximately one dozen "client team members" which are "all from the same company." The workshop is said to be facilitated "by about three Egon Zehneder International consultants." Used in the workshop is a series of "interview role-plays based on a real case study provided by the client group" with the purpose being the unfolding of "the insights..." And techniques of "competency-based" interviewing. (Yew, 2007)

There are many other interviewing techniques purported to be effective. For example, in the work entitled: "Effective Interviewing: A Handbook of Skills and Techniques" there are three types of interviewing processes which are those of: (1) Conventional; (2) Structured; and (3) Extended. (Edenborough, 2004) This work points out that interviews take place in a range of settings. Edenborough (2004) points out that 'Roget's Thesaurus lists interviews " in connection with hearing, listening, enquiry, exam, examination, interrogate, along with heckle, find out, quiz, pick one's brains and conference, all of which seem to imply some degree of formality in discourse." (2004) Edenborough further related that the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) Tells us that the word comes from the French entrevior, to have a glimpse of." Interviewing is generally accepted to mean "a meeting of people face-to-face, as for evaluating a job applicant." (2004) Edenborough states that it is "not uncommon for organizations to be very pernickety on the one hand about the costs they may be incurring in, say, an associated activity such as recruitment advertising, but to be totally unaware of and unconcerned about the processes used and the amount of management time involved in conventional interviewing." (2004)

Edenborough points out that most individuals believe that they are better at interviewing than others but states that this belief is a "well sustained myth and popular self-deception." (2004) in terms of interviewing skills, these skills are often based on assumptions of impressions when often liking or disliking someone in an interview is related to "...aspects of sociability which some studies have indicated as being capable of correct prediction from interviews (Otis et al., 1962) Whether or not these same sociability factors predict success on the job is another issue and many other studies suggest that for many jobs it does not. (Bevan and Tryatt, 1988 as cited by… READ MORE

How to Reference "Effective Interviewing in the Private Sector" Term Paper in a Bibliography

Related Term Papers:

Motivations in Private Schools in Saudi Arabia Research Proposal

Saudi workers in the private sector in Saudi Arabia.

This project draws on various primary sources and secondary sources. The primary sources consist of interviews and surveys I have conducted… read more

Research Proposal 8 pages (2097 words) Sources: 20 Topic: Management / Organizations

---

Labor Relations Interview Interview

Locust Club -- "We Protect the Police"

Fighting crime is a full-time job, and the men and woman of law enforcement are, in most states, duly compensated for their efforts.… read more

Interview 8 pages (2648 words) Sources: 4 Topic: Crime / Police / Criminal Justice

---

Career Orientation of Bank Managers in Pakistan a Private Public Sector Comparison Term Paper

benchmark regarding bank manager careers in Pakistan. Islamic banking is a growing feature of banking in the region, and Pakistan as a nation has expressed interest in being the banker… read more

Term Paper 75 pages (21790 words) Sources: 1+ Topic: Economics / Finance / Banking

---

How Should Public and Private Schools Coexist and Function Within Our Society? Term Paper

Public and Private Schools Co-Exist and Function within American Society?

Scope, Limitations, and Delimitations

Appropriateness of Design

Informed Consent

Sampling Frame

Confidentiality

Geographic Location

Validity and Reliability

TRANSCRIPTS of INTERVIEWS… read more

Term Paper 20 pages (5461 words) Sources: 1+ Style: APA Topic: Education / Teaching / Learning

---

Environmental Tourism/Eco-tourism the Hotel Sector in Malaysia Dissertation

Environmental Tourism/eco-Tourism

The Hotel Sector in Malaysia

The work of Kasim (2007) entitled: "Environmentalism in the Hotel Sector: Evidence of Drivers and Barriers in Penang Malaysia" reports that the link… read more

Dissertation 10 pages (2914 words) Sources: 1+ Style: APA Topic: Recreation / Leisure / Tourism

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>