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Dessler HRM Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Interviewing Candidates

Multiple Choice

1. The _____ is considered by many to be the most important screening tool.

a. telephone reference

b. reference letter

c. selection interview

d. management assessment center

e. work sampling technique

(c; easy; p. 236)

2. A(n) _____ is a procedure designed to obtain information from a person through oral responses to oral inquiries.

a. writing test

b. work sample simulation

c. interview

d. reference check

e. background check

(c; easy; p. 236)

3. When an interview is used to predict future job performance on the basis of an applicants oral responses to oral inquiries, it is called a(n) _____ interview.

a. selection

b. appraisal

c. exit

d. preview

e. structured

(a; easy; p. 236)

4. When an interview follows a performance appraisal and focus on discussing an employees performance rating, it is called a(n) _____ interview.

a. selection

b. appraisal

c. exit

d. preview

e. structured

(b; easy; p. 236)

5. During a(n) _____ interview, a supervisor and an employee discuss the employees performance and future actions and goals.

a. selection

b. appraisal

c. exit

d. preview

e. structured

(b; easy; p. 236)

6. _____ interviews can provide insight into sources of dissatisfaction for employees.

a. Selection

b. Appraisal

c. Exit

d. Preview

e. Structured

(c; easy; p. 236)

7. Another word for unstructured interviews is _____.

a. directive

b. nondirective

c. unformatted

d. standardized

e. content-free

(b; easy; p. 236)

8. Structured interviews are also referred to as _____ interviews.

a. directive

b. nondirective

c. unformatted

d. standardized

e. content-free

(a; easy; p. 236)

9. Which of the following is a disadvantage of using structured interviews?

a. consistency across candidates

b. reduced subjectivity

c. lower potential for bias

d. enhanced ability to withstand legal challenge

e. lack of ability to pursue follow-up questions as they develop

(e; moderate; p. 237)

10. An advantage of unstructured interviews is that they provide _____.

a. consistency across candidates

b. reduced subjectivity

c. lower potential for bias

d. enhanced ability to withstand legal challenge

e. an ability to pursue follow-up questions as they develop


11. Which type of interview could also be described as somewhat like a general conversation?

a. nondirective

b. directive

c. standardized

d. situational

e. all of the above

(a; easy; p. 236)

12. How do situational interviews differ from behavioral interviews?

a. situational interviews are based on responses to past situations

b. situational interviews are based on how an applicant might behave in a hypothetical situation

c. situational interviews utilize predetermined situational questions and answers

d. behavioral interviews ask applicants to describe their emotions in different hypothetical situations

e. situational and behavioral interviews do not differ

(b; difficult; p. 4)

13. Which of the following statements is representative of what might be asked in a behavioral interview?

a. Tell me about a time you showed leadership in a difficult situation.

b. We are concerned with employee pilferage. As a manager here, how would you go about discouraging this behavior?

c. Suppose you were confronted with an angry customer who threatened to sue the company. What would you do?

d. Employees in this division are frequently under a great deal of stress. How do you think you would handle the stress of the position?

e. In this position, you would have the responsibility of hiring and firing subordinates. Imagine that you have to fire an employee who is consistently absent because he cares for an elderly parent. Tell me how you would handle this situation.

(a; difficult; p. 237)

14. What type of interview might include the statement, Tell me about a time when you worked successfully in a team environment?

a. situational

b. behavioral

c. stress

d. puzzle

e. directive

(b; moderate; p. 237)

15. Which of the following statements is representative of what might be asked in a situational interview?

a. Tell me about a time you showed leadership in a difficult situation.

b. How have you handled ethical dilemmas in the past?

c. Suppose you were confronted with an angry customer who threatened to sue the company. What would you do?

d. Can you think of a time when you were especially proud of your management skills? Tell me about that.

e. In this position, you are responsible for hiring and firing subordinates. Have you ever fired anyone before? Tell me how you handled the situation.

(c; difficult; p. 237)

16. What type of interview might include the following statement? Imagine that you have just been assigned the task of winning the business of our competitions biggest client. How would you proceed?

a. situational

b. behavioral

c. stress

d. puzzle

e. directive

(a; moderate; p. 237)

17. In a _____ interview, the interviewer tries to deduce what the applicants on-the-job performance will be based on his or her answers to questions about past experiences.

a. structured

b. situational

c. job-related

d. stress

e. puzzle

(c; moderate; p. 237)

18. A job-related interview is, by definition, as type of _____ interview.

a. structured

b. behavioral

c. situational

d. unstructured

e. stress

(b; difficult; p. 237)

19. In a stress interview, the interviewer _____.

a. tries to deduce what the applicants on-the-job performance will be based on his or her answers to questions about past experiences

b. tries to make the applicant uncomfortable in order to spot sensitivity

c. gives a word problem to see how the candidates think under pressure

d. gives hypothetical situations for the applicant to respond to

e. tries to assess the strength of the applicants desire for success


20. Which of the following statements might be made by an interviewer in a stress interview?

a. I see youve changed jobs four times in the last two years. Ive always felt that frequent job changes reflect irresponsible and immature behavior.

b. Which courses did you like best in business school?

c. Mike and Todd have $21 between them. Mike has $20 more than Todd has. How much does Mike have and how much does Todd have?

d. Why are you leaving your current position?

e. Can you tell me about a time in the past when you used leadership skills to handle a difficult situation?


21. What type of interview might include the statement, It must be difficult to leave a company after such accusations of unethical behavior. Tell me about that?

a. situational

b. behavioral

c. stress

d. puzzle

e. directive


22. Which of the following is an example of a puzzle question?


b. Which courses did you like best in business school?

c. Mike and Todd have $21 between them. Mike has $20 more than Todd has. How much has Mike and how much has Todd?




23. Which of the following statements might be made by an interviewer in a job-related interview?


b. Suppose you were confronted with an angry customer who threatened to sue the company. What would you do?




(e; difficult; p. 241)

24. Which of the following is an example of a job knowledge question?

a. What are the legal restrictions regarding the use of telemarketing for consumers who have a past relationship with a company?

b. Suppose you were confronted with an angry customer who threatened to sue the company. What would you do?




(a; difficult; p. 243)

25. Another term for panel interview is _____.

a. serial interview

b. board interview

c. sequential interview

d. computerized interview

e. structured interview

(b; easy; p. 243)

26. Kevin is interviewing for a position as a public relations specialist in a communications firm. He first meets with the HR manager. Afterwards, he meets with the person who would be his direct supervisor. Finally, he meets with the company president. Kevin is experiencing a _____ interview.

a. board

b. panel

c. sequential

d. structured

e. nondirective


27. In a board interview, a team of interviewers interviews the candidate in a _____ fashion.

a. serial

b. sequential

c. simultaneous

d. systematic

e. symmetrical


28. Dr. Ross is interviewing for a position as Assistant Professor of Human Resource Management. His interview is conducted by a team of other faculty members in the department who interview him simultaneously and then combine their ratings into one score. This is an example of a _____ interview.

a. serial

b. panel

c. sequential

d. one-on-one

e. mass


29. A mass interview differs from traditional panel interviews in that the team of interviewers interviews _____.

a. several candidates simultaneously

b. several candidates serially

c. several candidates sequentially

d. each candidate by using sub-groups of the team

e. candidates in front of other employees


30. Kimberly is interviewing along with several other talented candidates for a position as a journalist at a newspaper. A team of interviewers will meet with all the candidates at once. The team will pose problems to the candidates and see which candidate takes the lead in formulating an answer. This is an example of a _____ interview.

a. serial

b. sequential

c. board

d. mass

e. panel

(d; moderate; p. 243)

31. Typical computerized interviews present questions in a(n) _____ format, one at a time.

a. essay

b. short answer

c. fill in the blank

d. multiple choice

e. all of the above

(d; easy; p. 244)

32. Which of the following is an advantage of computer-aided interviews?

a. reduction of time spent by managers on unacceptable candidates

b. reduction of influence of nonverbal behaviors

c. ability to measure response time to questions

d. less potential for influence of bias

e. all of the above

(e; easy; p. 244)

33. Which interview format listed below should result in the highest validity?

a. structured, situational

b. unstructured, situational

c. structured, behavioral

d. unstructured, behavioral

e. structured, job-related


34. _____ means that the order in which an interviewer sees applicants affects how the candidates are rated.

a. Context error

b. Contrast error

c. Order effect

d. Recency error

e. Primacy effect


35. Jill is interviewing six candidates for a position as an entry-level management trainee. The first two candidates were judged unfavorable. The third candidate was just average, but Jill was so pleased to find an acceptable candidate after the first two interviews that she assigned a better rating to candidate 3. This is an example of a _____.

a. context error

b. contrast error

c. order effect

d. recency error

e. primacy effect


36. The team holding the interviews for new auditors is behind in its recruiting quota. The team is most likely to rate the applicants _____ in this situation.

a. negatively

b. positively

c. neutrally

d. unacceptable

e. there is not enough information to determine


37. Based on interviewer assessments of attractiveness and gender, which of the following would most likely receive the highest rating for an executive level position?

a. an attractive woman

b. an attractive man

c. an unattractive woman

d. an unattractive man

e. there are no such biases based on attractiveness and gender

(b; easy; p. 248)

38. A disadvantage of research on interviewer effects and biases is that _____.

a. the research is based on real jobs

b. the research uses students as raters

c. the research is based on hypothetical jobs

d. the research uses real employees

e. both b and c


39. All of the following characteristics tend to result in more positive assessments of job candidates by interviewers except _____.

a. male gender

b. physical attractiveness

c. extraverted behavior

d. poise

e. all of the above tend to influence interviewers in a positive manner

(e; easy; p. 248)

40. The EEOC uses _____, who apply for employment which they do not intend to accept, for the sole purpose of uncovering unlawful discriminatory hiring practices.

a. spies

b. moles

c. testers

d. mystery applicants

e. applicants


41. When an interviewer makes a statement like This job requires handling a lot of stress. You can do that, cant you? he or she has used _____ to provide a subtle cue as to the desired response.

a. leading

b. telegraphing

c. socially desirable responding

d. cueing

e. foreshadowing


42. What interviewer behaviors can interfere with the interview process?

a. talking too much

b. telegraphing

c. playing psychologist

d. letting the applicant dominate the interview

e. all of the above

(e; easy; p. 249)

43. What is the first step in developing a guide for structured situational interviews?

a. rate the jobs main duties

b. create interview questions

c. write a job description

d. create benchmark answers

e. appoint the interview panel and conduct interviews

(c; easy; p. 251)

44. The second step in the procedure for developing a guide for structured situational interviews is to _____.







45. The third step in the procedure for developing a guide for structured situational interviews is to _____.







46. The fourth step in the procedure for developing a guide for structured situational interviews is to _____.







47. Which of the following types of questions is not typically part of a structured situational interview?

a. situational questions

b. job knowledge questions

c. ability questions

d. willingness questions

e. all question types used in structured situational interviews


48. When interviewers write a job description with a list of job duties, required knowledge, skills, abilities and other worker qualifications, they are _____.

a. analyzing the job

b. rating the jobs duties

c. creating interview questions

d. creating benchmark answers

e. appointing the interview panel

(a; easy; p. 251)

49. How many interviewers are usually on an interview panel for structured situational interviews?

a. 3 or less

b. 3-6

c. 6-9

d. 10 or more

e. it varies


50. All of the following are ways that interviewers can control the interview except _____.

a. limit interviewers follow-up questions

b. ensure that all interviewees get the same questions

c. use a large number of questions

d. prohibit questions from candidates until the end of the interview

e. use multiple interviewers or panel interviews


51. Interviewers should be trained to _____.

a. avoid potentially discriminatory questions

b. avoid stereotyping minority candidates

c. base questions on job-related information

d. understand EEO laws as they relate to the interview process

e. all of the above

(e; easy; p. 253)

52. When interviewers put too much weight on the last few minutes of the interview, the _____ has occurred.

a. context error

b. contrast error

c. order effect

d. recency effect

e. primacy effect


53. Which of the following is an important consideration when asking questions in the interview?

a. refrain from asking questions that can be answered yes or no

b. refrain from telegraphing the desired answer

c. refrain from talking too much during the interview

d. listen actively to the candidates responses

e. all of the above

(e; easy; p. 253)

54. Rejected candidates who receive an explanation detailing why the employer rejected them tended to do all of the following except _____.

a. feel the process was fair

b. speak more highly of the employer

c. legally dispute the decision

d. apply for jobs again with the firm

e. rejected candidates tend to all of the above


55. Which of the following is not one of the four specific factors a manager should probe for in an interview?

a. intellectual factor

b. motivation factor

c. extracurricular activities factor

d. personality factor

e. knowledge and experience factor


56. Managers without a well-developed structured situational interview guide should still follow several steps to ensure a good interview process. The first step is to _____.

a. prepare for the interview

b. devise a plan for the interview

c. probe specific factors during the interview

d. ask questions about significant areas in a candidates life

e. match the candidate to the job

(a; easy; p. 257)

57. The second step a manager should consider when conducting interviews without a thoroughly-developed structured situational interview guide is to _____.



c. identify specific factors to probe for during the interview



(c; easy; p. 257)

58. The final step a manager should consider when conducting interviews without a thoroughly-developed structured situational guide is to _____.



c. probe specific factors during the interview



(e; easy; p. 257)

59. Which question below is an example of a job knowledge question?

a. Suppose you were giving a sales presentation and a difficult technical question arose that you could not answer. What would you do?

b. Based on your past work experience, what is the most significant action you have ever taken to help out a co-worker?

c. What work experiences, training, or other qualifications do you have for working in a teamwork environment?

d. What factors should one consider when developing a television advertising campaign?

e. What experience have you had with direct point-of-purchase sales?


60. Which question below is an example of a situational question?







61. Which question below is an example of a past behavior question?







62. Which question below is an example of a background question?



c. What steps would you follow to conduct a brainstorming session with a group of employees on safety?




63. Consider the question: Suppose you saw a co-worker who was not following standard work procedures. The co-worker claimed that the new procedure was better. What would you do? What type of question is this?

a. background question

b. past behavior question

c. situational question

d. job knowledge question

e. structured question


64. Consider the question: Can you provide an example of a specific instance where you provided leadership in a difficult situation? What type of question is this?


b. behavioral question





65. Consider the question: What work experience do you have in marketing and sales? What type of question is this?


b. behavioral question





66. Consider the question: What factors should be considered when developing a customer database? What type of question is this?


b. past behavior question





67. Interview questions designed to assess such things as complexity of tasks the person has performed seek to probe the candidates _____ factor.

a. motivation

b. intellectual

c. personality

d. knowledge

e. experience


68. Interview questions designed to probe such areas as a persons aspirations and energy level seek information regarding a candidates _____ factor.

a. motivation

b. intellectual

c. personality

d. knowledge

e. experience


69. Interview questions that probe for self-defeating behaviors and explore a persons past interpersonal relationships seek information regarding a candidates _____ factor.

a. motivation

b. intellectual

c. personality

d. knowledge

e. experience


70. Situational questions like How would you organize a sales effort? seek information regarding a candidates _____ factor.

a. motivation

b. intellectual

c. personality

d. knowledge

e. leadership


True/ False

71. The interview is the most widely used personnel selection procedure. (T; easy; p. 236)

72. Exit interviews follow a performance appraisal and focus on a discussion of the employees rating and possible remedial actions. (F; easy; p. 236)

73. Nondirective interviews follow no set format so the interviewer can ask follow-up questions and pursue points of interest as they develop. (T; easy; p. 236)

74. Nonstructured interviews are preferred to directive interviews because they are more reliable and valid. (F; moderate; p. 236)

75. Nondirective interviews can be described as a general conversation. (T; easy; p. 236)

76. All structured interviews specify acceptable answers for each question. (F; moderate; p. 236)

77. Behavioral interviews ask interviewees to describe how they would react to a hypothetical situation at some point in the future. (F; moderate; p. 237)

78. Recruiters for technical and finance positions like to use job knowledge questions to assess how candidates perform under pressure. (F; moderate; p. 241)

79. Most interviews are one-on-one. (T; easy; p. 243)

80. Computer-aided interviews are primarily used for essay questions. (F; easy; p. 244)

81. Some firms use the Web to assist in the employee interview process through the use of automated video-based interview systems. (T; easy; p. 245)

82. First impressions created from candidate application forms and personal appearance can affect interviewer ratings of candidates. (T; easy; p. 246)

83. Structured interviews have validities about twice those of unstructured interviews. (T; moderate; p. 246)

84. Behavioral interviews yield a higher mean validity than do situational interviews. (F; difficult; p. 246)

85. Interviewers tend to be more influenced by unfavorable than favorable information about a candidate. (T; moderate; p. 246)

86. Interviewers tend to rate candidates who promote themselves and use impression management tactics more poorly on candidate-job fit. (F; easy; p. 247)

87. When interviewing disabled people, interviewers tend to avoid directly addressing the disability which limits their ability to get relevant information about the candidates ability to do the job. (T; moderate; p. 250)

88. Under the EEOC guidelines, an interviewer must limit his or her questions to whether an applicant has any physical or mental impairment that may interfere with his or her ability to perform the jobs essential tasks. (F; difficult; p. 250)

89. The EEOC uses testers who apply for employment which they do not intend to accept for the purpose of uncovering unlawful discriminatory hiring practices. (T; moderate; p. 250)

90. Because EEOC tests are not really seeking employment, they do not have legal standing in court to charge unlawful discriminatory hiring practices. (F; moderate; p. 250)

91. Understanding potential interview problems is important for avoiding them. (T; easy; p. 249)

92. A structured behavioral interview contains a series of hypothetical job-oriented questions with predetermined answers that interviewers ask of all applicants for the job. (F; difficult; p. 249)

93. In the job analysis portion of developing structured situational interviews, each job duty should be evaluated based on its importance to job success and the time required to perform it compared to other tasks. (F; difficult; p. 249)

94. Structured situational interviews contain situational questions, job knowledge questions, and willingness questions. (T; moderate; p. 251)

95. Willingness questions assess an applicants ability to meet the job requirements. (F; easy; p. 251)

96. Companies generally conduct structured situational interviews using a panel, rather than sequentially. (T; moderate; p. 251)

97. Typically, the employees who write the structured situational interview questions and benchmark answers are different from the employees who conduct the interview. (F; moderate; p. 251)

98. When rejecting a job candidate, it is best to refrain from providing an explanation detailing the reason for the rejection because candidates feel that the process is fairer when they dont know the reason for the rejection. (F; difficult; p. 255)

99. Employers may not explain why candidates are rejected, despite the positive reasons for doing so, because of the possible threat of legal dispute. (T; easy; p. 255)

100. Three dimensions of interview structure (having objective, job-related questions; standardizing interview administration; and having multiple interviewers) were related to verdicts in favor of employers in a study of federal district court cases of alleged employment interview discrimination. (T; moderate; p. 256)

Essay/ Short Answer

101. What three ways can selection interviews be classified? What are the resulting types of interviews? (easy; p. 236)

Answer: Selection interviews can be classified according to 1) how structured they are, 2) their content, and 3) how they are administered. Structure can range from unstructured to structured. Content classifications are situational or behavioral. Examples include job-related interviews and stress interviews. Interviews can be administered by one person or by a panel of interviewers. Interviews may also be computer-administered.

102. How do nonverbal behaviors and impression management affect interviewer ratings of candidates? (moderate; p. 247)

Answer: An applicants nonverbal behavior and use of impression management can have a large impact on his or her rating. Interviewers tend to respond more positively to candidates showing more extraverted behavior like good eye contact and high energy. Even smiling can affect interviewer ratings of candidates. Interviewers infer the interviewees personality from the way he or she acts in the interview.

103. Some interviewers have difficulty getting the best information when interviewing disabled people who use assistive technology because they try avoid directly discussing the disability. Give five examples of questions that could be useful when interviewing someone who uses assistive technology at work. (moderate; p. 250)

Answer: Several examples are provided in the book.

Other than technology, what other kind of support did you have in previous jobs? If not, is there anything that would benefit you?

Provide an example of how you use technology to carry out your job duties.

Do you foresee your technology needs changing in the near future? Why and how?

Discuss a barrier or obstacle, if any, that you have encountered in any of your previous jobs. How was that addressed?

Do you anticipate any transportation or scheduling issues with the work schedule expected of this position?

104. Explain why structured situational interviews tend to yield more reliable responses than structured behavioral interviews. (difficult; p. 252)

Answer: Structured situational interviews ask candidates to address how they would handle a certain hypothetical situation while structured behavioral interviews ask candidates to think of their own past experiences. Because the structured situational question forces all applicants to apply the same scenario, the responses are more consistent.

105. List the steps in developing a structured situational interview guide. (moderate; p. 251)

Answer: The five steps in the procedure are 1) job analysis, 2) rate the jobs main duties, 3) create interview questions, 4) create benchmark answers, and 5) appoint the interview panel and conduct interviews.

106. What three types of questions are contained in a structured situational interview? Explain and give an example of each type. (easy; p. 251)

Answer: The three types of questions are situational, job knowledge, and willingness. Situational questions pose a hypothetical job situation such as What would you do if the machine suddenly began heating up? Job knowledge questions assess knowledge essential to job performance such as What is HTML? Willingness questions gauge the applicants willingness and motivation to meet the jobs requirements such as Are you willing to travel for work?

107. Explain the procedures for conducting a panel interview. (moderate; p. 253)

Answer: The same panel members will interview all the candidates for a specific job. They will review the job description, questions, and benchmark answers before the interview. One panel member will introduce the applicant and ask all of the questions of all applicants in the interviews. All the panel members will record and rate the applicants answers on a rating scale sheet. At the end of the procedure, one panel member will explain the follow-up procedure and answer any questions the applicant may have.

108. Even without following the procedures for developing structured situational interviews, there are several things that can increase the standardization of interviews. Name three of these suggestions. (moderate; p. 252)

Answer: There are eight suggestions provided for increasing the standardization of interviews. They are as follows.

Base questions on actual job duties.

Use job knowledge, situational, or behaviorally-oriented questions and objective criteria to evaluate the interviewees responses.

Train interviewers.

Use the same questions with all candidates.

Use descriptive rating scales to rate answers.

Use multiple interviewers or panel interviews.

Use a structured interview form.

Control the interview.

109. How can an employer protect itself from charges of discrimination in its interview process? (moderate; p. 256)

Answer: It is best that employment interviewers refrain from asking questions regarding an applicants race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, or handicap. Even when it may not be illegal (as in the case of age or marital status), the EEOC disapproves of such practices. In addition, employers should ensure that the interview process is structured and consistently applied. The interview should have objective, job-related questions and be administered in a standardized format. There should be multiple interviewers. Employers can also reassure candidates that the job interview process is fair, treat the interviewees with respect, and be willing to explain the process and the rationale for the interview questions.

110. There are four specific factors that should be probed in an interview. List the four factors and explain each one. (easy; p. 257)

Answer: The four factors are intellectual, motivation, personality, and knowledge and experience. The intellectual factor includes such things as complexity of tasks the person has performed, grades in school, test results, and how the person organizes his or her thoughts and communicates. The motivation factor includes such things as the persons likes and dislikes, aspirations, and energy level. The personality factor includes such things as self-defeating behaviors, past interpersonal relationships, and interpersonal behaviors. The knowledge and experience factor includes information the candidate has directly related to how to do the job in question.

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