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INTERVIEWS People applying for jobs normally send in a copy of their CV. This should be used as a basis for questions from the interviewer. Interviewers find it useful to ask candidates about the way they behaved in difficult situations in the past, for example with an angry customer or colleague. These questions allow applicants to explain how they acted in a real-life situation and, consequently, give clues as to how they would act again in similar situations. Candidates are likely to tell the truth as speaking from memory leaves little time to invent what happened. On the other hand, questions which ask candidates to imagine how they would behave in a situation which they have probably never met are of little or no value. This is because they only provide answers about how candidates would hope to behave, and this might not match the actions they would actually take. In any interview candidates must be treated fairly, with questions asked in the same manner and with no candidate's interview lasting considerably longer than any other's.Candidates should always be given the opportunity to ask questions throughout the interview. Jane Godley, head of Human Resources at Aspley Supermarkets says: "A company needs staff not only who have the fight qualifications and experience, but also who are happy to fit in with the company's way of doing things. Our managers have to accept the idea that everyone working here is h colleague (managers are always known by their first names), and that spending time actually in the store with colleagues and customers,rather than in their offices, is part of the job. For management posts, we organise preinterview group exercises to measure team-working and leadership skills, sometimes along with activities to assess personal qualities. " "In all our interviews we pay attention to body language. It is natural for candidates to show signs of being nervous at an interview but most relax after a few minutes and become more confident. However, if the nervousness continues until the end of the interview, especially when difficult questions are asked, we would begin to have doubts about that candidate, lake all employers, we want to take on staff who are at ease with colleagues and customers, so it is important to watch the way candidates behave as well as listen to what they have to say. " |