Q.:- What is the importance of Interviews?
Or
What types of questions are asked by the interviewers?
Ans.:-
Introduction:-
All of us are familiar with the term interview. You would have watched the interviews of some celebrities or famous personalities on television. These interviews are conducted to know the person's point of view on a particular problem, issue, subject or topic. The term
is also associated with employment. The job seekers have to face the interview to get a job.
The term interview means 'to view each other. It is the activity in which questions are asked and answered. Minimum two persons are involved in the process: One of them asks the questions and the other answers them. The person who asks questions is called Interviewer, and the person who answers them is called Interviewee. The Interviewer asks questions to elicit facts or statements from the Interviewee.
Interview is based on oral enquiry and oral response. It has well defined purpose and structure. It has a beginning, middle, and end. Each stage is negotiated by the interviewer and the interviewee. Interviews are used for qualitative research, journalism, media reporting, employment, promotion, counseling, and so on.
Kinds of Interview:-
There are several kinds of interviews. The kind depends on the purpose. They can be formal, semi-formal, or informal in nature. Some of the kinds are stated below:
(a) Personal Interview-
This kind of interview is conducted to meet personal requirement of the interviewer. It is informal in nature and does not follow any fixed format. The interviewer asks questions in informal manner, and the interviewee answers them in a friendly way. It is just like a conversation between two persons.
Example:-
An Interview with a Villager
Priya : Good morning uncle! I'm Priya. I've come to a village for the first time. I'm curious to know about the life of villagers. Will you please answer some of my questions to know about village life?
Villager : Sure, why not.
Priya : The villagers do not have modern facilities, like internet, computers, etc. What is the source of your entertainment?
Villager : We don't know about computer, internet, or so. But we sit together in the evening time, share jokes, and make fun.
Priya : You don't have cemented houses. How do
you manage?
Villager : We lead a contented life. We manage very well.
Priya : Which crops do you grow in your fields?
Villager : We grow wheat, pulses, maize and rice. Sometimes we grow vegetables.
(b) Conversational Interview-
This type of interview is held when both the interviewer and the interviewee are known to each other. It is semi-formal in nature. However, more than two persons can participate in this kind of interview, but only two of them take part in the conversation at one time. Even the interviewee can ask question from the interviewer. No predetermined questions are asked in this type of interview, rather they are framed according to the situation. The tone of interview is conversational.
Example:-
An Interview with a Teacher
Sneha : Good morning sir! I've been assigned some project-work. I'm to interview five persons. I've come to interview you.
Teacher : You are welcome.
Sneha : How many years have you been in this college?
Teacher : I've been in this college for last ten years.
Sneha : How did you come to this profession?
Teacher : Since my childhood I was interested in teaching. I always dreamt of becoming a teacher. Moreover, it's a respectable profession. That's why I decided to try my luck on this profession.
Sneha : Had you to struggle in finding this job?
Teacher : Yes! I worked as an ad-hoc teacher for five years before coming to this college. It was a terrible time. There was no surety of job. But I managed anyhow.
(c) Job Interview-
A job interview is the conversation between the job aspirant and the prospective employer or its representatives. It is basically a question-answer session which involves specific questions and appropriate answers. It is quite formal in nature. It is of vital importance to both the employer as well as the candidate. The candidate wants a suitable job, befitting her/his eligibility; and the employer wants a suitable candidate for the position to be filled in. The employer tries to recruit the candidate who will be an asset to the organization; and the candidate tries to prove his/her competence through the interview. It helps the employer
to evaluate the candidate's knowledge, experience, technical skills, competence, confidence level and communication skills. It also provides the candidate an opportunity to know about the organization, its policies, expectations from the prospective employee, work
culture, job profile; and ascertain whether the position will suit him/her.
In most cases, a panel of interviewers is formed to evaluate the candidates. Panel is the committee appointed to judge a contest or competition. There can be two to twenty members in the panel, but most selection committees normally consist of three to six members. Each member focuses on a particular aspect of evaluation to ensure effective decision making. One of them studies
the behavioral aspects of the interviewees. Usually, s/he sits to a side and observes the movements, expressions and behaviour of the interviewees. Members of the panel ask questions one by one from the candidate, and the candidate answer each of them. It gives the members enough scope to study the candidate. This is the most popular from of Interview in our country.
Example:-
Situation: Here, Shikha is the candidate and there is a panel of five members- A, B, C, D, and E.
Shikha (enters the room) : Good morning, sirs!
Interviewers : Good morning!
А : Please be seated.
Shikha (sitting on the chair) : Thank you sir.
C : You are Shikha. Please tell us about yourself?
Shikha : I'm Shikha Shandilya. I belong to Delhi. I was born and brought up in Delhi. I completed my graduation and post graduation from Delhi University. Both, my father and mother are doctors. I'm interested in social work. Teaching is my passion. That's why I applied for this position.
C : Do you have some teaching experience?
Shikha : Yes sir. I have taught at DPS for two years.
C : OK! Why did you leave the job?
Shikha : In fact, I got married. I had to move to Rohini. My school was about forty-five kilometres away from my house. I couldn't manage the travelling.
B : What subjects have you studied at your graduation?
Shikha : Sir, I have done English (Hons.) at graduation. Then I did post graduation in English. Other than English, I have good knowledge of Hindi. I have also done post graduate diploma in translation.
D : Have you done B. Ed ?
Shikha : No sir. But I'm planning to do from IGNOU.
A : Which level of students did you teach at the DPS?
Shikha : Sir, I was teaching the students of ninth and tenth standard.
(d) Public Interview-
This type of interview is conducted for media reporting or publication. It is also known as Media Interview. The interviewer works directly with the interviewee. S/he prepares a list of questions before the interview, and asks them from the interviewee one by one. Generally, the interview is conducted with some famous celebrity, politician, sports star, scientist, subject expert, or so. The interview can be conducted to get interviewee's views on some topic or issue; make public aware of her/his achievements, Lifestyle; or clarify something about.
(i) Interview for media reporting: This kind of interviews can be watched daily on TV channels. They can be live or recorded. In live telecast, the interviewer and the interviewee remain present live on the television. The host of the show directly talks to the audience as well as interviewee. Since it is live, the interviewee's words cannot be edited. But it is possible in case of recorded interview.
Example:-
Situation: You are Preeti. You host the show “Bollywood Talks”. Deepika Padukone is coming over to your show. You are to interview her. Imagining yourself both, the interviewer and the interviewee, write the content of the interview.
Preeti : Good morning everybody! As you know, girls are rocking box office in the modern time. We are proud of girl-power. Today, we have invited a beautiful personality and an outstanding actress to our show. Please welcome supremely talented and gorgeous Deepika Padukone! Welcome Deepika to my show, "Bollywood Talks".
Deepika : Thank you for having me here. It's an honour to be invited to the show.
Preeti : At first, congratulations Deepika for your marriage! Should I call you Deepika Bhavnani Singh?
Deepika : Oh no! Please call me 'Deepika Padukone, wife of Ranveer Singh Padukone.'
Preeti : All right Deepika! The viewers would love to know about your first meeting with Ranveer Singh.
Deepika : Actually we first time met at an Award function in Singapore. But you can say that we seriously met at Sanjay Leela Bhansali's house when he invited us at lunch to sign the movie, Ram Leela.
Preeti : O.k. When we talk about Sanjay Leela Bhansali, we remember Padmaavat. Would you like to play some historical character in the future time?
Deepika : Not after this! I don't think I can top Padmavati, so at least for a long time to come; I will not attempt any historical character.
Preeti : What is the secret of your fighting spirit?
Deepika : I am from a sports background. I do not give up easily.
(ii) Interview for publication: This kind of interview is mostly held off line. The interviewer meets the interviewee, asks questions, and writes down the response. S/he enjoys freedom to edit the responses. Generally, the kind of interviews are published in newspapers, magzines, or online over the internet.
Example:-
Situation: You are a press reporter working with a leading newspaper. Read the below information about Sudha Chandran, and write the content of an interview with her by imagining you both, the interviewer and the interviewee.
Sudha Chandran, an orthopaedically handicapped dancer and actress, has proved to the world that disability is not an obstacle in the way of success. One can climb the ladder of success in spite of being a handicapped. Despite amputation of one leg, she has established herself as a dancer as well as an actress. She was born in a Tamil family on 27 September 1965. She started dancing at the tender age of three. She was passionate for dancing since
her childhood. She even attended dance classes after school, and reached home in the evening sometimes after nine. She passed her tenth standard with eighty per cent marks, but refused to opt for sciences, and decided to continue with Arts as her subjects for further studies in the hope that she would be able to spare time for dance practice. By now, she had made several stage performances which had all been widely appreciated. It was just the beginning of the show for her, but the God had some other plans.
It was the day of 2nd May 1981 which changed her life completely. On the day, she was travelling to Trichy in a bus which met with a fatal accident, resulting in the death of some passengers, while many were critically injured. Sudha was one of them who escaped death,
but her right leg was badly injured. Since the patients were in a large number, she was attended to by the interns who neglected the cut on her right ankle and wrapped it up with a bandage which caused gangrene later. In order to save life, her leg had to be amputated
7.5 inches below the knee. The amputation broke her as it was the death of her dream.
She was highly disappointed, but did not lose hope. She met Dr. Sethi who provided her with the Jaipur foot. It was the beginning of a new round of struggle for her. She learnt to walk with the help of artificial leg as well as tried on dancing; however it was not easy. Her amputated leg would often bleed; and pain became more severe with fast movement of the leg. After each dance session, when saw the blood, she started losing hope; but her deter-
mination did not falter. She met Dr. Sethi again. He was highly impressed with her strong will power. Observing the requirements of dance, he arranged for a new leg. But the problems had not been resolved yet. The bleeding started again, but could not shake her determination. She bore the severe pain, though did not allow her face to reflect her agony. She kept on practicing. When mastered all the dance positions, she waited for an opportunity
to perform once again on stage.
Finally, she got the opportunity on 28 January 1984. She was to perform along with another dancer at Mumbai. It was a challenge for her. She overcame the situation with courage, and emerged triumphantly. Even she forgot that her leg was artificial, and started dancing swiftly.
At the end of the performance, the hall echoed with the sound of claps. That day onwards, she did not look back. She had made her mark in the world as a successful Bharatanatyam dancer. She travelled many countries where she made stage performances.
In the aftermath of her success, she was welcomed into the film industry. Her debut in the industry was through the Telugu film, 'Mayuri, which was later dubbed into two other languages. The film also has Hindi remake by the name, 'Naache Mayuri? Other than films, she has also worked in a number of television serials. She met her husband, Assistant Director, Ravi Dang, on the set of a movie. Both fell in love and got married to each other
in 1994 amidst the objection from her parents because Ravi was a Punjabi, and she was Tamil. Both have been enjoying a happy married life since then.
Interview:
Reporter : Good morning Ms. Chandran. I am Jatin Sahgal from The Hindustan Times. I have come to interview you. Could you please spare some time for the interview?
Sudha : You are welcome.
Reporter : I am talking to an excellent Bharatanatyam dancer. You would have to face several difficulties in your way to achieve this status. Would you please tell about
your journey?
Sudha : Nothing can be achieved without hard work and dedication. Similar is the case with me. I started dancing at the age of three. I had to do a lot of practice. I attended the school in the morning and went for dance classes in the evening. Only then I could learn a little bit.
Reporter : How did you feel when you came to know that your leg would be amputated?
Sudha : It was a horrible dream for me. Dancing was a passion to me since my childhood. When I learnt that my leg would be amputated, I was extremely perplexed.
But there was no other option; hence I had to accept the reality.
Reporter : You had to struggle a lot with your artificial leg. How did you manage the situation?
Sudha : You are absolutely right. It was a difficult time. The leg started bleeding with fast movement of the leg. After each dance session, when saw the blood, I started
losing hope; but my determination never let me down.
Reporter : I can understand the condition. But you handled the situation courageously.
Sudha : Thanks to Dr. Sethi who helped me at that time. He understood the situation and provided me with the new leg to suit my requirements.
Answering Strategies:-
The way in which the interviewee answers the questions makes the difference. S/he needs
to follow certain strategies to answer the questions. It reflects her/his confidence, competence, and communicative ability. The interviewee can improve the quality of answers by adopting the following suggestions:
- The interviewee should listen to the question properly before answering it. S/he should not interrupt the interviewer in between and let her/him complete the question. S/he should understand the question first and then start answering.
- The answer should be brief and concise. A long answer doesn't mean better answer. The interviewee should avoid giving the information that is not asked. The answer should be specific because it convinces the interviewer as well as increases the chance of success. S/he should use concrete and specific words; and avoid the use of abstract, obscure and vague words because they can confuse the interviewer. S/he should not deviate from the question.
- The answers should be rational and logical. If the interviewee does not agree with the interviewer on some point, s/he should politely present the logic behind her/his answer.
- If does not know the answer, the interviewee should simply admit that s/he doesn't know the answer. S/he should not try to bluff the interviewer. Giving an incorrect or incomplete answer reduces the chance of success.
- The interviewee should answer directly and clearly. S/he should be clear in thought as well as expression. S/he should speak clearly so that the interviewer can understand the answer.
- The interviewee should pronounce the words correctly. Incorrectly pronounciation can lead to wrong meaning of the word and decrease the chance of success.
- The answers should reflect positively. Sometimes the interviewer asks negative questions in order to explore the negative in the interviewee's personality. The interviewee should answer even negative questions in a positive manner.
Some Useful Tips:-
Here are some useful tips that should be followed before and during the interview:
- Schedule the interview at a time and place convenient to the interviewee. Confirm the date and time a couple of days ahead of the scheduled interview to make sure the time still works for the interviewee.
- Do some homework before the interview. Know about the interviewee's background, area of interest, experience, and his/her views on the subject that you are going to talk about. Prepare a long list of questions to keep the conversation flowing.
- Handover the list of questions to the interviewee before the interview. It may help the interviewee to give more thoughtful answers.
- Ask open-ended questions. Close-ended questions (based on yes or no responses) yield limited information. Ask the questions that start with why or how. Such questions give the interviewee a chance to tell the background, relate details, and give his/her opinion.
- Listen to the interviewee actively. Do not interfere in between or give your observations. Let him/her complete the answer. But you can react by smiling or nodding.
- Greet the interviewee in the beginning and thank at the end of the interview.
- Make notes immediately after the interview.
Role Of Body Language:-
Body movements play a vital role during interview. They exhibit confidence level of the interviewer as well as interviewee. Their physical posture and eye-contact exhibit confidence, and facial expressions explain the spoken words. The interviewee should answer the question by making eye contact with the interviewer.
S/he should put her/his hands on lap, or gently place them on the table; and use appropriate hand movement wherever required. S/he should sit upright, but not stiff. S/he should sit neither in a reclining position, nor at edge of the chair. Slouching in the chair suggests lack of alertness whereas sitting on the edge conveys nervousness. S/he should not fiddle with pen or shake legs.
Written by :- Rashmi
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