INFOCUS FOR INTERVIEWING PEOPLE

1.	Pre-interview questionnaire	This is to save valuable time and help to find out more about candidates.  This could also be used to screen out a few applicants from that pool.
2.	Keeping the end moving	Be alert to the signs that the candidate suspects that the interview has not gone well, and that they are going to try to make up for any miscommunication in the last few minutes of the interview. Letting the candidates over explain with no real point is helpful to no one.  Know when it’s time to cut the chat short.
3.	History of military assessment centers	The purpose of assessment centers is to give an idea of how a candidate operates in a work situation.  They were first used by the military to aid in the selection of officers. The German military used job simulations, along with other capability measurements, to select officers after World War I. From 1942, the British War Office adopted an officer selection system loosely based on observation of the German methods. The UA Office of Strategic Services ran a three-day programme of tests to improve its spy selection during World War II. In each case the intention was to discover how candidates responded to the pressures of real-life situations.
4.	Ability vs aptitude	The term ‘ability’ and ‘aptitude’ is often used interchangeably, but different test may differentiate between the two. Ability might be defined as an enabling proficiency, which means someone can do a particular thing, often thanks to a learned skill or qualification. Aptitude reflects more on a candidate’s capacity or talent to do something. Some view ability as the basis of aptitude, and aptitude as more job-related than ability.  Another way of looking at it is to think of ability as a person’s capability to do something, and aptitude is the potential to become capable of doing it.
5.	Onboarding	Top employers now take seriously the need to make joining an organization as smooth and enjoyable a process as possible for the new employees. Evidence shows that when done well, onboarding promotes productivity, encourages employee retention, and leads to quicker assimilation of recruits.  Well-planned onboarding ensures that all the necessary paperwork is completed early on, that they have the necessary work equipment from the first day, and that they get off to a running start with the new job.

HIGHLIGHTS FOR INTERVIEWING PEOPLE

1.	Gatekeeper	A person who controls access of people, commodities, or information to an organization or to the public.
2.	Spatial reasoning	The ability to visualize images, mentally move them around, and understand how their positions change with movement in one direction or another.
3.	Behavioral spectrum	The full range of behaviors a person may exhibit or actions they might take during an assessment cebter activity.

Short notes from:

THE BOOK OF MANAGEMENT

The Ten Essential Skills For Achieving High Performance

Darling Kindersley Limited (DKL), Penguin Group (UK)