HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PRACTICE - Fichier PDF

456 ❚ People resourcingQuestions about outside interestsYou should not spend much time asking people with work experience about theiroutside interests or hobbies. It is seldom relevant, although, as mentioned earlier, itcan give some insight into how well motivated candidates are if the depth and vigourwith which the interest is pursued is explored.Active interests and offices held at school, colleges or universities can, however,provide some insight into the attributes of candidates in the absence of any workhistory except, possibly, vacation jobs. If, for example, a student has been on a longback-pack trip, some information can be obtained about the student’s initiative, motivationand determination if the journey has been particularly adventurous.Unhelpful questionsThere are two types of questions that are unhelpful:●●Multiple questions such as ‘What skills do you use most frequently in your job? Arethey technical skills, leadership skills, team-working skills or communicatingskills?’ will only confuse candidates. You will probably get a partial or misleadingreply. Ask only one question at a time.Leading questions that indicate the reply you expect are also unhelpful. If you ask aquestion such as: ‘That’s what you think, isn’t it?’ you will get the reply: ‘Yes, Ido.’ If you ask a question such as: ‘I take it that you don’t really believe that….?’,you will get the reply: ‘No, I don’t.’ Neither of these replies will get youanywhere.Questions to be avoidedAvoid any questions that could be construed as being biased on the grounds of sex,race or disability. Don’t ask:●●●●Who is going to look after the children? This is no concern of yours, although it isreasonable to ask if the hours of work pose any problems.Are you planning to have any more children?Would it worry you being a member of an ethnic minority here?With your disability, do you think you can cope with the job?Ten useful questionsThe following are 10 useful questions from which you can select any that are particularlyrelevant in an interview you are conducting: