The Science and Practice of a Structured Employment Interview Coaching Program

Abstract

We describe a scientist-practitioner collaboration around a structured employment interview coaching program. This description includes information on how the program was developed and applied, the program content, connections with past literature, and a description of context. We also provide rich anecdotal information and surveys on reactions by users as well as input from the community and various other constituencies. We also describe scientific research on this intervention that has examined its various effects. The specific project goals were to (a) provide assistance to promotion candidates in preparing for a structured panel interview and to survey employee reactions to the program, (b) determine whether the intervention had an effect on interview performance and what preparation and response strategies in a structured interview seemed to be associated with performance, and (c) provide these benefits without negatively influencing validity and reliability of interview procedures, and if possible, enhance these psychometric characteristics. The information provided here can assist those who want to apply this type of intervention successfully in other selection settings.This report describes the development, administration, and applied research relevant to a structured oral interview coaching program used to prepare public safety promotional testing candidates in the city of Atlanta. The original intent of the program was to address some of the issues raised by the candidates who had participated in previously administered structured oral interviews. For example, candidates did not know how to prepare for the interviews and did not know how their performance in the interview was being evaluated. In the process of developing the coaching program, a review of the literature showed that very little research had been conducted on coaching candidates for interview

Best Practices in Preparing Students for Mock Interviews

“…The literature supports activities similar to the partner interviews. These interviews align with an interview preparation activity that Young et al (2004) described and also bear a relationship with Maurer and Solamon's (2006) results in which preparing by observing others performing mock interviews was associated with higher performance.…”

“…In studying the extent to which interview preparation techniques impact interview performance, for example, Maurer, Solamon, Andrews, and Troxtel (2001) determined that a preparation behavior that correlated with high-scoring interviews was "organization," in which participants described activities such as "Used the pencil and paper provided to write notes before giving my answers," and "Organized my answers in a chronological, logical, and easy-to-follow manner." Demonstrating thoughtfulness and organized thinking was positively associated with interview performance, the authors asserted (see, similarly, Maurer & Solamon, 2006).…”

“…While research is needed to investigate the correlation between the activities and mock-interview performance, following the preparatory exercises, we observed increased confidence in students as they approached the mock interview. Given that the literature (Maurer & Solamon, 2006) points out that most interview preparation interventions comprise multiple techniques (lecture, discussion, role-playing, practice, feedback, modeling), a variety of preparatory activities was offered. In our experience, the number and variety of techniques we introduced are unusual in the college classroom.…”

Preselection Methods Prior to the Internal Assessment Center for Personnel Selection in German Companies

“…One reason for the frequent use of unstructured interviews may be that developing a structured interview is time and cost intensive. To ensure validity of structured interviews, interviewers usually have to participate in a workshop before conducting the interviews (Huffcutt & Woehr, ; Maurer & Solamon, ). A further explanation of the preference for unstructured interviews may be the interviewers' unwillingness to relinquish decision‐making power.…”

Online or offline? Coaching media as mediator of the relationship between coaching style and employee work-related outcomes

“…Ever since Mace (1950) introduced the notion of HRD practice in the business context, definitions of coaching have varied considerably and have been extensively debated (e.g. D’Abate et al, 2003; Hall et al, 1999; Kilburg, 1996; Maurer and Solamon, 2006; Zeus and Skiffington, 2000). Kilburg (1996) defined coaching as a helping relationship meant to develop the coachee’s performance to enhance the effectiveness of the organization.…”