{"id":14511,"date":"2014-10-10T12:33:23","date_gmt":"2014-10-10T11:33:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.viasto.com\/en\/?post_type=post&p=5917"},"modified":"2020-01-30T10:17:43","modified_gmt":"2020-01-30T08:17:43","slug":"structured-interviews-secret-talent-acquisition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.viasto.com\/en\/blog\/structured-interviews-secret-talent-acquisition\/","title":{"rendered":"Structured Interviews – the Secret to Talent Acquisition"},"content":{"rendered":"

No matter how many books there are about talent acquisition best practices, one conclusion appears again and again: structured interviews are better than unstructured ones if you want to identify the most qualified candidates. However, the understanding of what is a structured interview, can differ considerably. In this post, therefore, we would like to show you what structured interviews actually are and why they are important for effective recruiting.<\/p>\n

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1 What\u2019s the basis of the interview questions?
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Structured interviews differ from unstructured interviews in two aspects: first, how questions are derived, and second the use of proven question types.<\/p>\n

In structured interviews, the questions are based upon a requirements analysis or a competence profile that serve as orientation for creating an interview guideline. This guideline will contain a package of competence dimensions that the candidates needs to meet and that will be checked by specific questions (We recommend reading: Recruiting Guide – In three steps from the job profile to the appropriate selection method<\/a><\/strong>).<\/p>\n

The next structural aspect refers to the wording of the questions. While open questions are typical in unstructured interviews, structured interviews primarily contain situational or behavioral questions. Let\u2019s take the competency dimension of \u201cteamwork\u201d as an example:<\/p>\n

An open question type would be: \u201cDo you prefer working in a team or on your own?\u201d or, more directly, \u201cAre you a team worker?\u201d A behavioral descriptive question can test this same competency in the following way: \u201cPlease describe the biggest success you have achieved together with your team. How did you contribute to achieving this?\u201d<\/p>\n

2. How standardised is your interview process?<\/span><\/h5>\n

This point refers to the standardisation of the interview itself. The more it is fixed in detail (for example, by having an interview guide), the more structured the interview gets. There are different ways to achieve this. One of the best known is, for instance, the Multimodal Interview (MMI) by Heinz Schuler, which is constructed as follows:<\/p>\n