Tutorial Report: Interview Report

The interview process can be a stressful situation for any hopeful job seeking individual. Regardless the interviewer, she or he can become anyone’s nightmare. However, in a twist of irony, some interviewers may end up on the receiving end of an interview. Interviewers understand that interviews lack ill-will but are a process to evaluate interviewees via questions/answers and a completed interview report. In many industries, the hiring of new employees is a crucial task due to how they impact both workflow and resources for a business. When an employer seeks someone to fill a position, their organization wants to invest in the safest, highest quality, most competent person available.

What is an interview report?

An interview report is a valuable business report that many people overlook. The interview report functions as a reflection of an interview. The interviewer prepares an interview report before or after the interview process; it is effective for the business industry. However, both are the same despite requiring different approaches to break down the interview.

The Pre-Interview Report

Preparation for an interview report requires many steps to get the ball rolling and make the interview the best possible for the company. There are about five steps to preparing an interview report.

Know the Interview

The first step involves general preparation for the interview. Preparation is important for an interview. Both parties must know if the interview will be face-to-face, over the phone, or in a group. Different interview types have a different evaluation process. For instance, a phone interview cannot judge the attire of an interviewee, but it may assess their verbal communication skills. Applicants should prepare with the expected materials before the interview. Interview materials include tape recorders, smartphones, writing utensils, and notebooks.

Researching Candidates

Second, it is important to do some background research on the topic of the interview. This includes collecting information about the interviewee so that the interview ends up being successful. A person’s education and previous work experience would fall under valuable information when looking for candidates to fill a position. In some instances, age may be a criteria if a job involves physical labor. Preparation of information is useful in the interview process as the interviewer may ask the interviewee to provide additional information, which may be personal or professional. Checking a candidates presence on social media is now a common practice. Regardless of how disconnected someone’s behavior online is from their real-world personality, a person takes ownership of their actions, and they serve as a reflection of them. In certain industries that work with sensitive information, such as health care and banking, employees may not release work-related information online. 

Prepare Questions

The third step is to generate questions that will ensure a useful interview and consequently a more thorough interview report. After preparing those questions, practicing giving the interview will serve as a critical step during the formation of the interview report. Apart from familiarizing oneself with the interview process; practicing giving the interview may lead to adjustments in the report. Reading aloud previously prepared information may draw attention to certain details that need adjustments, such as the addition of questions.

Stay on Track

The fourth step includes sticking to the content of the subject, which is crucial. It is important to remember the sole purpose of the interview. The previously prepared questions act as a safety net to catch the interview from falling off track. There are time constraints that drive the pace of an interview. These restraints can have negative effects, especially when a question diverges into a story or conversation, which may result in the interview being cut short. As a result, the interviewer should remain on track. 

Style Choice

Fifth, it is important to decide what format to use for the interview report. There are two format options: the question and answer form or the narrative format. The question and answer format include the questions typed out, and the interviewee’s word for word answers typed out beneath the questions. The questions have “Q” labeled before them, and the interviewee’s answers have “A” labeled before them. The narrative format includes an introduction to the interviewee’s answers with the answers in direct quotations. The image below exhibits the use of the question and answer format.

The Post-Interview Report

The post-interview report is different because the hard part is over. All the work put into the interview through creating, preparing, practicing, and going through the actual interview is now over. The tasks that remain are to reflect on what occurred in the interview. The interviewer gathers their thoughts and materials from the interview in question. Ensuring the pre-interview steps are complete grants a sense of safety. They will point out what professional characteristics the interviewee holds that make them stand out against the rest to appear the best fit for the position. Additionally, it is not only important to know the applicant professionally, but the interviewer should learn more personal aspects of one’s life. This is crucial to know who is fraught into a company. The focus in the post-interview report centers on the effectiveness of its content. Having a simple evaluation form can help guide the post-interview report. By having simplified questions regarding the interviewee’s performance, the interviewer can provide simple answers then work backward to develop reasoning for the answer. 

In conclusion…

The previously detailed steps will deem an interview report as a beneficial tool that provides useful information during the final stages of the hiring process.