Home > Books > Interviewer's Pocketbook

The Interviewer's Pocketbook

Book cover: The Interviewer's PocketbookBy Sean McManus and John Townsend

The Interviewer's Pocketbook provides a compact guide to the essential tips, tools and techniques that will help you to ensure you select the right people to join your organisation.

Interviews are a high-risk scenario, for both the hiring organisation and the candidate. If the company hires the wrong person, it could suffer from unplanned training and management costs, lose productivity or sales, and disturb team morale. The candidate might leave a job where they're happy and find they're unhappy with you.

And yet, few managers, especially in small businesses, have received formal training in carrying out job interviews.

In this book, you'll learn how to conduct effective recruitment interviews. It guides you through the whole interview process: from working out the skills you need to hire, to asking the questions that will challenge the candidate to demonstrate them, probing for more information, and assessing the candidates. Ultimately, it will help you to increase the effectiveness of your recruitment programmes and ensure that the process is fair to all candidates.

See below for a sample chapter and the full table of contents.

Buy the book

Free chapter: Listening Techniques

Read an exclusive free chapter from The Interviewer's Pocketbook, covering the most important listening techniques you should use while conducting the interview.

Sample pages from the Interviewer's Pocketbook


Table of contents

Understanding interviews

What is an interview?, why good interviews matter, the interview challenge, what makes a successful interview?, common interview mistakes, which skills do you need?

Questioning techniques

A word of warning, types of questions, open questions, closed questions, evidence questions, hypothetical questions, probing questions, gathering complete information, blockbusting questions, framing questions, challenge questions, reflective questions, additional questioning skills, keeping the interviewee on track, silence

Questions to avoid

Leading questions, psychology questions, discriminatory questions, self-appraisal questions, brainteaser questions, multiple questions

Listening techniques

Good listening skills, the 30/70 rule, listening barriers, taking notes, hearing clearly, paralinguistics

Understanding body language

Using body language, postures and gestures, eye contact, orientation, proximity, looks/appearance, expressions of emotion, interpreting body language, using your body language, mirroring body posture, echoing talking speed

Preparing for the interview

The candidate's information, the job description, the job specification, quantifying the job specification, preparing evidence questions, preparing answers, shortlisting applicants, scheduling the interview, preparing the interview room

Conducting the interview

Meeting the candidate, opening the interview, the interview process, an interview example, answering candidate's questions, closing the interview, evaluating candidates, reference checking, follow-up


About the authors

Sean McManus writes inspiring books about business and technology. He is co-author of The Customer Service Pocketbook. His other books include Web Design in Easy Steps, iPad for the Older and Wiser, Scratch Programming in Easy Steps, and Raspberry Pi For Dummies. His magazine contributions have appeared in Marketing Week, Customer Loyalty Today and Business 2.0 among others.

John Townsend is recognised as a leading trainer of trainers. He is founder of the Master Trainer Institute, which draws trainers and facilitators from around the world. He set up the institute after 30 years' experience in international consulting and human resources management positions in the UK, France, the United States and Switzerland - notably as European Director of Executive development with GTE in Geneva, where he had training responsibility for over 800 managers in 15 countries.

Credits

© Sean McManus. All rights reserved.

Visit www.sean.co.uk for free chapters from Sean's coding books (including Mission Python, Scratch Programming in Easy Steps and Coder Academy) and more!

Discover my latest books

Coding Compendium

Coding Compendium

A free 100-page ebook collecting my projects and tutorials for Raspberry Pi, micro:bit, Scratch and Python. Simply join my newsletter to download it.

Web Design in Easy Steps

Web Design IES

Web Design in Easy Steps, now in its 7th Edition, shows you how to make effective websites that work on any device.

100 Top Tips: Microsoft Excel

100 Top Tips: Microsoft Excel

Power up your Microsoft Excel skills with this powerful pocket-sized book of tips that will save you time and help you learn more from your spreadsheets.

Scratch Programming in Easy Steps

Scratch Programming IES

This book, now fully updated for Scratch 3, will take you from the basics of the Scratch language into the depths of its more advanced features. A great way to start programming.

Mission Python book

Mission Python

Code a space adventure game in this Python programming book published by No Starch Press.

Cool Scratch Projects in Easy Steps book

Cool Scratch Projects in Easy Steps

Discover how to make 3D games, create mazes, build a drum machine, make a game with cartoon animals and more!

Walking astronaut from Mission Python book Top | Search | Help | Privacy | Access Keys | Contact me
Home | Newsletter | Blog | Copywriting Services | Books | Free book chapters | Articles | Music | Photos | Games | Shop | About