Saturday, 9 August 2014

Paper Presentation -- International Conference at Los Angeles,USA

International Conference
 conducted by Globel Academic Network
 held at South California University, LOS ANGELES,USA.
FACING JOB INTERVIEWS: STRATEGY-SUCCESS NEXUS
-
Dr.SelvaRani Selvam

Principal, Sri
Sarada Niketan College for Women
Amaravathipudur, Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu, India- 630311; www.srisaradaniketancollege.com


ABSTRACT
Research based outcomes on the strategies for grooming one to face job interviews revealing one’s treasure of caliber, character, courage, conviction and credence (C-qualities) are dealt. Research Setting and Research Findings on (i) Broad Contours and Strategies Adopted for Preparation for Interview and (ii) Interview Performance as Depicted by the Candidates are thrusts aspects of the study.

Research Setting: The research setting for the study is the Performance of Candidates in the Personality Test of Civil Services Examinations meant for selecting IAS/IFS/IPS and Group A/B positions in the Central Government Services in India by the Union Public Services Commission (UPSC), New Delhi.  This is two-phase examination with interview-rate just 1% and final success rate just about 0.5% of candidates taking the preliminary examination.  A structured questionnaire was adopted. A sample of 35 candidates consisting of 21 successful candidates and 14 unsuccessful candidates at the interview level was selected adopting Random sampling.


Research Findings on Broad Contours: In the sample of 35 candidates, 22 observed that they were very confident of being called for interview (based on their own assessment of written examination performance). Of this, 16 had passed the personality test giving a success proportion of 0.73. Out of 19 candidates who adjudged themselves as 'talkative', 13 passed out. So, being talkative is a ‘plus’. The mean time spent in preparing for the personality test for the passed-out candidates was 4.66 hours/day, while the same for the failed candidates, 3.43 hours/day. The 73 minute excess time spent daily by the passed-out group mattered the most. Out of the 31 candidates who took training for interview only 18 passed in the interview. Taking training with training institutes didn’t help much.

Findings on Strategies of Interview Preparation: Adoption & Perceived Effectiveness Rates

The 13 strategies of preparation for facing the interview were picked up from own experience and from reviewed literature and these were evaluated. Also, the perceived effectiveness of these strategies was also studied, using a 5 point-scale. The mean scores for the interview-passed out and interview-failed groups of candidates on the different strategies as to level of adoption (X1s & X2s) and on the extent of perceived effectiveness (Y1s & Y2s) were obtained and given as below.

Scores for the Mutually Inclusive Strategies of Preparing for Interview
S.
No.
Different Mutually Inclusive Strategies for Preparing for Interview
Interview- passed out candidates (Mean score)
Interview- failed candidates (Mean score)
X1s
Y1s
X2s
Y2s
1.
Keeping abreast of general current development
4.05
3.70
4.42
3.86
2.
Refreshing knowledge on home State
4.10
3.62
3.43
3.14
3.
Deep study of recent national/ regional/international problems issues,etc.
3.90
3.95
3.57
3.14
4.
Participating in mock interviews at homes or place of work/study
3.10
2.86
2.57
2.77
5.
Getting training under behavioral scientists
1.48
1.52
0.86
0.43
6.
Getting training under private training institutes
2.62
2.23
2.14
1.86
7.
Going through write-ups of toppers about their interview proceedings
2.19
2.00
1.86
2.14
8.
Holding discussions with friends/teachers on preparation for personality test
3.24
2.48
2.71
2.14
9.
Acquiring knowledge on own hobbies & extra- curricular activities
3.62
3.67
3.86
3.71
10.
Making 'cuttings' or 'clippings' of events subject-wise for ready reference
3.29
3.29
2.86
2.29
11.
Viewing TV program on Business, Polity, Current & World Affairs, etc.
2.10
2.62
1.71
1.29
12.
Keeping abreast of recent utterances by national/international personalities
3.14
2.62
2.86
2.43
13.
Started preparing immediately after main written examinations
2.33
2.62
2.14
2.00
Source: Primary Data


Mann-Whitney U test could not establish significant difference between Interview-passed out and Interview-failed candidates. Finer method of testing or alternative approach to establish the performance differences of the groups is needed, at this juncture. Test of significance of Difference between the two Independent Correlation Coefficients to find out the possible performance difference, established that the interview-passed-out candidates rightly matched the emphasis needed on a strategy of preparation for interview with the perceived effectiveness of the strategy. That clicked well in deciding the performance-success.




Research Findings on Depiction of one's Performance in the Personality Test

It should be possible for any candidate to state how well he or she perceivably performed in the personality test. The Mann-Whitney test rejected the null-hypothesis of equality of perceived performance depiction scores, with Z=3.25 at 5% significance level. The significantly higher mean score of the interview-passed out candidates than that of the interview failed candidates in respect of each performance depiction, signified the fact that the former group did better than the latter group in their own relative assessments. Mann-Whitney test confirmed the significant difference between the groups.
Mean Scores of Interview Passed and Failed Candidates for the
Different Performance Depictions
No.
Performance indicators.
Passed (mean)
Failed (mean)
1.
Proceeded on expected lines
2.62
2.14
2.
Felt confident through out
2.71
2.28
3.
Situation totally in your control
2.38
2.00
4.
Felt out of focus
2.95
2.28
5.
Over - awed by initial disappointments if any
2.81
2.57
6.
Board members kept you at ease
2.57
2.28
7.
Not hesitated to say 'I don't know'
2.95
2.28
8.
Caught 'trapped' by own 'traps'
2.86
2.70
9.
Presence of mind helped much
2.48
2.14
10.
Preparations helped much
2.33
2.21
Source: Primary Data

Sum-up
In the interview performance excellence depends on one’s methodical preparedness adopting right strategies to the right extent. A person can self-judge his/her performance in the interview mostly. High achievers by their hard work and presence of mind kept the interview process under their grip.
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MAIN PAPER

Today job interviews are becoming a great hunt for finding the treasure of caliber, character, courage, conviction and credence (C-qualities) in the candidates so that right people are inducted into the organization. But these C-qualities are wrapped due to lack of awareness or preparedness or guidance or all these knot-together on the part of the candidates and that extra efforts are needed to fathom them out. Instead, if the candidates are groomed to project their C-qualities that would make the job of job interviews lighter. Here are some research based outcomes on the strategies for grooming one to face job interviews revealing their C-qualities, presented on four major heads, namely Broad Contours, Specific Strategies, Research Setting and Research Findings on (i) Broad Contours and Strategies Adopted for Preparation for Interview and (b) Interview Performance  as Depicted by the candidates.

1. Broad Contours
Broad Contours of interview-preparedness included ‘Level of Confidence of being called for Interview’, 'Speak and Talk Aspects of Candidates', ‘Time spent for Preparation for Interview’ and ‘Training for Personality Test in Coaching Institute’. These affect the general preparedness of candidates for facing the interview.

2. Different Strategies of Preparation for Interview
The final interview phase in a typical selection process is very crucial and performance at this stage might ultimately decide ‘job’ or next job-interview.  Hence strenuous preparation is expected of candidates. There are diverse strategies of preparation followed by the candidates. More from own experience and to a small extent from words of mouth and research literature review, 13 different mutually inclusive strategies of preparation are identified.

These strategies are:
i.           Keeping abreast of general current developments
ii.         Refreshing knowledge on home State/Country
iii.       Deep study of recent national/regional/international problems, issues and the like
iv.       Participating in mock interviews at home or place of work/study
v.         Getting training under behavioral scientists
vi.       Getting training in reputed training Institutes
vii.     Going through write-ups of toppers’ interview experience in magazines/ news papers/ other media
viii.   Holding discussions with friends/teachers on preparation for personality test
ix.       Acquiring knowledge on own hobbies & extra-curricular activities
x.         Making 'cuttings' or "clippings' of Events subject-wise for ready reference
xi.       Viewing TV programs on Business, Policy, Current/ World Affairs, ‘Sports Round Up’ etc.
xii.     Keeping abreast of recent utterances by important national/international personalities
xiii.   Starting preparation for interview immediately after pre-stage examination/screening

3. Research Setting, Tool and Sample
The research setting for the study is the Performance of Candidates in the Personality Test of Civil Services Examinations meant for selecting IAS/IFS/IPS and Group A/B positions in the Central Government Services in India by the Union Public Services Commission (UPSC), New Delhi.  The two-phase examination, involves (i) Preliminary examination (written) and (ii)(a) Main examination (written) followed by (ii)(b) Personality Test (i.e., Oral Interview) for screened out candidates.

Setting: Candidates are called for Personality Test on the basis of their score in the main (written) examination, subject to social inclusiveness policy time to time in vogue, prescribing different cut-off marks for general and social inclusiveness-class candidates. Candidates obtaining marks equal to or more than the cut-off marks, are called for personality test. At personality test phase, the success-failure rate is 50:50. That is about twice the number of total positions to be filled up during the year, are called for interview.

The personality test involves a face to face interview at the UPSC office, New Delhi, lasting for about 30 minutes for each candidate. The interview board consists of seven members, with a Chairperson as well. There are parallel interview boards. The object of the personality test is to assess the personal suitability of the candidates for careers in public service. The intellectual capabilities, social qualities, administrative talents, interest in current affairs, balance on judgment, moral integrity, critical powers of assimilation, clear and logical exposition etc of the candidates are assessed by the interview board in a fair and unbiased manner. The top-layer of India’s administrative machinery is represented by the IAS/IFS/IPS and Group A/B cadres.

Objectives: The objectives of the study are:
i.                    To Study the Strategies adopted by the Candidates to prepare for the Interview
ii.                  To measure the extent of adoption of, and perceived effectiveness rates of the different strategies for the successful and unsuccessful candidates.

iii.                To measure the self-judged Interview Performance Depictions by the candidates themselves.

Hypotheses: Hypotheses of the Study are:

i.                    To test whether the two groups, (interview-passed out and interview-failed candidates) differed significantly from each other in level of adoption and perceived effectiveness of the different strategies

ii.                  To test whether the two correlation coefficients (i) between Adoption Level and Perceived Effectiveness Level of interview-passed-out candidates & (ii) between Adoption Level and Perceived Effectiveness Level of interview-failed candidates differed significantly.

Research Tool: A structured questionnaire was adopted with 5-point scaling. The questions covered content, criterion and context factors pertaining to interview preparation strategies and opinion about interview performance.

Sampling: The sampling technique adopted is multi-stage sampling restricted to candidates from Tamilnadu who took the Civil Services examination. A sample of 35 candidates consisting of 21 successful candidates and 14 unsuccessful candidates at the interview level was randomly chosen for enquiry into how they prepared for the personality test. Getting this number of candidates is a great achievement, because less than 200 candidates met the criteria, both time frame, geography and performance. The sample amounted to more than 20% of candidates in the three-year period of study.


4.  Research Findings on Broad Contours and Strategies of Preparation for Interview                     Now the research findings of the study based on primary data are dealt. The presentation is in regard to Broad Contours, Strategies for Preparation for Interview and Interview Performance depiction by the candidates themselves on a structured set of factors.

4.1.1 Level of Confidence of being called for Personality Test and Performance
In the sample of 35 candidates, 22 candidates observed that they were very confident of being called for interview (based on their own assessment of written examination performance). Of this 16 had passed the personality test giving a success proportion of 0.73. Out of 13 who did entertain even a humble hope or no hope at all of being called for personality test, 5 had passed out in the personality test giving a success proportion of 0.38. The former category success proportion is significantly higher than the latter category. It must be noted that it is not merely the interview call expectation, but based on the expectation preparing for the interview quite assiduously from early on counts much.

4.1.2 'Speak and Talk' Aspects of Candidates and Performance
19 candidates adjudged themselves as 'talkative' and 13 adjudged them as 'quite comfortable' (a shade less than the ‘talkative’ group) and rest felt diffident or submissive. Readers must take the term ‘talkative’ is a positive frame! The success proportion for the 'talkative' group amounted to 0.79 and for the non-talkative (all the rest) group the figure was just 0.38 and significant difference between the groups in success was found.  Interview is the place for ‘talking’ and talkativeness helps a lot.           

4.1.3 Average time per day spent on Preparation for personality test and Performance
The time spent per day by the candidates in reading the newspapers, journals and magazines varied widely from just 2 hours a day to 11 hours a day. The mean time spent in preparing for the personality test for the passed-out candidates amounted to 4.66 hours a day, while the same for the failed candidates, amounted to 3.43 hours a day. With high levels of standard deviation, the interview passed and failed candidates did not differ significantly on mean time spent. Still, the 73 minute excess time spent daily by the passed-out group mattered the most.

4.1.4 Training for Personality Test with Coaching Institute and Performance
31 out of the 35 candidates, who appeared for interview, took training in one or more coaching institute(s) in order to get them equipped for the personality test. Behavior modeling was also imparted to the candidates. Out of the 31 candidates who took training, 18 passed in the interview, giving a pass percentage for the group at 58%. Nexus between Training for Personality Test with Coaching Institute and Performance didn’t get established, however.

4.2 Strategies of Interview Preparation: Adoption and Perceived Effectiveness Rates

The 13 strategies for preparation for facing the interview were evaluated. Also, the perceived effectiveness of these methods was also studied. 5 point-scale was adopted. The mean scores for the interview-passed out and interview-failed groups of candidates on the different strategies as to level of adoption (X1 & X2) and on the extent of perceived effectiveness (Y1 & Y2) were obtained.
It must be noted that in India at the time the study was made, annually about 700 to 800 candidates were finally selected. Twice this number, that is about 1400 to 1600 candidates normally called for the interview. That meant the 1400 to 1600 passed out the Main (written) examination. On average, this 1400 to 1600 candidates emanated from 10 times this of number of candidates, that is 14000 to 16,000, who wrote the Main (written) examination, clearing the preliminary examination. Usually, about 140,000 to 160,000 wrote the Preliminary examination from whom the above referred to 14,000 to 16,000 candidates emerged successful permitted to write the Main (written) examination. That is final success rate is about 0.5% and interviewed rate is just 1% of candidates taking the preliminary examination.  This is the level of high competitiveness of the examination as a whole.

Table 1: Scores for the Mutually Inclusive Strategies of Preparing for Interview
S.
No.
Different Mutually Inclusive Strategies for Preparing for Interview
Interview- passed out candidates (Mean score)
Interview- failed candidates (Mean score)
X1s
Y1s
X2s
Y2s
1.
Keeping abreast of general current development
4.05
3.70
4.42
3.86
2.
Refreshing knowledge on home State
4.10
3.62
3.43
3.14
3.
Deep study of recent national/ regional/international problems issues,etc.
3.90
3.95
3.57
3.14
4.
Participating in mock interviews at homes or place of work/study
3.10
2.86
2.57
2.77
5.
Getting training under behavioral scientists
1.48
1.52
0.86
0.43
6.
Getting training under private training institutes
2.62
2.23
2.14
1.86
7.
Going through write-ups of toppers about their interview proceedings
2.19
2.00
1.86
2.14
8.
Holding discussions with friends/teachers on preparation for personality test
3.24
2.48
2.71
2.14
9.
Acquiring knowledge on own hobbies & extra- curricular activities
3.62
3.67
3.86
3.71
10.
Making 'cuttings' or 'clippings' of events subject-wise for ready reference
3.29
3.29
2.86
2.29
11.
Viewing TV program on Business, Polity, Current & World Affairs, etc.
2.10
2.62
1.71
1.29
12.
Keeping abreast of recent utterances by national/international personalities
3.14
2.62
2.86
2.43
13.
Started preparing immediately after main written examinations
2.33
2.62
2.14
2.00
Source: Primary Data


4.2.1 Test of significance of Difference between Means

Mann-Whitney U test was adopted on rank transformed X1s and X2s testing for equality of means of adoption scores for the two groups. The test could not establish any significant difference between Interview-passed out and Interview-failed candidates. Yes the variation is minute because the two groups are highly competitive and only a thin shade of difference normally exists. But this thin shade of difference must be established convincingly, however. Finer method of testing or alternative approach to establish the performance differences of the groups is needed, at this juncture.


4.2.2 Test of significance of Difference between Independent Correlation Coefficients

Individually the correlation coefficient between Adoption Level and Perceived Effectiveness Level of interview-passed-out candidates is significant (0.9: X1s, Y1s) and the same between of the interview-failed candidates (0.575: X2s, Y2s) is also significant, though the value is lower.  Test of significance of Difference between the two Independent Correlation Coefficients is attempted to find out the possible performance difference, with ‘Z’ transformation approach. And the difference was established which meant that the interview-passed-out candidates rightly matched the emphasis needed on a strategy of preparation for interview with perceived effectiveness of the strategy.

5. Research Findings on Depiction of one's Performance in the Personality Test

It should be possible for any candidate to state how well he or she perceivably performed in the personality test. This depiction is a testimony of one’s performance by one-self. Everyone is one’s own best judge. A comparison of this perceived performance depiction scores of the two groups could establish the difference between the Interview-passed out candidates and Interview-failed candidates. Varied depictions of perceived performance were used as yardsticks. The candidates’ responses were obtained on a three point scale, namely, ‘high’, ‘moderate’ and ‘low’.
The interview performance depiction score is measured over 10 factors are as follows:
i.                    Proceeded on expected lines
ii.                  Felt confident throughout
iii.                Situation totally in your control
iv.                Felt out of focus
v.                  Over-awed by initial disappointments
vi.                Board members kept you at ease
vii.              Not hesitated to say, 'I don't know'
viii.            Caught 'trapped' by own 'traps'
ix.                Presence of mind helped much
x.                  Preparations helped much

‘Proceeded on expected lines' as a perceived performance depiction measured the extent to which the about 30 minutes' duration personality test proceedings went according to a candidates' expectation of the course of personality test. 'Felt confident throughout' underlined self-confidence as a positive contributor. ‘Situation totally in your (i.e. candidate's) control’ depicted the ability of the candidates to keep the board members to rejoice through his/her intellectual and spirited performance enabling the candidate to keep the interview situation totally in his/her control. 'Felt out of focus' is a negative factor and could happen when the interview proceedings dripped out of focus. 'Over-awed by initial disappointments', a negative factor, might happen that certain initial disappointments at the very beginning of the interview haunted the candidate throughout and that he/she would not recover throughout the course. In a sense, this indicates inability of the candidate to handle 'stress'.

‘Board members kept you at ease' referred to overall interview environment, helping not hindering to find out one’s C-qualities. 'Not hesitated to say "I don't know' is a positive depiction indicating the candidates' assertiveness and honesty. But, such responses are better fewer in number! ‘Caught trapped by own traps' is a negative depiction. Generally, the interviewers take leads from candidate's responses and interests. It might happen that a ‘wrong lead’ might wreck a candidate.  'Presence of mind helped much' is a very important depiction. Presence of mind will see a candidate, through the rough and tough of interview. Presence of mind tests the candidate's pragmatism and situation- specific articulation. Would be administrators are seriously tested on presence of mind. Finally, 'preparations helped much' comes as a depiction of perceived performance. Though every interview is a unique course, preparation for the interview constitutes the fundamental strength from which other strengths such as self-confidence, presence of mind, etc emerge. For personality test of the type of civil services examination, a lot could be gained through systematic preparation. Table 2 gives the distribution of candidates with the sub classification for interview passed and interview failed groups under high, moderate and low levels for the above 10 perceived performance depictions.
Table 2 Distribution of Candidates by General Perception on One's Performance
S. No.
Performance Indicator
High Level
Moderate
Low Level
Passed
Failed
Passed
Failed
Passed
Failed
1.
Proceeded on expected lines
14
4
6
8
1
2
2.
Felt confidence through out
16
7
4
4
1
3
3.
Situation totally in your control
10
4
9
6
2
4
4.
Felt out of focus
0
2
1
6
20
6
5.
Over-awed by initial disappointments
1
2
2
4
18
8
6.
Board members kept you at ease
13
8
7
2
1
4
7.
Not hesitated to say 'I don't know'
20
8
1
2
0
4
8.
Caught 'trapped' by own 'traps'
0
1
3
4
18
9
9.
Presence of mind helped much
12
4
7
8
2
2
10.
Preparations helped much
10
4
8
9
3
1
Source: Primary Data

The group-wise mean scores for each of the above ten perceived performance indicators were obtained for interview passed and failed candidates separately. 3, 2 and 1 points for 'high', 'moderate' and 'low' ratings, were assigned for positive indicators and the scores reversed for negative factors. Group mean score was obtained adopting weighted average. These mean scores are given in table 3. The Mann-Whitney test rejected the null-hypothesis of equality of perceived performance depiction scores, with Z=3.25, at 5% significance level.

The significantly higher mean score of the interview-passed out candidates than that of the interview failed candidates in respect of each performance depiction, signified the fact that the former group did better than the latter group in their own relative assessments. Also, test of significance of difference between proportions of the two classes of candidates crossed with levels of performance depictions (‘High’ and ‘Moderate-Low Combined’) rejected null hypothesis of no difference in 6 out of 10 performance depictions. This meant that successful candidates are masters of their interview performance while unsuccessful candidates could not have that much breathing space or leeway, because of own making/marring/messing-up or so.

Table 3: Mean Scores of Interview- Passed and Failed Candidates for the
Different Performance Depictions
No.
Performance indicators.
Passed (mean)
Failed (mean)
1.
Proceeded on expected lines
2.62
2.14
2.
Felt confident through out
2.71
2.28
3.
Situation totally in your control
2.38
2.00
4.
Felt out of focus
2.95
2.28
5.
Over - awed by initial disappointments if any
2.81
2.57
6.
Board members kept you at ease
2.57
2.28
7.
Not hesitated to say 'I don't know'
2.95
2.28
8.
Caught 'trapped' by own 'traps'
2.86
2.70
9.
Presence of mind helped much
2.48
2.14
10.
Preparations helped much
2.33
2.21
Source: Primary Data


Sum-up
In the interview performance excellence depends on one’s methodical preparedness adopting right strategies. The strategies of preparation for interview and perceived effectiveness of the strategies had a significantly higher correlation for passed-out candidates than the interview-failed candidates. A person can self-judge his/her performance in the interview mostly. High achievers by their hard work, presence of mind and other factors kept the interview process under their own-grip, emerging successful in the end. Significant performance differences existed between the groups as revealed by the scores on the performance depictions.
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