Assignment Instructions
Your organization will be hiring a “Communications Manager” with a newly designed role reporting to the CEO. Imagine that you are responsible for developing the interview format for the selection process. Use the job analysis and resources below to create a 4-5 page paper (excluding title and reference pages) that includes:
- Discussion of the categories of interview questions you recommend
- At least 15 specific interview questions
- Your justification for recommending these questions
- At least two questions that could be potentially illegal
- The appropriate law(s) that would limit use of the potentially illegal questions
- Job Analysis for Communications Manager Position:
The Communications Manager will have a lead role in a highly visible position, where he or she will interact with senior executives in the organization and community leaders outside of the organization. The job analysis for this position highlighted the following responsibilities and skills:
- Create and oversee the organization’s public information and education programs.
- Manage all external and internal communications.
- Act as the organization’s media liaison and chief spokesperson.
- Manage the flow of information pertaining to customer complaints.
- Direct complaints to the appropriate staff for resolution.
- Arrange media and customer service training classes to enhance employee
Sample Answer – Communication Manager Interview Process
A communication manager has the important task of ensuring that external and internal messages are managed efficiently to ensure effective communication especially of the different messages sent back and forth the organization and even internally takes place smoothly (Gatewood et al., 2011). It is, therefore, important to come up with various selection criteria and use interview questions that pinpoint the information needed from a qualified candidate for the position. Different categories regarding the questions to be asked in the interview will be deliberated upon and used in the selection process. Some of the classes of the interview questions will be credential verification queries. These questions will concentrate on the qualification spelled din the resume. The verification of the background and knowledge according to the resume qualifications will be done in the interview process. Work experiential questions will also be asked to determine whether the candidate has ever worked elsewhere especially in a position that is relevant to the one being advertised by the company. Questions dealing with experience are quite important since they help the company determine how well prepared one is for the job. Some candidates may have more experience than others may which gives them an edge since the company will not have to train them on some issues.
The behavioral category of questions will also be asked to gauge the judgment process of the candidate when given various tasks by the company about his past decisions. Also, competency questions will be part of the interview process that will help determine the problem solving and leadership capabilities of the candidate. Brainteaser question will follow to determine the mathematical mental ability especially in creatively coming up with a solution. Opinion questions are vital and will be asked during the interview to determine the thought processes of the candidate (Dressler, 2017). The categories will thus help the company to ensure that it examines the candidates in different areas to determine whether he or she is adept in the areas and qualification being sought by the corporation. The questions for the interview of the communication managers are as below:
- What is your background?
- Can you give us a brief history of your work in the corporate world?
- What makes you the right candidate for this job?
- What is your knowledge of the company’s products?
- How would you utilize social media for corporate communications?
- Give us a scenario where you dealt with a difficult externally party and how you managed to deal with the situation.
- Give us an example of when you successfully passed a message from the company and what ensured your success in the end?
- When coming up with a press conference what should you consider?
- How would you utilize employees in the company in terms of being brand ambassadors
- Do you have any experience in coming up with video conferences?
- If there was negative publicity due to an employee’s comment on the social media what action would you take.
- Do you have experience in training staff on various media?
- How would you manage vertical and horizontal communication in the company?
- How do you go about ensuring that the communicated messages reach the right persons?
- If a senior employee in the organization resigns because of various malpractices, how you would handle the communication within and without the company?
The above questions are important in ensuring that the company thoroughly knows the character of the person. Job qualifications do not wholly define a person since professional can write them on his behalf. Passing through the qualifications of the candidate on the resume is not enough to clearly show the potential of the person. Interviewing the person and getting information on his judgment and further his character is quite important (Ivancevich & Konopaske, 2013). The character of a person precedes him and therefore in using the different questions the panel can get to understand the person more clearly. The interview questions dwell on the background, experience, and character of the individual, which are important to the company in determining what type of person the candidate is and if he or she can qualify for the job. Furthermore, the questions are directed at various issues regarding the company’s communication functions and how the candidate will be able to handle and manager the daily communication tasks. Communication is an important task that may represent the company well if carried in the correct manner and therefore it is important to examine the person with the above questions to determine his or her skills and ensure that the right candidate is found. Questions that would be illegal would include:
- Which religion do you subscribe to?
- What is your national origin?
Issues dealing with race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, marital status and age among others are illegal when formulating interview questions. Such questions may only be legitimate if they are related to the position one is being interviewed for. When an employer thus asks questions regarding race among those that are considered illegal he will be going against the rights of the individual and thus discriminating him or her. There are various laws that deal with such illegal questions and prevent the employers from asking them unless it is appropriate. Federal law prohibits the discrimination of persons in the process of employment with regard to religion, disability, pregnancy, national origin or age. There are other local and state laws that further spell out what is illegal in interviewing of a person. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission enforces laws to prevent against discrimination of individuals in the hiring process. The Civil Rights Act formulated in 1964 is one such bill that prevents discrimination against individuals due to their gender national origin, race and color (Bringle, 2015). The pregnancy discrimination act further prevents individuals from discrimination due to being pregnant, or having complications arising from childbirth or pregnancy. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) of 1967 safeguards the rights of people who are forty years and older form discrimination in any employment undertaking (Barnes, 2016). Any retaliation if further dealt with in the law. The Americans with Disability ACT (ADA) of 1990 protects people with disabilities from discrimination against their state especially when they are qualified for the job being offered (Davis, 2015). ADA further protects individuals who have lodged complaints of discrimination especially if they were denied a chance at employment because of their disability. Companies in this regard have to know the various laws and ensure that they comply with them especially when carrying out recruitment and selection in their companies. Such laws are important because they prevent discrimination in different forms especially during the hiring process. The whole process will thus comply with the different laws and the candidate treated accordingly to prevent any complaints arising. The panel will thus be informed of the laws and reminded not to contravene them.
Get Your Custom Paper From Professional Writers. 100% Plagiarism Free, No AI Generated Content and Good Grade Guarantee. We Have Experts In All Subjects.
Place Your Order Now