Factors leading to interview question decisions: Introducing the Model of Interviewer Question Preferences

• Published in: International journal of selection and assessment 2022-09, Vol.30 (3), p.392-410
• Main Authors: Speer, Andrew B., Wegmeyer, Lauren J., Delacruz, Angie Y.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: cognitive ability; interviewer ability; interviews; job analysis; Preferences; question preference
• ISSN: 0965-075X; 1468-2389
• DOI: 10.1111/ijsa.12383

This study expands upon interview research by developing a tentative model to explain interview question preferences. The Model of Interviewer Question Preferences highlights interviewer factors that occur along two paths: job relevance factors that lead to the identification of questions that accurately differentiate applicants in terms of hireability, and social and past experience factors affecting interview preferences more broadly. We tested this tentative model using a prolific sample of 186 respondents who had prior experience conducting interviews. When combining both the job relevance path and social exposure path, nearly 48% of the variance in preference for interview questions was explained. Factors such as question job relevance and question exposure were highly related to question preference. Most generally, results suggest that people prefer to ask questions they are familiar with and think are job relevant. Practitioner points Individual differences in question preferences are likely to impact the quality of the interview. Recent research has found people differ in their ability to identify good interview questions and that interviewers prefer different types of interview questions. We propose that question preference is dictated by two decision routes. The first route accounts for interviewer preferences for job‐related questions that allow interviewers to uncover information about job‐relevant traits (i.e., to evaluate job applicants). The second path is an exposure and social preferences route that considers how exposure to interview content and social preferences influence question selection. We found that people prefer to ask questions they are familiar with and are job relevant. Like past research, people with higher general mental ability were more likely to identify job relevant interview questions. Past interviewer experience was also related to effective interview design.