Interview Reflection

This interview reflection discusses the skills that should be employed by interviewers to get the most out of an interview. It highlights the importance of making the interviewee comfortable, asking appropriate questions, being flexible, and demonstrating confidence in the interviewee. The reflection also points out the interviewer's failure to employ these skills in a specific interview.

Running head: INTERVIEW
Interview Reflection
Name
Institution

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Introduction
Getting the most out of an interview is it for a job or any other duty, both the interviewer
and interviewee ought to employ some skill. Skills to be applied by the interviewer include;
making the interviewee comfortable, being conversational, employing effective listening skills,
asking appropriate questions, being flexible, appreciating silence from the interviewee
occasionally, listening for non-verbal language, look for real solutions and concluding the
interview in a proper manner. In regards to this particular interview, however, it is evident that
the interviewer fails to effectively employ these skills. He clearly directs the interview regarding
his need for particular information from the interviewee.
Body
 Interviewer’s initial contact with interviewee
In the interview of focus, interviewer ought to have made the interviewee comfortable at
the very beginning of the interview. The interviewer’s initial contact with the interviewee is
totally poor. The interviewer ought to have made the interviewee more comfortable by
introducing himself or offering a glass of water or mug of coffee to the interviewee. These
actions would have helped the interviewee be at ease and give a more truthful feedback to the
questions posed. Additionally, if in any case an interviewee appears to be shy, like in this
interview, the interviewer ought to try to put them at ease and inspire dialogue.
 Level of respect and rapport the interviewer shows interviewee
An interviewer is obligated to ask appropriate questions within context of the interview.
However, the interviewer asks about the interviewee’s mom and dad issues. This is a very

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personal question and not related to the interview in any way and a breach of interviewee’s
privacy. Accorded to them, it shows a disregard of the interviewee’s personal life and low level
of respect. The interviewer is expected to stick to the point by only asking questions related to
substance abuse by the interviewee. After all, family issues and other personal matters are not of
concern in this particular interview. According to the general interview techniques, asking
personal questions like age, marital status, religion, and race or family matters is illegal.
 Interviewer’s assessment of the interviewee’s readiness to change
An interviewer should demonstrate that they have confidence in the interviewee. The
interviewer in question however, does not seem to believe in the interviewee. This is pinpointed
by how he reacts towards the response to the question on the readiness and willingness of the
interviewee towards change. The facial expression he displays sends a signal that he is certainly
unsure that the interviewee will reform. Interviewers should actually show confidence in the
interviewee even if deep down they know that whatever they propose or say is unlikely to
happen. A show of confidence in the interviewee would also make them extra confident and even
stimulate them to open up to deeper levels.
Interviewer’s level of overall engagement with interviewee.
Every interviewer should employ effective listening skills. Being a strong listener will
show the interviewer’s interest in the interviewee and encourage them to speak more.
Interviewers should occasionally paraphrase the interviewee’s responses to show understanding,
and give brief affirmations like “I see,” “I know,” “Sure,” “Thank you,” or “I understand.” The
interviewer in question literally goes to another question immediately after the interviewee has

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responded to the preceding one. This is very wrong and goes against interview techniques
listening skills.
An interviewer ought to be conversational at all costs. This is because an interview is a
conjoint give-and-take of information. In general, looking at the interview in question, the
overall engagement of the interviewer with the interviewee was not reciprocal. The interviewer
was openly dominating the interview. Interviewers are required to make the interview process
flow as a conversation. They may ease the tension by asking the interviewee about their leisure
pursuits or comforts. That will be of help in encouraging the interviewee to speak freely and also
to relax.
Interviewers need not to worry about silence, if it occurs in the course of the interview.
However, in the interview of focus, the interviewer constantly interrupts moments of silence.
Whenever, the interviewee goes silent the interviewer still talks or even questions them again.
Interviewers should not feel edgy to fill the interview with continuous talk. This moments of
silence enables them to deliberate on the interviewee’s responses to preceding questions. These
pauses in the dialogue can also give the interviewee enough time to think of the best responses to
questions asked. As seen in the interview, any instance that the interviewee went silent, his non-
verbal cues showed that he was in deep thought.
Interviewers should also take notice of the interviewee’s body language and non-verbal
cues (Forman & Moyers, 2018). Non-verbal cues include nodding, eye-contact, body movements
and body posture. The significance of body language is that is portrays the level of interest and
honesty by the interviewee. The interviewer here fails to notice the interviewee tends to avoid
eye contact with him. The latter also occasionally leans backward on the chair, touches their

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face, and plays with their fingers and arms. All this non-verbal cues indicate that the interviewee
is disinterested in the interview and may also be lying about some things.
 Interviewer’s identification of impact of substance use on interviewee’s
lifestyle
When stating opinions, for example regarding the lifestyle of an interviewee, the
interviewer ought to be very careful with the words used. In the particular interview, the
interviewer seems to be very unfeeling when stating the potential impacts of substance use to the
interviewee’s lifestyle. He makes it appear like the interviewee’s life is very undesirable. Well,
however true this may be, he needed not to rub it in his face. Interviewer’s should be humane and
act as naturally as possible by avoiding exaggerations, and being true to both themselves and the
interviewee.
 Interviewer’s identification of stressors that interviewee may be experiencing
Assumptions on interviewees’ situations should not be made by the interviewers at any
point in the interview (West, Conrad, Kreuter, & Mittereder, 2018). Interviewers should not
show or say that they know much about the interviewee’s’ situation even when they are certain.
The interviewer in question boldly points out at issues that he tends to believe may be stressing
the interviewee. He is however wrong as the interviewee negates his views. Interviewers should
let the interview give their own feedback without pressuring them at all. Premeditated opinions
and viewpoints should be avoided in totality. Even in cases where the interviewee takes time to
respond, interviewers should stay away from asking leading questions.

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 Interviewer’s identification of impact of substance use on interviewee’s
health
At some point in the interview, the interviewer identifies the impact of substance use on
the health of the interviewee. Well, this was good of him to make them known to the
interviewee. However, the former seems to be very exaggerative. The mention of the interviewee
being confined in a mental hospice or rather a psychiatric hospital is actually overboard. This
made the interviewee feel very low and scared as evidenced by his shaky voice, long silence and
lack of stillness. Interviewers should consider the reactions and feelings of interviewees before
saying anything that may hurt their feelings, scare them or demoralize them.
 The way the interviewer concludes the interview
The way the interviewer in reference concludes the interview is questionable. The
interviewer should have at least affirmed the interviewee that they are pleased to have had a one-
on-one conversation with him and thank him for availing himself for the interview. Interviewers
ought to end an interview on high note, for instance by stating something positive that they
noticed about the interviewee during the interview. A handshake would also be considered
important as a parting gesture (Paton & Fischer, 2018). However, the interviewer here parts ways
with the interviewee very casually; they literally walk away. The parting shot by the interviewer
is also inappropriate and the tone used is not as warm as it should be.
In order to maximize and gain the needed information from any interview, the
interviewer should initiate positive contact with the interviewee at the very beginning of the
interview (Hershkowitz & Breitman, 2017). West and Kreuter (2014) also denote that there is a
need to monitor their believe in the interviewee’s potentialities and abilities, be keen on any non-

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verbal cues and body language, and listen effectively and keenly, make the interview appear like
a conversation, ask questions relevant to the interview. Magill and Colby (2019) also denote that
there is a need for proper conclusion of an interview as this will make the interviewee feel
appreciated and know that they did their best. Interview techniques are keys for the success of
any interview.
Conclusion
Well, the interview in question was generally average. It is unlikely that the interviewer
received all the feedback he had anticipated due to his failure to adhere to the interview
techniques. He categorically begins the interview on a low note, fails to have confidence in the
interviewee’s potential to change, fails to observe non-verbal cues, has poor listening skills,
dominates the interview, asks inappropriate questions, and ultimately the way he concludes the
interview is inappropriate.

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References
Forman, D. P., & Moyers, T. B. (2019). With odds of a single session, motivational interviewing
is a good bet. Psychotherapy, 56(1), 62–66. https://doi.org/10.1037/pst0000199
Hershkowitz, I., & Breitman, M. (2017). Changes in Interviewers’ Use of Supportive Techniques
during the Revised Protocol Training. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 31(3), 340–350.
https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.3333
Hilliard, T., & Macan, T. (2012). Can Mock Interviewers’ Personalities Influence Their
Personality Ratings of Applicants? Journal of Psychology, 143(2), 161–174. Retrieved
from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
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Magill, M. & Colby, S. (2019). Motivational interviewing technical process and moderated
relational process with underage young adult heavy drinkers. Psychology of Addictive
Behaviors, 33(2), 128–138. https://doi.org/10.1037/adb0000440.supp (Supplemental)
Paton, W. & Fischer, R. (2018). The combined effects of questioning technique and interviewer
manner on false confessions. Journal of Investigative Psychology & Offender
Profiling, 15(3), 335–349. https://doi.org/10.1002/jip.1513
West, B. T., & Kreuter, F. (2013). Factors Affecting the Accuracy of Interviewer
Observations. Public Opinion Quarterly, 77(3), 522–548.
https://doi.org/10.1093/poq/nft016
West, B. T., Conrad, F. G., Kreuter, F., & Mittereder, F. (2018). Can conversational interviewing
improve survey response quality without increasing interviewer effects? Journal of the

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Royal Statistical Society: Series A (Statistics in Society), 181(1), 181–203.
https://doi.org/10.1111/rssa.12255