As the semester comes to an end, I think the blog assignment seemed to help with the topics covered in class. They especially help when studying for exams because the material we write on the blogs works as a sort of study guide to help remind the things we talked about in class. Also, the blogs gave us freedom to write about the topics any way we wanted. Many times I was able to apply the topics to real situations in my life which helped understand the material further. Maybe something that could be added for future blog assignments instead of the few application papers we had to do, implement them into the blogs to cover the material with real situations we face. Since we had to do the assignments I think it would connect to the material even better. Other than that the blogging seemed to help and was definitely a good way to review the material each week.
Counseling interviews were the subject of discussion the past week. We learned active listening is the most essential aspect for the counselor. They must b e non-jugdemental and empathetic. Counselors must also offer advise and give suggestions rather than making decisions for the person being counseled. It is critical for the counselor to build rapport and get to the level four stage of relationships so the counselor can be trusted.
There were three types of interview approaches for counselers including Directive, Non-directive, and Combination. Directive approach allows interviewers to control the interview process. Non-directive approach give the interviewee control of the interview structure. The combination approach starts with non-directive approach to reveal problems and then move to the directive approach when discussing possible solutions.
This past week we discussed the persuasive interview. The goal of a persuasive interview is to influence attitudes, values and beliefs of a person. The most common way rhetors persuade their audience is through the use of ethos, pathos, and logos. Ethos is when a person is persuasive based on their authority and/or character. For instance the president may persuade people because he is the most important person in the country. Pathos is a persuasive element based on emotional appeal. This is evident in television commercials where they want people to donate money to fundraisers for those in poverty in other countries. The last persuasive element is logos which utilizes logical appeal or reasoning. When in groups, a member may have a particular idea to figure out an answer to the problem. When the person is explaining how to solve the problem, they are using logos.
We recently discussed different types of interviews and what they entail. Although we should already know most of the things we covered for the Employment Interview, I did learn a few new things. For a resume, I learned there are different formats. I knew the chronological order was the only format to use for resumes which lists experiences in reverse, chronological order. I did not know for some resumes one should utilize a functional format which places experiences under headings that highlight your qualifications.
As far as the performance interview, I thought out of all the different models, the 360 degree approach was most unique and possibly most efficient. Since the approach involves multiple observers, it allows the person being reviewed another set of eyes and ears to explain their performance. Mostly it takes the pressure off of dealing with one-on-one reviews which could make some people very nervous. If one person in the group does not understand something, another may be able to explain the situation more clear.
Chapter six involves aspects of survey interviews. Since being in college, I have been exposed to a number of surveys – some better than others. The thing I found most interesting or useful from our discussion was the questions scales. I think it is important to choose the right question scale(s) when compiling questions for surveys. Some surveys are long and tedious when questions are open ended which can bore responders. It is much easier to give responders curtain answers to choose from because it takes less time and it is also easier to keep track of the answers given. We learned to try and keep all the personal information at the beginning of the survey while also making sure to thank the person for their time at the end. Personally, I enjoy surveys that use frequency or ordinal scales best because it is easier for me to decide on curtain answers. Depending on the type of question, I dislike interval scales most because sometimes it is hard to put a number on what one feels. We also learned it is vital to make sure the results are taken from random sampling because they could end up being skewed making the results pointless.
This past week one of the topics we discussed was the advantages and disadvantages of note-taking and recording. This is a relevant topic for interviewing because it is important to know which strategy is best to use. I have done both note-taking and recording during interviews. I feel note-taking is good when one is trying to get answers quick. An audio recorder can also be good for quick answers. If the interview if for a project for example, than one may want to use a video or audio recorder. Even though recorders make it easier in the long run, I believe note-taking should still be used. I say this because it is good to write down important bits of information when doing an interview because you can quickly glance at notes to bring up something else important. As we mentioned in class, technology often malfunctions so one should have a backup incase this occurs.
We learned about question sequences during class this past week. I thought the amount of sequences were interesting because there were so many. I also think it is difficult, at times, to distinguish between the different sequences because some of them are so similar. For example, it was hard to label the case study because it contained more than one question sequence. I believe the quintamensional design sequence was most interesting because the number of elements that make up the sequence. The quintamensional design is made of five distinguished elements where as the other sequences are all based on open-, and closed-ended questions and where they are placed/asked during an interview.
This week we covered different types of interviews and what they entail. For our assignment, I was kind of confused to what the interview guide was composed of. It made much more sense after we covered it in class. The interview guides are a way of organizing topics and subtopics to be covered in the interview. We also discussed the different ways interviews are schedules whether it be non-, moderately-, highly-, or highly and standardized-scheduled interviews. This week I have an interview set up for another class. I will be using moderately scheduled interviewing. I have all the major questions I want to ask written down but also have some possible probing questions available to further discussion if needed. This is the best way for me because I want the interview to last about 30 minutes. By having major questions ready along with possible probing questions, I should be able to control the length and quality of the interview.
So far, I think that the videos that we have watched are all very interesting and relevant to the class discussions. The interview with Elizabeth Smart was the most interesting to me because of the way Nancy Grace conducted the interview. It was obvious that Elizabeth was not comfortable and did not want to discuss the time in which she was kidnapped. She stated numerous times that she was there to talk about the new law(s) that were trying to be passed but Nancy disregarded what Elizabeth was saying. These types of interviews can be difficult for both the interviewer and the interviewee because one was probing for answers and the other was not willing to share information. When conducting interviews, both should be completely informed of the types of questions taking place. If both are prepared, than the interviewer would be less likely to offend the interviewee and the interviewee would be more willing to share information.
My name is Broc Bauer. I am from Milan, OH near Sandusky (Cedar Point). I am an IPC major, after switching for the third time. Something that is kind of interesting is that I used to race motocross since I was six years old. I have not ridin much in college because of lack of funds. I chose to join IPC 209 because interviewing is a vital part of getting a job after college. Interviews are to get information out of others and evaluate them for a specific purpose. Interviews often help gain general knowledge about a person. They can be done in many different fashions whether it be serious such as a job interview or just for fun to get to know another person. So far my perception of interviews has not changed.
