Situational Job Interviews

In situational interviewing, job-seekers are asked to respond to a specific situation they may face on the job.
These types of questions are designed to draw out more of your analytical and problem-solving skills, as well as
how you handle problems with short notice and minimal preparation.
Situational interviews are similar to behavioral interviews, except while behavioral focus on a past experience,
situational interviews focus on a hypothetical situation. For example, in a behavioral interview, the interviewer
might start a question with, "Tell me about a time you had to deal with..." In a situational interview, the
interviewer asks, "How would you handle..."
The key to preparation and success in situational interviews is simply to review your past work experiences and
review the steps you took to resolve problems and make corrections. You should also have short stories of some of
these past experiences so you can also incorporate them into your answers to show that you have experience
handling similar situations.
Here's one question an interviewer might ask an applicant for a customer-service manager position: "How would
you handle an angry customer who was promised delivery of the product on a certain date, but because of
manufacturing delays, the company was not able to deliver on a timely basis? The customer is demanding some
kind of compensation for the unexpected delay."
Or, for a management position, a job-seeker might be asked: "How do you handle a disgruntled employee in your
department who has made a habit of arriving late to work and causing minor disruptions during the day, as well as
a declining morale among the rest of the staff?"

Job satisfaction and commitment[edit]

Main article: Job satisfaction
Job satisfaction reflects an employee's overall assessment of their job, particularly their emotions,
behaviors, and attitudes about their work experience. It is one of the most heavily researched topics
in industrialorganizational psychology with several thousand published studies. Job satisfaction has
theoretical and practical utility for the field of psychology and has been linked to important job
outcomes including attitudinal variables, absenteeism, employee turnover, and job performance. For
instance, job satisfaction is strongly correlated with attitudinal variables such as job involvement,
organizational commitment, job tensions, frustration, and feelings of anxiety. A 2010 meta-analyses
found positive relationships between job satisfaction and life satisfaction, happiness, positive affect,
and the absence of negative affect.[94] Job satisfaction also has a weak correlation with employee's
absentee behaviors and turnover from an organization with employees more likely to miss work or
find other jobs if they are not satisfied. Finally, research has found that although a positive
relationship exists between job satisfaction and performance, it is moderated by the use of rewards
at an organization and the strength of employee's attitudes about their job.

Performance appraisal/management[edit]
Main articles: Performance appraisal and Performance management
Performance appraisal or performance evaluation is the process of measuring an individual's or a
group's work behaviors and outcomes against the expectations of the job. [34]Performance appraisal is
frequently used in promotion and compensation decisions, to help design and validate personnel
selection procedures, and for performance management. Performance management is the process
of providing performance feedback relative to expectations and improvement information (e.g.,
coaching, mentoring). Performance management may also include documenting and tracking
performance information for organization-level evaluation purposes.
An IO psychologist would typically use information from the job analysis to determine a job's
performance dimensions, and then construct a rating scale to describe each level of performance for
the job. Often, the IO psychologist would be responsible for training organizational personnel how
to use the performance appraisal instrument, including ways to minimize bias when using the rating
scale, and how to provide effective performance feedback. Additionally, the IO psychologist may
consult with the organization on ways to use the performance appraisal information for broader
performance management initiatives.

Leadership[edit]
Main article: Leadership
In IO psychology, leadership can be defined as a process of influencing others to agree on a
shared purpose, and to work towards shared objectives.[116] A distinction should be made between
leadership and management. Managers process administrative tasks and organize work
environments. Although leaders may be required to undertake managerial duties as well, leaders
typically focus on inspiring followers and creating a shared organizational culture and values.
Managers deal with complexity, while leaders deal with initiating and adapting to change. Managers
undertake the tasks of planning, budgeting, organizing, staffing, controlling and problem solving. In
contrast, leaders undertake the tasks of setting a direction or vision, aligning people to shared goals,
communicating, and motivating.[117]
Approaches to studying leadership in IO psychology can be broadly classified into three categories:
Leader-focused approaches, Contingency-focused approaches, and Follower-focused approaches.