Examining the Presence of Social Intelligence in Job Interviews through Multimodal Social Semiotic Analysis

Authors

  • Mimi Nahariah Azwani Mohamed Centre for Language Studies, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM)
  • Salleh Talib Centre for Language Studies Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia
  • Fazita Md Tab Centre for Language Studies Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia
  • Salawati Ahmad Centre for Language Studies Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia
  • Elizabeth M. Anthony Centre for Language Studies Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia
  • Azizi Basar Centre for Language Studies Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia
  • Shakina Shahlee Centre for Language Studies Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia
  • Geeva Samynathan ECTAA Sdn Bhd

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17576/gema-2021-2104-16

Keywords:

Social intelligence, social awareness, social semiotic, job interview, critical discourse analysis

Abstract

Graduates with high level of social intelligence are in high demand. Those who can demonstrate having good attitude and social flexibility, able to build good relationships with others, and able to use appropriate language during their interviews have higher chances of being employed. However, reports show that graduates of higher learning institutions lack social intelligence. Failure to address this issue can affect future graduates’ employability. This paper examined the extent to which students in higher learning institutions had developed social intelligence. The participants were the final year students of one technical university in Malaysia. These participants underwent a job interview session as one of their course assessments. In this paper, the responses by three participants were selected to be analysed. The mock job interview sessions, which were conducted online, were recorded and transcribed. The data were analysed using multimodal social semantic discourse analysis to determine the candidates’ intention and then, using the five dimensions of social intelligence which included social awareness, presence, authenticity, clarity, and empathy to examine the presence (absence) of social intelligence. It was found that social awareness and empathy to build relationships and develop trust with the interviewer were taken for granted by the participants. In addition, the participants’ focused more on the qualification and skills that they  had rather than how they could use their skills for the benefit of a company or organisation. The findings provided invaluable input on ways in designing courses that promote the development of social intelligence among students of higher learning institutions. 

Author Biographies

Mimi Nahariah Azwani Mohamed, Centre for Language Studies, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM)

Mimi Nahariah Azwani Mohamed (Ph.D) is a senior lecturer at the Centre for Language Studies, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia. She is the Head of LSP Focus Group and an affiliate researcher at Malaysia Research Institute for Vocational Education & Training. Her research interests include ESP, language assessment, social intelligence and applied linguistics.     

Salleh Talib, Centre for Language Studies Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia

Salleh Talib (Ph.D) is currently a senior lecturer at Centre for Language Studies, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia. He obtained his master’s degree in TESL from Central Missouri State University, USA and PhD in Corpus Linguistics from UTHM. His areas of interest include ESP, applied linguistics and TESL.

Fazita Md Tab, Centre for Language Studies Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia

Fazita Md Tab is currently a lecturer at Centre for Language Studies, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia. She has conducted various online training for the UTHM staff on online application tools. Her research interest areas include language and media communication, communication and e-learning.   

Salawati Ahmad, Centre for Language Studies Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia

Salawati Ahmad is a senior lecturer at the Centre for Language Studies, UTHM. She received her PhD in TESL from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and M.Ed in TESOL from University of Bristol. Her current field of interest is in language for specific purposes focusing on the genre of academic writing.  

Elizabeth M. Anthony, Centre for Language Studies Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia

Elizabeth M. Anthony is an associate professor at the Centre for Language Studies, UTHM. She is a Problem-based Learning Master Trainer for the Ministry of Higher Education and an affiliated researcher with Malaysia Research Institute for Vocational Education & Training. Her research interests include second language acquisition, learner autonomy, PBL and pedagogy in L2 development.  

Azizi Basar, Centre for Language Studies Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia

Azizi Basar graduated with Bachelor of Education (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) from The University of Queensland. He completed his master’s degree in English Language from Universiti Malaya. His research interests include second language acquisition and linguistics, particularly in discourse analysis.  

Shakina Shahlee, Centre for Language Studies Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia

Shakina Shahlee is currently working as a Language Teacher at Centre for Language Studies, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM). She graduated from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) with bachelor’s degree (Hons) in English Language Studies and Literature and currently working on a Master of Philosophy at UTHM.  

Geeva Samynathan, ECTAA Sdn Bhd

Geeva Samynathan is the first Master Trainer from ByFerial, Australia and a Certified Civility Trainer with the International Civility Trainers’ Consortium, Canada. She is also a member of Civility Experts Malaysia consulting team and certified by Human Resource Development Fund (HRDF) in Malaysia.

References

Ab Rahman, F., Mohamed, A. H., Nasir, N. S. A., & Saidin, K. (2020). Exploring perceptions of employers on communication skills among fresh graduates. Practitioner Research, 1, 69-85.

Albrecht, K. (2006). Social Intelligence: The New Science of Success. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Al-Ghamdi, N. A., & Albawardi, A. H. (2020). Multivocality of Saudi COVID-19 discourse in social media posts: A socio-semiotic multimodal perspective. GEMA Online® Journal of Language Studies, 20(4), 228-250.

Al-Mwzaiji, K. N. A. (2021). The political spin of conviction: A critical discourse analysis of the origin of Covid-19. GEMA Online® Journal of Language Studies, 21(1).

Anderson, N. R. (1991). Decision making in the graduate selection interview: An experimental investigation. Human Relations, 44, 403-417.

Bayer, L. (2016). The 30% Solution: How Civility at Work Increases Retention, Engagement and Profitability. Florida, USA: Motivational Press Inc.

Capello, M. A., & Shaughnessy, A. (2020). The why, what, and how of virtual meetings: Our toolkit. The Leading Edge, 39(8), 598-599.

Conrad, F. G., Broome, J. S., Benki, J. R., Kreuter, F., Groves, R. M., Vannette, D., & McClain, C. (2013). Interviewer speech and the success of survey invitations. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, 176, 191-210.

Doyle, A. (2019). How to answer interview questions about working with others. The Balance Careers. Retrieved 19 November 2021 from https://www.thebalancecareers.com/job-interview-question-do-you-work-well-with-other-people-2061155

Doyle, A. (2020). Types of job interview questions. The Balance Careers. Retrieved 30 August 2021 from https://www.thebalancecareers.com/types-of-interview-questions-2061365

Gifford, R., Ng, C. F., & Wilkinson, M. (1985). Nonverbal cues in the employment interview: Links between applicant qualities and interviewer judgement. Journal of Applied Psychology, 70(4), 729-736.

Jewitt, C., & Henriksen, B. (2016). Handbuch Sprache im multimodalen Kontext. In K. Nina-Maria & S. Hartmut (Eds.), Social semiotic multimodality: (pp. 145-164). De Gruyter.

Kihlstrom, J. F., & Cantor, N. (2000). Social intelligence. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.), Handbook of Intelligence (pp. 359-379). Cambridge University Press.

Korauš, A., Kaščáková, Z., Parová, V., & Veselovská, S. (2017). Sustainable economic development through human resource management: Social intelligence of managers and performance. Journal of Security and Sustainability Issues, 6(3), 457-

Kress, G. (2010). Multimodality: A Social Semiotic Approach to Contemporary Communication. Oxon: Routledge.

Lau, J. (2016). Social Intelligence and the Next Generation. London: National Service Citizen.

Leigh, T. W., & Summers, J. (2002). Effects of salespersons’ use of nonverbal cues. Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, 22(1), 41-53.

LiveCareer Staff Writer. (n.d.). 63 Traditional Job Interview Questions to Prepare for Your Interview. Retrieved 30 August 2021 from https://www.livecareer.com/resources/interviews/questions/interview-questions.

Machin, D., & Mayr, A. (2012). How to do Critical Discourse Analysis: A Multimodal Introduction. Los Angeles: Sage.

Meijs, N., Cillessen, A. H. N., Scholte, R. H. J., Segers, E., & Spijkerman, R. (2010). Social intelligence and academic achievement as predictors of adolescent popularity. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 39(1), 62-72.

Morioko, S., Osumi, M., Okamoto, M., & Matsuo, A. (2015). Effects of facial expression and language on trustwothiness and brain activities. International Journal of Brain Science, Volume 2015, 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/719213

Mustafa, M., & Pilus, Z. (2020). # WelcomeRefugees: A critical discourse analysis of the refugee resettlement initiative in Canadian news. GEMA Online® Journal of Language Studies, 20(4), 30-52.

Mykhalchuk, N. (2018). Psycholinguistic features of the development of social intelligence of the teacher. Psycholinguistics, 23(1), 242-257.

Nyfeler, L. F. (2020, December 7). How to Apply Social Intelligence to Candidate Interviews. Retrieved 5 September 2021 from https://www.indeed.com/lead/social-intelligence-in-interviewing.

Onufriieva, L., Chaikovska, O., Kobets, O., Pavelkiv, R., & Melnychuk, T. (2020). Social intelligence as a factor of volunteer activities by future medical workers. Journal of History Culture and Art Research, 9(1), 84-95.

Petrides, K. V., Mason, M., & Sevdalis, N. (2011). Preliminary validation of the construct of trait social intelligence. Personality and Individual Differences, 50(6), 874-877. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2010.12.029

Rupasinghe, A. T., Gunawardena, N. L., Shujan, S., & Atukorale, D. (2016). Scaling personality traits of interviewees in an online job interview by vocal spectrum and facial cue analysis. 2016 Sixteenth International Conference on Advances in ICT

for Emerging Regions (ICTer), 2016, pp. 288-295, doi: 10.1109/ICTER.2016.7829933.

Tamunosiki-Amadi, J. O., Sele, G. D., & Ernest, O. E. (2020). Social intelligence and employee commitment in Bayelsa State Health Sector. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 11(2), 68-76.

Thorndike, E. L. (1920). Intelligence and its use. Harper's Magazine, 140, 227-235.

van Leeuwen, T., & Kress, G. (2009). Discourse semiotics. In T. A. van Dijk (Ed.), Discourse Studies: A Multidisciplinary Introduction (pp. 107-125). Sage Publication.

Vernon, P. E. (1933). Some characteristics of the good judge of personality. Journal of Social Psychology, 4, 42-57.

Wechsler, D. (1939). The Measurement and Appraisal of Adult Intelligence. Baltimore, MD: Williams & Wilkins.

Downloads

Additional Files

Published

2021-11-30

Issue

Vol. 21 No. 4 (2021): November 2021

Section

Special Section

License

If the article is accepted for publication, copyright of this article will be vested to UKM Press, National University of Malaysia (UKM).

All articles published in this journal are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license, unless otherwise stated.