The last interviews I participated in followed the CCE career fair at OSU. These interviews are for internships and entry level positions, and last around 20-30 minutes. The screening style of interview is effective in this case because of the consistency it provides. With so many students being interviewed for the positions, asking the same questions in the short time period makes the screening more consistent. Additionally, the questions asked by employers are job specific questions, improving validity by focusing on essential skills. Not only are these interviews effective, they are optimized for efficiency.
Each year I would participate in roughly 8 interviews with different companies. Some interviews are prepared and well thought out, and others are unstructured and ineffective. This is a result of vague questions that makes comparing companies difficult. With the limited time frame these interviews have, they can lead to snap judgments and biases during the selection process. For a less significant positions such as an internship, employers often make decisions based on major, GPA, or even appearance. Recruiting should be based on qualifications and skills however, it is difficult to demonstrate skills in such a small time period. A common challenge I would expect for employers is impressions being easily forgotten. Typically, employers are interviewing candidates all day, and if good notes and ratings aren’t taken for each person it may be difficult to remember specifics from the day.
I would recommend that employers standardize a few questions for these interviews. That would simplify note taking and the decision making process. To ensure these interviews are effective, I would recommend that all recruiters are trained with the screening interview style. At the end of the interview, clarifying the next steps gives clarity to the candidate and increases their desire to work for the company.
I don’t not think this style of interviews in the most effective. However, for the job fairs at OSU the efficiency factor makes them necessary. Outside of this setting, I would not recommend that employers utilize the screening style interview.