WEEK 5 BLOG

An effective interview is critical in determining the best applicant; a poor interview will not truly represent a possible candidate and may potentially obstruct the process. When a company and its managers recruit successfully, the rest of the firm’s staff management tasks take less time and effort, resulting in cost savings.

I’ve seen both ends of the spectrum, and I’ve participated in and even delivered some terrific interviews, as well as those that weren’t so great. I had a boss whom I would assist with every interview; we would end up interviewing a few prospects only to have none of them take the callback assumingly due to my boss’s interview abilities. He was considerably older and quite set in his ways; he would be harsh to candidates and have them complete out an essay-like document in which they were asked about their previous employment experiences. He would do this to examine the candidate’s handwriting, but it was unnecessary because the candidate would spend almost half an hour filling out an essay-like paper that was not needed. He was also notorious for cutting individuals off when they had a lengthy response, making the candidates even more reluctant to respond.

On the other hand, I recently completed a panel interview that I was considerably nervous about, but ended up learning a lot from. The interview questions were structured and unstructured; questions arose naturally as the interview process progressed, making my responses seem more natural and making me feel more at ease as a candidate. Some of the questions were formatted as an assessment, this shows the candidates thought process in some potential decisions they may have to make. A combination where the recruiters are inviting, and strategically choose questions related to the position made this interview highly efficient for me.