What makes an effective interview and what does not.
Looking back at my own past interviews that I’ve participated in, I would say that a clear difference between the ones that were effective and ineffective would be when I had fully prepared, felt organized and purposeful, while the ineffective ones felt more casual, unprepared and unsure conversations with no clear direction, as I had not researched the company and aligned their objectives on my own. After learning about validity, reliability, and utility, it was easier to understand why.
I believe the most effective interviews that I experienced were the ones that were structured. When interviews take notes, ask consistent questions, research the company beforehand, and focus on the job -related skills, the interview can feel more effective and successful. This improved reliability, since each candidate is evaluated in a similar way, as well as the interviews having higher validity due to the questions being clearly connected t the actual jo. An example of this would be how interviewers asked behavioral or situational questions, allowing the interviewee to demonstrate how they would handle real work scenarios, aligning with what we earned about structured interviews improving performance (Week 1-5 lectures).
On the other hand, some interviews felt ineffective because they were unstructured and heavily based on first impressions. In a few cases, the interviewer seemed to make quick judgments early on, which can reduce both reliability and validity. These interviews didn’t always focus on job-relevant skills, making it harder to fairly evaluate candidates. This also lowerss utility, since the interview may not lead to better hiring decisions.
If I could advise employers, I would recommend using structured interviews with standardized questions and rating systems. Adding situational or behavioral questions can improve validity, while training interviewers to avoid bias can improve reliability. I would also suggest combining interviews with other tools, like cognitive or personality assessments, to increase overall utility.Overall, effective interviews are not just conversations, rather than how they are carefully designed processes that lead to better hiring decisions and stronger employee performance.