From my experience, I realize that interviews differ greatly. Some of them seem professional and straight to the point; others are more of a friendly chat. Due to the information I learned this week, all these differences can be explained by reliability, validity, and utility of the interview.
One issue that keeps occurring to me during my practice interviews is unstructured questions. In many cases, I was asked questions that other interviewees were not, which did not allow one to compare people justly. The results of this type of interview kept depending on the interviewer’s mood and manner, which is called low reliability. In one case, the hiring manager was asking about my hobbies and weekend over a cup of coffee. It was fun and easy-going, but the issue is, the employer never found out if I could do the job-your validity was low.
According to Bohnet (2016), scoring each answer immediately after it’s given helps reduce bias and improve fairness. Since I applied for a job in a restaurant, part of the interview was a short skill test, and I was also asked questions about the time when I faced a stressful situation-at-the given an interview in this case, the validity was higher. Bohnet suggests scoring each answer after it was given but not all answers at the end of the interview help reduce bias and improve fairness. Besides that, Knight (2017) claims that structured interviews, in which the same job‐related questions are asked and scored, increase accuracy and predictability. indicates that experience is not the only indicator of future efficiency but adds learning ability and humility as the ability has reduced validity. Finally, Buckingham and Coffman (2016) state how great managers are hiring for talent and strengths, in the end, making the last job quality useful. To employers, I suggest using evidence-based interviews while focusing on an applicant’s behaviors, skill, and potential.
References
Bohnet, I. (2016). How to Take the Bias Out of Interviews. Harvard Business Review.
Buckingham, M., & Coffman, C. (2016). First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently.
Knight, R. (2017). 7 Practical Ways to Reduce Bias in Your Hiring Process. SHRM.
