At this point in our lives, we’ve been to an array of job interviews… from minimum wage barista gigs to our first big job at a corporate firm. Looking back, it is pretty clear to me that some prepared me better than others. While some were structured and intentional, others felt more like a soulless conversation that could easily be influenced by bias or first impressions.
The most effective interviews I’ve experienced were structured and consistent. Interviewers asked the same types of questions, focused on past behavior, and gave me space to explain how I think through problems and various scenarios. This aligns with higher reliability and validity because when interviews are standardized, they are more likely to actually measure job-relevant skills rather than just “gut feelings” (Bohnet, 2018). It also connects to Google’s hiring approach, where they prioritize cognitive ability and learning capacity over surface-level metrics like GPA (Friedman, 2014). These kind of interviews feel fairer and more predictive of real performance rather than looking good on paper.
On the other hand, the least effective interviews I’ve experienced were unstructured and heavily personality-based. In a few cases, it felt like the interviewer decided within the first few minutes whether they liked me, which reflects common biases discussed in hiring research (Chamorro-Premuzic & Steinmetz, 2013). These types of interviews lack reliability because each candidate is evaluated differently, and they lack validity because they don’t actually measure the skills needed for the job. They might feel efficient, but their utility may be low because they don’t actually lead to better hiring decisions.
If I could go back and have the chance to advise those employers, I’d suggest a few improvements that will benefit everyone at the end of the day. Implementing structured interviews with standardized questions and scoring systems to reduce bias is a great first step to ensure that their is a solid baseline for all interviewees (Knight, 2018). By structuring interview question to focus on the candidates’ abilities to learn, adapt, and collaborate rather than just experience or credentials helps the employer understand how each interviewee will actually work and learn (Friedman, 2014). Lastly, they need to be intentional about reducing bias by evaluating candidates side-by-side instead of one at a time (Bohnet, 2018). In today’s labor market, where talent shortages are real, companies need to focus on identifying potential and skills… not just traditional, face-value signals like degrees and gpa (The Conference Board, 2025).
I have learned that the best interviews are the ones that are thoughtful, consistent, and focused on what actually predicts success… not just who makes the best first impression.
Sources:
Bohnet, I. (2018). How to take the bias out of interviews. Harvard Business Review.
Chamorro-Premuzic, T., & Steinmetz, C. (2013). The perfect hire. Scientific American Mind, 24(3).
Friedman, T. L. (2014, February 22). How to get a job at Google. The New York Times.
Knight, R. (2018). 7 practical ways to reduce bias in your hiring process. Society for Human Resource Management.
The Conference Board. (2025). Responding to US labor shortages.
Buckingham, M., & Coffman, C. (2016). First, break all the rules: What the world’s greatest managers do differently (2020 ed.).
Mintz. (2025). The DOJ issues its interpretation of “illegal DEI”.