Week 5 – Blog Assignment

Throughout my academic and work experiences, I have participated in several interviews that varied greatly. Some felt organized and professional, while others seemed rushed and inconsistent. After learning about reliability, validity, and utility in interviews, it became clear why some interviews produced stronger hiring decisions than others.

The most effective interviews I experienced was my interview with Pence contractors. They asked each intern candidate similar questions, focused on job-related skills, and used behavioral examples such as “Tell me about a time you solved a problem under pressure.” According to our lectures and readings, structured interviews increase reliability because all candidates are evaluated using the same criteria. They also improve validity by directly measuring skills that predict job performance. In these interviews, I felt that my abilities were accurately assessed rather than judged on personality alone.

On the other hand, some interviews were very informal and unstructured. The last restaurant i worked at spent time talking about themselves, and made decisions based on “gut feelings”.  These interviews lacked reliability since different candidates were likely asked different questions. They also had low validity because casual conversation does not strongly predict job success. While these interviews may feel comfortable, research shows they often lead to biased and inaccurate hiring decisions (FBATR, pp. 55–77).

Utility also plays a major role in interview effectiveness. Structured interviews may take more time to design, but they save organizations money in the long run by improving hiring accuracy and reducing turnover. Poor hiring decisions are costly, making reliable and valid interviews a smart investment.

If I could advise employers, I would strongly recommend using structured interviews with standardized questions tied directly to job requirements. Interviewers should be trained to evaluate responses using scoring rubrics rather than personal impressions. Combining interviews with other selection tools such as skills tests can further improve validity.