Lessons from a Bad Interview

When I was in high school, I was excited to interview for a barista position at a cafe near my house. The interview was scheduled for after school, but when I arrived, the cafe was understaffed and chaotic, which I took as a bad sign. The manager, who was also my interviewer, was busy with customer orders and didn’t start the interview until 30 minutes after the scheduled time. The interview was interrupted several times as the manager had to attend to other duties. The reliability of the interview was compromised by these inconsistent conditions. I was interviewed amidst chaos, while other candidates might have had quieter, more focused environments, leading to inconsistent assessments. In terms of validity, the interview did not focus on skills relevant to the job. Instead of discussing my ability to handle customer service or work under pressure, I was asked about my favorite movies and music, which were irrelevant to my potential job performance. The utility of the interview was also low. The environment and irrelevant questions did not help assess my suitability for the job, wasting both my time and the manager’s. To improve, the cafe should conduct interviews during quieter times, focus on job-related skills, and standardize the process to ensure fairness and effectiveness. This experience highlighted the importance of reliability, validity, and utility in job interviews, especially in busy environments. For employers, focusing on these principles can improve the hiring process. In the end, I got the job, but did not accept the barista position because of the bad taste the interview left in my mouth.