Tag Archives: team interviews

Spoiling Truthful Responses in the Interview

Hiring Talent has been in pre-release for this past week from CreateSpace, but is now listed in the Amazon catalog. I want to thank all of my pre-release buyers. Here is the new link in Amazon for the softcover edition of Hiring Talent. Look inside.
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From the Ask Tom mailbag –

Question:

Do you believe in team interviews?

Response:
Most companies, these days, create interview teams, to put extra eyes in the process. The participation of interview teams can be very effective or can turn the process into chaos. Participants on the interview team must be chosen with purpose and given specific assignments in the process. Technical specialists on the interview team can bring great value by asking questions about technical skills.

While the interview team is a team, I expect each member to play one at a time. Some companies conduct 2-on-1 or 3-on-1 interviews. More than one interviewer in the room puts artificial pressure on the candidate and may spoil candid (truthful) responses. My preference is to have one interviewer at a time, with one candidate in the room. Occasionally, I will allow an observer, maybe two, to take notes, but only one interviewer.