Group interview - What's behind this?Group Interview I have done them more than a few times…I don’t like them and will probably think twice before ever doing one again.The troubling aspect is that it seems lazy…I understand the need for efficiency and screening as many people as possible…and I am not in need of such personalized attention that I resent sharing the interviewer with others..I just want to participate in my hiring process! How can I do that if I am forced to listen to a speech that is part promotional message and part smoke screen? I say smoke screen because I have rarely witnessed any true participation by the prospective employee…no meaningful interaction and most likely there is a question and answer session that does not offer much opportunity to address any specific concerns. In fact, they typically breeze through Q&A sessions with a half-hearted attempt to appease curious applicants. I will use one example: I was contacted one time by a man who eagerly tried to contact me numerous times after I submitted my resume…it was for a job I was well suited for and I was happy to hear from him. His calls always came at 5 pm and he was very difficult to reach when returning his call…a troubling aspect given 5pm is rarely the best time to reach anyone…but why was he leaving a message a day for a week without varying his call times? Worse yet was the voice mail content…no clue as to when a good time to reach him, no details about what he wanted to discuss…all he would say was..”Hey, this is Joe at ABC Company, got your resume and wanted to chat…” At first I was caught off guard by his informal manner…but slightly intrigued..I thought it was refreshing…plus he had the same accent I did when I was growing up. After leaving him numerous voice mails I reached him with a live call…he sounded rushed..but quite familiar with me..I was flattered and the call went like this: “I would like to have you come in for an interview on Friday at 10am, will you be available?” I agreed and was more than a little surprised that he rushed off the phone without any further discussion… Against my better judgment I attended the interview…I guess I was so full of ego I thought he was kind of enamored with my resume therefore there wasn’t too much to say other than the formality of an interview before handing me the job! I arrived and buzzed the intercom to be let in…looking through the door I could see the furnishings appeared to be first rate and I felt at ease…until I was greeted by a teenager with the stench of cheap cologne and untied gym shoes. He nonchalantly bumped into be as he gestured to follow him into the conference room. I took a seat amongst at least 20 other people that seemed to be as displeased as I was at the arrangement. We sat and watched a presentation that seemed geared toward investors not prospective employees…after 20 minutes we were greeted by a presenter who proceeded to summarize what we just saw and he asked us to take a seat at the computers behind our chairs. The online assessment was basically a test of the presentation material and once completed we were told our start date! The moral of the story? I am not sure there is one..other than to say that group interviews in the name of efficiency and time saving..can sometimes be a necessity to plug gaps in a high turnover environment…from what I heard from an industry source..that company is always hiring… Group Interview written by Ken Bownes Group Interview SponsorsMost read articles - Group Interview Home |
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