Some companies will have the candidate meet with a series of interviewers one-on-one. Typically, the interviews last about 30-45 minutes each, and there may be 4-6 such interviews back to back. Other companies prefer to do group interviews where two or more people sit at the table with the candidate.
My current company does group interviews, and it’s also the format I prefer as a hiring manager. With 1-on-1 interviews I don’t know what went on or what was discussed in the other interviews, so I can’t be sure what the interviewers mean when they say later that the candidate couldn’t answer their questions satisfactorily.
In my interviews we typically have one or two managers and one or two engineers present as interviewers. I generally ask most of the questions and the other interviewers chime in as needed with follow-up questions. And after it’s over we all know what exactly was discussed. Hence I find that with the group interview format there’s a lot less disagreement afterwards between interviewers on whether the candidate should be hired.
As a candidate you should also prefer the group interview format. It takes up much less of your time, and you avoid repeating the same things over and over again. How many times have you had to say during an interview day, “As I mentioned to the previous interviewer,…”?
Still, group interviews can seem imposing to candidates. You might feel like you’re being ganged up on; in addition, maintaining eye contact, and figuring out whom to maintain eye contact with, can be a challenge. Typically there will be a primary decider in the room, most likely the hiring manager, along with supplementary interviewers to make sure all the right questions are asked. If you do manage to spot such a dynamic you should keep your focus on the Alpha interviewer for most of the interview, as that’s whom you’ll need to impress the most.
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4 comments:
I have a real problem with "firing squad" style interviews for engineering candidates: they're *very* high stress. Our biggest problem in interviewing is to get the candidate to relax and "geek out" so that we can really see the strength of his technical skills. The more stressful the interview process, the more likely a candidate will choke.
Limiting yourself to extroverted engineers with good people skills is probably a mistake, except at the highest levels.
From my perspective, group interviews are much more difficult. In an interview, I try to understand what the interviewer is trying to determine with thier questions.
In a group, different people may have different motivations. Its then hard to first, find everyone's motivations, and then to direct questions to cover all of these areas.
As Skorj mentioned, it also can increase the stress level of a candidate. This can cause them to make a mistake either technically or socially.
You both make valid points. And indeed, many people do not like group interviews. They are more stressful for the canddiate, and stress can cause mistakes and missteps.
However, from my perspective group interviews are more efficient, especially when you are trying to interview a lot of people in a short span of time.
Also, even if the interview is stressful, it's stressful for all candidates, so it's a level playing field.
It's must really be nice hiring in a field where the problem is "so many candidates, so little time"! :)
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