How Panel Interviews Can Make Hiring Easier
Are you hiring? If you are, chances are you've been spending a good chunk of your time sitting in one-on-one interviews with a multitude of candidates, many (or most) who won't make it past this initial grilling. But there's a way you can increase your interview efficiency and improve your odds of finding the right person: Conduct panel interviews instead.
Panel interviews involve having a group of hiring stakeholders (four to six is a typical number) conduct the interview jointly and lob both prepared and off-the-cuff questions at a candidate.
The benefits are many:
- It saves time and allows all stakeholders in the hiring process to get the same information.
- You can quickly build consensus toward the interviewee's fit with the culture of the company.
- It can emphasize to the candidate--and reemphasize to your staff--the teamwork nature of the job.
- You have a chance to think more about the candidate's responses since you're not the only one asking questions.
- You can minimize errors due to first impressions, personality style, and preconceptions.