First, let's learn about the advantages of panel interviews.
Head of Human Resources Department shared: “For me, panel interviews are very useful because they help eliminate a painful problem in recruitment, which is bias. We all have some bias in our subconscious about many issues in both work and life, and interviews are no exception.
With one-on-one interviews, employers can fail candidates just because they have a weak handshake or don't make enough eye contact when answering questions. Or the employer thinks the candidate is the perfect match because they both like the same football team or have the same opinion about the beauty of a distant country. These are decisions that are clouded by personal prejudice, not at all impartial, but are very common in interviews.
Panel interviews completely rule out the possibility of such things happening. Since there are many people involved, a baseless argument made will immediately be refuted, thus leaving no room for any form of bias. This helps make the assessment more fair and objective."
Human Resources Specialist also commented: "With panel interviews, we will have more perspectives and that helps evaluate candidates more comprehensively.
Here, the interviewers are often representatives of different departments and are also dissimilar in age, seniority and position. Since they all come from different areas of expertise, the likelihood of asking “conflicting” questions is very low. Instead, they can come up with different unique things for each candidate. Additionally, each can also focus on a different aspect of the candidate's knowledge, skills, behavior, work experience, and future potential. This will support a more accurate assessment of candidates and make the most suitable choice."
"Another advantage of panel interviews is that candidates will get to know the company's working culture," explained HR Senior. “With one-on-one interviews, candidates can only meet one or two company employees, leaving them with little understanding of overall office life and expectations for them. When interviewing a board, it's different. In addition to being able to get to know the people you work with, through the way they communicate, discuss, and even debate, candidates will have a realistic view of what's going on. like understanding the expectations of stakeholders for their position”.
Besides, "The advantages of panel interviews have all been shared by everyone. I just add a small idea, that if the company wants to train interview skills for new human resources employees, panel interviews are the number one choice. Practical experience will be the best way for them to gain experience on how to conduct an effective interview," shared HR Admin.
“The main goal of the panel interview is to get a well-rounded view of the candidate, as well as assess their compatibility with the team and the business.”
Along with the advantages, panel interviews also have disadvantages.
“The most obvious thing is that if not done well, panel interviews can give candidates a bad impression of the company.
Think about it, facing too many interviewers, even senior leaders, can put candidates in a state of fear. Interviews are inherently stressful for everyone, and they also have to deal with a lot of strangers who are trying to learn everything about them, even trying to retort and twist everything. Therefore, even though they may have known in advance and been prepared, many people still sweat profusely, stutter, and feel awkward with their hands and feet, not knowing where to put them.
Not only that, there are too many questions asked by many interviewers that make even qualified candidates confused and unable to show their full potential, leading to us not being able to fully evaluate them. It is even more difficult if the candidate is an introvert who does not like and is not good at communicating, they will have a negative experience and that will affect the recruitment brand,"
“Board interviews have many benefits, but hidden in them is that conflicts can easily occur. Because attendees come from different roles, when candidates give certain answers, each person can interpret it in different ways. Some people agree and some people disagree. Same thing, but one person can see "apple", another person can see "pear". This easily leads to disagreements among members. If we do not comply with the agreed evaluation standards, decision making will be very difficult,"
"Like other forms of interviews, panel interviews also have many disadvantages such as taking longer and affecting the work of the participants.
There is no best or worst type of interview. Each type of interview will be suitable for each different situation. And to know when to use which form, you need to evaluate what position you are recruiting for, is it a management position or an employee, what qualities do you want to evaluate? Does your company have the time and manpower to conduct panel interviews?”
If you decide to interview the panel, you can apply shares below to increase efficiency.
When choosing who will interview candidates, you need to ensure diversity. Ideally, the interview panel should include the hiring officer, one or two people from the department in which the candidate will work, along with representatives from other departments that have regular interactions with the candidate, including the hiring staff. The application will act as the interview leader.
Along with the diversity of attendees, interview panel members also need to know about the job description, detailed information about the candidate, taboo topics, what to focus on, and appropriate timing. For each question, how should you ask the question in turn? Bombarding candidates with all the questions at once can overwhelm and intimidate candidates, which will lead to a lack of cooperation and a negative application experience.
Replies to This Discussion