Group interviews are a common way to assess multiple candidates at once, save time and resources, and evaluate how they interact with each other. However, designing a group interview effectively requires careful planning, clear communication, and fair evaluation. Here are some tips to help you create a successful group interview process.
Before you invite candidates to a group interview, you need to define your goals and expectations. What skills, competencies, and behaviors are you looking for? How will you measure them? How will you compare candidates across different groups? Having a clear and consistent framework will help you design relevant and realistic tasks, questions, and scenarios for the group interview.
Group interviews come in different formats, depending on the goals and type of role you are hiring for. For example, a panel interview involves you and other interviewers asking questions to a group of candidates simultaneously, while a group discussion allows you to give a topic or problem to a group of candidates and let them discuss and debate it. Additionally, a group exercise assigns a task or project to a group of candidates and lets them work together to complete it. You can select the format that best suits your goals, the role, and the number of candidates. It is also possible to combine different formats or use multiple rounds of group interviews to assess different aspects of the candidates.
When you have decided on a format for your group interview, you must prepare the materials. This involves setting an agenda that outlines the structure, timing, and objectives to be shared with the candidates and interviewers in advance. Make sure to provide instructions that are clear and concise, and repeat them before each activity or question. Additionally, create questions or tasks that are relevant, challenging, and engaging for the candidates, allowing them to demonstrate their skills, knowledge, and personality. Lastly, develop an evaluation form that is standardized and objective. It should cover the skills, competencies, and behaviors you are assessing so that you can rate each candidate individually and compare them across groups.
Also Include follow up questions within your material which you can ask the candidates when they make a point which is vague or general in nature. Follow up questions like - Can you elaborate a bit more? Or How do you go about it? helps the interviewer dig deeper and make a better assessment.
On the day of the group interview, it is important to conduct it professionally and effectively. To ensure success, set the tone by welcoming the candidates and introducing yourself and the other interviewers. You should also manage the time by sticking to the agenda and monitoring the time for each activity or question. Facilitate the interaction by encouraging candidates to participate and share their opinions, while avoiding dominating the conversation or showing bias. It is also important to observe and record how the candidates perform, communicate, and behave during the group interview. Take notes or use an evaluation form to record your observations and impressions, looking for evidence of skills, competencies, and behaviors you are assessing.
After the group interview, you need to follow up with the candidates and review their performance. Start by sending a thank-you note to the participants, informing them of the next steps and timeline of the hiring process. Then, review your notes and evaluation forms, comparing the candidates across different groups. Discuss your findings and feedback with the other interviewers to reach a consensus on the best candidates. Finally, based on your comparison and discussion, select those who met or exceeded your expectations and demonstrated the most potential for the role. Notify them of your decision and invite them for the next stage of the hiring process.
Be transparent and explicit with candidates so they know that it will be a group interview. There's nothing like a last minute curveball to spike candidate nerves on the day of the interview.