0:00

while the great resignation has led to a

0:01

record number of workers becoming their

0:03

own bosses the reality is that most

0:05

employees are looking for better

0:06

employers so for many organizations

0:09

turnover eventually turns into a hiring

0:11

surge and in the wake of that surging

0:13

applicant pool hiring managers are

0:14

looking for better ways to find the best

0:16

candidates for the job the interview is

0:18

where you find that fit most hiring

0:20

managers change up the interview

0:22

questions to fit the position and it's

0:23

important to consider whether the

0:25

interview format needs to be tailored as

0:26

well

0:27

so in this episode of hr party of one

0:29

i'm going to compare and contrast three

0:31

common interview formats

0:32

one-on-one panel and group interviews

0:35

by the end you'll have a much better

0:37

idea which format is best for the

0:38

position you're hiring for

0:40

we'll discuss the role of the interview

0:42

in the hiring process

0:43

one-on-one interviews panel interviews

0:46

and group interviews let's get going

0:48

the role of the interview in the hiring

0:50

process

0:51

before we discuss which interview format

0:53

is best let's take a moment to clarify

0:55

what role the interview plays in the

0:56

hiring process and to be clear hiring

0:59

should be a structured and standardized

1:00

process at your organization

1:02

in an earlier episode of hr party of one

1:04

we covered the seven stages of hiring

1:06

and why consistency across hiring

1:08

managers is so important

1:10

hr should also outline the hiring

1:11

process clarify hr strategic oversight

1:14

role and provide templates for

1:15

communication in a manual for managers

1:18

which we've also covered in a previous

1:20

episode i'll link to both of these

1:22

resources in the description you may be

1:24

wondering why i'm recommending a

1:25

structured and standardized hiring

1:27

process in a video about adapting your

1:29

interview format to fit the position i

1:31

think of it this way if each hiring

1:33

manager is shooting from the hip and

1:34

doing their own thing how can you know

1:36

if the interview format is working or

1:38

not there would be too many variables to

1:40

know where to focus efforts to improve

1:42

best practice is actually to conduct at

1:44

least two interviews a phone screen

1:46

followed by a face-to-face interview

1:48

the phone screen is an efficient and

1:50

inexpensive way to learn about a

1:51

candidate with relatively low stakes

1:54

more importantly it's fair since the

1:56

hiring manager can't base a snap

1:57

judgment on the candidate's appearance

1:59

over the phone we covered phone

2:01

screening best practices in an earlier

2:02

episode which i'll link to in the

2:04

description

2:05

for more information on the difference

2:06

between recruitment screenings and

2:08

assessments check out our recent episode

2:10

on the topic

2:11

our focus in this episode however is on

2:13

the best format for face-to-face

2:15

interviews

2:16

this should be one of the final stages

2:18

of your hiring process when other

2:19

applicants have been screened out and

2:21

only the most qualified candidates

2:22

compete for your extended time and

2:24

attention the stakes are high and the

2:26

hiring decision depends on this

2:28

interaction

2:30

again we're going to focus on the

2:31

dynamics of different interview formats

2:33

here but if you're interested in

2:34

learning more about how to prepare for

2:36

or conduct face-to-face interviews

2:38

including what questions to ask and red

2:39

flags to look for i highly recommend our

2:42

tutorial episode i'll link to it in the

2:44

description

2:45

i want to mention one more thing before

2:46

we move on to specific interview formats

2:48

hr should play a strategic and

2:50

high-level role in the interview process

2:52

training managers and maintaining

2:53

consistency but the hiring manager

2:55

responsible for interviewing candidates

2:57

should be the person the position will

2:59

be reporting to

3:00

i'll address this a few more times

3:01

throughout the rest of the episode

3:05

one-on-one interviews

3:07

let's start with one-on-one interviews

3:08

which are the most common and most

3:10

versatile interview format as the name

3:12

suggests this format involves one

3:14

candidate and one interviewer i want to

3:16

cover a few pros and cons to consider

3:18

but since this is what you're likely

3:20

most familiar with i won't spend too

3:21

much time on it

3:23

there are several advantages to the

3:24

one-on-one format most notably the

3:26

responsibility and accountability for

3:28

the hiring decision belonging to one

3:29

person to hiring manager this also makes

3:32

it more comfortable for candidates

3:33

interviewing since they only need to pay

3:35

attention and respond to one person

3:37

which feels more like an even playing

3:39

field than the dynamic of a panel or a

3:41

group interview

3:42

another advantage of one-on-one

3:44

interviews is that they're easier to

3:45

schedule since only two people need to

3:47

coordinate their calendars

3:48

for these reasons one-on-one interviews

3:50

are the preferred format for most

3:52

positions here at bernie portal still we

3:54

are aware of some notable disadvantages

3:56

first one interviewer is more

3:58

susceptible to bias than a panel of

3:59

interviewers which could unintentionally

4:01

turn the conversation into an ongoing

4:03

attempt to confirm the manager's first

4:05

impression

4:06

to be sure other interviewers are

4:08

bringing their own biases to the mix but

4:10

they can counterbalance those of the

4:11

hiring manager

4:13

this difference between managers can

4:14

also mean very different staffing levels

4:16

between teams when one manager is simply

4:18

better or worse at recruiting than the

4:20

other this is why hr's oversight role is

4:23

so important your position in the

4:24

organization allows you to better see

4:26

these differences and to bring these

4:27

managers together to learn from one

4:29

another speaking of managers working

4:31

together let's turn our attention to

4:33

panel interviews

4:35

panel interviews

4:37

panel interviews involve one candidate

4:39

and two or more interviewers allowing

4:41

more stakeholders to participate in the

4:43

decision making the idea of a panel

4:45

interview may bring to mind a formal

4:47

setting with several suits grilling a

4:48

hapless applicant but there are various

4:50

ways to structure it

4:51

for example a panel interview can take

4:54

place over a lunch meeting at a

4:55

restaurant or it could actually be a

4:56

series of one-on-one meetings with

4:58

different team members

4:59

regardless how you approach panel

5:01

interviewing be sure the hiring manager

5:02

is leading and coordinating the process

5:04

with the other interviewers

5:07

one of the benefits of panel interviews

5:08

and a guiding philosophy of the practice

5:11

is the idea that all of us are better

5:13

than any one of us consider the problem

5:15

of an individual interviewer's bias that

5:17

i mentioned earlier multiple

5:18

interviewers can see where the other's

5:20

blind spots are they may notice red

5:22

flags that others miss or they may think

5:24

of questions that provide unique

5:25

insights

5:26

for this reason panel interviews are

5:28

excellent mentoring opportunities for

5:30

less experienced managers they're also

5:32

great for more experienced hiring

5:33

managers to gain a fresh perspective on

5:35

interviewing at bernie portal we've also

5:37

used the panel format for instances

5:39

where a single candidate is applying for

5:41

two similar positions on a separate team

5:43

this demonstrated to us how excited the

5:45

candidate was to join the company in

5:47

whatever role she could and allowed the

5:48

hiring managers an opportunity to learn

5:50

from one another there are a few

5:52

downsides though for example any one

5:54

panelist is less responsible and

5:56

accountable for the hiring decision this

5:58

can also lead to an awkward situation in

6:00

which one interviewer does not want to

6:02

hire the candidate but the others

6:03

override them anyway

6:05

that awkwardness can affect the team

6:06

dynamics long after the position has

6:08

been filled

6:10

another con is a practical one

6:11

scheduling the interview gets

6:12

increasingly complicated with each

6:14

additional panelist the panel interview

6:17

format is better than one to one for

6:18

high level positions where the stakes

6:20

are high and the stakeholders are many

6:22

it's a coordinated effort but it

6:24

requires more consideration

6:26

that brings us to the most efficient

6:28

format group interviews

6:31

group interviews

6:34

group interviews involve two or more

6:35

candidates and one or more interviewers

6:38

it's occasionally called a candidate

6:40

group interview

6:41

as i mentioned group interviews are an

6:42

efficient way to assess multiple

6:44

candidates in a relatively short amount

6:46

of time

6:47

that's probably the most attractive

6:48

reason hiring managers choose this

6:50

format the group interview also provides

6:52

a unique opportunity for interviewers to

6:54

observe how candidates interact with

6:55

their peers

6:56

but i should point out that group

6:58

interviews can potentially alienate high

7:00

performers who may be annoyed at having

7:01

to share the hiring manager's attention

7:04

i don't say that lightly high performers

7:06

deserve your attention but of course the

7:08

irony is that the interview process is

7:09

the way you determine who those high

7:11

performers are

7:13

similarly group interviews make it

7:14

difficult to assess any one candidate in

7:16

depth it can be hard to remember who

7:18

said what or who was responsible for

7:20

what part of a team exercise that's why

7:22

it can be helpful to include other

7:24

interviewers in larger group settings

7:26

for these reasons the group interview

7:28

format is best suited for lower level

7:30

positions and public-facing roles there

7:32

are also popular formats for opening a

7:34

new business when you need to staff

7:36

quickly

7:36

as you can see interview formats are not

7:38

one size fits all it all depends on what

7:40

you're trying to accomplish each format

7:42

may be the most appropriate approach for

7:44

different positions at different times

7:46

and now you should have a better

7:47

understanding of the best format fit for

7:48

the occasion

7:50

as always remember that your role is as

7:51

strategic as you make it

7:58

that's all the time we have for this

7:59

episode don't forget to subscribe to our

8:01

channel and ring the bell to get

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8:04

of one updates and new episodes

8:07

also join our hr party of one group on

8:09

linkedin bye y'all