Interview Tips - Who does the interviewing

Which person is chosen to interview candidate usually depends on the organization and the type of job involved.  Most large companies and some smaller ones have a personnel department, or an individual responsible for personnel whose job may include interviewing potential recruits. Alternatively the manager who will be responsible for the work of the new recruit may conduct the interviews.

In larger organizations candidates may be interviewed by both a personnel representative and their potential manager.  At panel and sequential interviews each of the interviews may represent a different department or role within the organization.  Sometimes there may also be other people involved such as ‘headhunters’ or other staff recruitment agencies (employed by the organization to find potential recruits) and psychologists (employed to help assess candidates).

Selection interviews other than for jobs are generally conducted by a person with that particular responsibility.  Interviews for places at college for example will often be conducted by the head of relevant department.

It is an advantage to know what job the person interviewing you does because it will help you to understand what they might be looking for in the ideal candidate.  Although overall this will be the same whoever conducts the interviews, different interviewers may place varying emphasis on the value of the characteristics which are being sought.  A personnel office for example maybe particularly interested in how candidates would fit into the worthwhile investing in their training, other managers may feel it is more important to know how well candidates would fit into their team and how they could contribute immediately to its work.

An interviewer’s primary task is to select the candidate best suited for the situation in question. In job interviews this involves selecting the person who will achieve the result required from a particular job function.

Interviewers differs in the way that they view their task and the importance they give to it, but the selection of new recruits is one of the most importance function in any organization. Mistakes can be costly in terms of the recruitment costs, lost output and the effect that the wrong person in job can have on other workers. Today’s recruits determine the success or failure of tomorrow’s organization.

Because of the importance of selection and recruitment nearly all large organizations and many smaller one use a set procedure for the purpose. Although the person who conducts the interviews may not be involved at all stages of this process, it is important for you to understand the basic stages involved. Even if the organization to which you are applying does not use such a procedure, it will help you to prepare more thoroughly for your interview.

The selection procedure might typically involve the following stages:
1) Compiling a job specification or job description.
2) Compiling a personal profile of the ideal candidate.
3) Attracting applicants.
4) Shortlisting.
5) Planning the interviews.
6) Interviewing.
7) Selection.

In many Organisations these stages will not be defined in a formal selection procedure, and a varying amount of effort and detail will be put into the process. All types os selection interview will be a part of a similar process, whether or not it is well defined and carried out rigorously.