What to Expect in Group Interview

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What to Expect in Group Interviews Group interviews involve getting together with other job candidates to meet with one or more interviewers. Usually it involves a number of interviewers - potential managers or supervisors, human resources, even future co-workers and a group of candidates all together in one room. In its most basic form the group interview consists of a presentation, by the employer, to the candidates about the company and position .Generally there will be a question and answer session after the presentation. These simple interviews serve two purposes. Information is given to all the candidates in an economical and time-saving manner .It also gives the interviewers an opportunity to conduct an initial screening of the candidates as they observe the candidates' behavior and interaction with each other, their communication skills and the impression they make. Group interviews can be more involved than this. Candidates may be required to participate in work-simulation exercises. These can take the form of group problem-solving sessions where each candidate's contributions and participation is noted. Discussion groups take a similar form. Other exercises include splitting the candidates into teams and each team is given a work-related task to complete. Each team then presents their results to the whole group. During these team exercises the interviewers closely watch and listen to the candidates. They may also ask questions of individual candidates and take notes. The skills observed include communication and interpersonal ability, persuasiveness and the ability to influence others, leadership and delegation, organizational and planning skills and the ability to work and contribute as a team-member. Other observable behaviors include the ability to handle stress, to deal with feedback and give feedback and to analyze and problem-solve.
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