Senior QA Viktoriya Golovchenko talked about her experience conducting an interview with a candidate, where the employer company was represented by seven interviewers, and asked the IT community whether too many people during the interview is not a significant stress factor.
Senior QA Viktoriya Golovchenko talked about her experience conducting an interview with a candidate, where the employer company was represented by seven interviewers, and asked the IT community whether too many people during the interview is not a significant stress factor.
«Recently, I took part in an interview where there were seven interviewers for one candidate. It was not a problem for us, because, in the end, everyone had the opportunity to ask questions of interest. But I don’t know if the candidate was comfortable. Although he did not submit a form,» — Viktoriya Golovchenko wrote on her LinkedIn page.
According to Senior QA, the optimal number of people for an interview is 2-3 people from the employer and the candidate.
«Yes, everything depends on the position and on the processes in the company. There were so many of us, for example, because there was a candidate for a managerial position. So, in addition to the manager and HR, leaders from all departments with whom he will need to work later gathered,» added Victoria Golovchenko.
Aitivytsia admits that a possible way out of the situation would be to call the candidate’s immediate future manager for an interview, perhaps a C-level manager, and get to know the heads of the departments after the fact, after accepting the offer and starting work.
«If we are talking about an interview for a non-management position, then there is definitely no need for a large number of people. This can also add excitement to the candidate. Optimal: department lead, project lead and hr. From personal experience, when I was a candidate, there were usually 2-4 people at the interview,» she said.
Senior QA also asked the IT community about their experiences with interviews and how they perceive similar situations.
Software QA Engineer Anastasia Dyka recalled that once there were as many as 12 interviewers at an interview with a candidate.
«I was at the interview as a candidate, where there were 12 interviewers. It was a legal field. It is obvious that not everyone asked questions, only about 7 people actively participated in the conversation,» she wrote.
In turn, Head of Sales Oleg Azaliev believes that such a large number of interviewers speaks of the immaturity of the company/department/department and the personal insecurity of the management staff.
«As a candidate, I attended interviews where there were 5 or even 10 interviewers. Usually 1-2 people ask something, the rest either just listen or plug into laptops or phones. As a manager of recruiting areas, such a number of interviewers is impractical, because decisions are actually made by direct managers. The cost per hiring of such a position is skyrocketing. If there are 7 people at the interview, then count how much $ you spent on just 1 interview, and if there are several candidates?», — expresses surprise and supports colleague COO Consultant Galina Hyrka .
«I had the experience of 7 interviewers and they interviewed 5 people at the same time. It was very interesting, like a scene from a speed dating movie. True, it was the banking sector, the sales position,» recalls Quality Assurance Analyst Lyudmila S. about her previous experience.
