Sometimes a company will choose to have an applicant interview with more than one person at the same time instead of having two separate interviews. It saves time for both Human Resources and the department heads when everyone can come together and ask their own questions of the applicant at the same time. It also saves the applicant from having to return for another interview if they are qualified for the position. It should be easy for Human Resources to review the qualifications of each application and determine which people who best suit the requirements of the department. Having everyone meet at the same time will give each person an opportunity to ask questions without repeating the same ones as is the case when applicants meet individually with each person who is a part of the hiring process.
Are interviews involving more than one interviewer effective? Should the applicant be able to interview with each person individually? Unlike group interviews, the applicant is still alone with the interviewers and simply meeting with all of the people who play a part in the hiring process. For the applicant who is taking time from another job to interview, it saves time when he or she can attend to everything at one time. It also saves time for the company because they do not have to allot time for several people at different times. It is more likely to help the choice of applicants when everyone can meet at once—it will also shorten the length of the selection process because what is normally two is three steps is now reduced to one.
This type of interview is effective for both small companies as well as large corporations though corporations are more likely to use this method of interviewing. Although some applicants may not feel comfortable with it, they must consider the fact they will meet with all of these same people at some point during the interviewing process. Often applicants will actually find this type of setting preferable to meeting with Human Resources, asked to stay longer or come back at another time to meet with the department heads that will be actually making the selection. In the total scheme of things it is much easier to meet with everyone at the same time instead of having to come back or stay longer than you had originally planned.
