What is Group Interview?

Group interviews are classified into two types: group and panel. A group interview involves a single interviewer interviewing several candidates simultaneously. Group interviews are most popular in the food service, hotel, and retail industries.

On the other hand, panel interviews include a panel of numerous hiring team members interviewing a single job candidate. Hiring managers, relevant team members, and an HR representative are frequently present for the interview.

Advantages and Disadvatanges of Group Interviews

Advantages

  1. Saves time and money on hiring

Group interviews may help you save time on interviewing since you can evaluate several prospects at once, rather than spending too much time attempting to arrange and conduct particular times and dates for each candidate.

It also has a financial benefit because it is far less expensive than one-on-one interviews. This is since interviewing more candidates in a shorter time will lower some expenses such as revenue costs.

  1. Chance to observe candidate teamwork in action

On paper, a candidate may claim to have strong cooperation abilities, but assigning a task that requires this in a group interview allows you to see those qualities in action. Group interviews will enable you to put a candidate's collaboration, communication, and management abilities to the test rather than depending just on what they say.

It will also indicate who may lack collaboration abilities, which will be helpful if your career requires teamwork. On the other hand, it helps you to identify future team leaders.

  1. Gains a thorough insight into prospects

Group interviews may be a terrific approach to examine each candidate's personality if you're searching for a specific nature for your work. Group interviews allow you to evaluate applicants based on how they treat others, their awareness of their influence on others, and their comfort speaking out in uncomfortable settings.

Disadvantages

  1. Candidate disagreements

While group interviews help measure applicants' communication and collaboration, disagreement can arise. During the interview, applicants may disagree with another candidate expressing their viewpoint. As a result, this may cause friction among applicants and harm a candidate's prospects of receiving a job in the future.

  1. Not every individual will prosper

Another downside of group interviews is that they have traditionally favoured outgoing types. While confidence is a crucial aspect of an ideal candidate's personality, it should not precede everything else. It is critical not to dismiss other applicants with strong cooperation or problem-solving abilities simply because they lack the same level of confidence.

  1. Only appropriate for specific roles

As previously said, a group interview is a terrific chance to demonstrate those talents in action if your profession requires a lot of cooperation or client interaction. However, group interviews should not be used for every post available.

Are group interviews helpful?

Compared to other interview methods, group interviews have some distinct advantages. As a result, if your business uses group interviews with these benefits in mind, you're more likely to find them helpful.

  • Group interviews are efficient because they allow firms to interview several candidates simultaneously, saving many work hours.

  • Group interviews allow you to determine which applicants collaborate with others. Sure, every candidate will claim that they get along well with others. You may observe such talents in action with group interviewers.

  • Group interview settings offer unique insights regarding who fits well with the corporate culture. Your organization's culture is most likely seen in how workers interact. The group interview provides an environment where culturally compatible applicants can be identified.

  • Group interviews reveal who performs well under pressure.