Career / Work · Advice & Questions · Oct 19

I’m joining an interview panel for the first time. How do I avoid just choosing the best talker?

Career / Work

After the first candidate left, my manager said, “Great energy.” I’d written the same thing at the top of my notes. Underneath it, I had very little about the work.

We’re hiring a bookings assistant. I’ve been asked to join the panel because I’ll train the person who gets the job. I’ve never interviewed candidates before.

The first candidate made the conversation easy. The second was hesitant but gave a detailed example of finding a duplicated reservation and checking it before changing the record. That example sounded closer to the work we need, though I found the interview less comfortable.

We have more candidates tomorrow. So far, we’ve used the job description and a loose list of questions, without agreeing how we’ll weigh the answers.

What would you ask the panel to settle before the next interview? I want to use my knowledge of the job without confusing an enjoyable conversation with evidence that someone can do it.

Discussion

2 community replies

@JulesAfterDark

Write down the tasks you need the assistant to handle, then ask the panel what evidence would help assess each one. The duplicated reservation example relates to a real task. “Great energy” may describe the conversation, but you need to decide what it means for this vacancy before using it as a reason to choose someone.

@MaxOnMain

You don’t have to discard communication as a consideration. A bookings assistant may need to explain a change clearly. Look for evidence of that in the answers, rather than relying solely on how at ease you felt. The detailed second answer and the fluent first conversation could each contain useful information if you examine them more closely.

I’m joining an interview panel for the first time. How do I avoid just choosing the best talker?

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