Multiple Interviewers
A relatively new trend in business interviewing is the "interview by committee." You are interviewed by a committee of from three to eight members. It's difficult to identify the one person who is the lead decision-maker-and in fact there may be several decision-makers, with the person who ultimately gets the job being the one who has made the fewest mistakes with the group as a whole. It is difficult to identify individual personalities early enough in the interview. You may already have done some damage before you have time to sort people out.
When faced with a committee, you do want to try to answer a question in the style of the questioner. You want to look at the person who asked the question, and answer directly to him or her, looking away at the other members of the committee only incidentally during your response. If one person tends to monopolize the questioning, then you should make a concerted effort to bring in the others on the committee, and to include them in your answer by looking at each of them for at least one or two sentences in your response.
Several traps exist for the unwary in the multiple-interviewer situation. First, the contact with several people tends to make you more nervous than interviewing with a single person. These interviews are energy draining, and require you to make a much higher level of personal energy investment. You may be either too laid back or too up-tight.
Second, you can easily get caught up in the "good cop, bad cop" routine. You may find yourself being led into areas which you don't want to dwell on, and answering the questions because the person who asked the questions is playing the "good cop."
Third, you may discover yourself empathizing with the person you met or interviewed first, and responding or deferring to him or her and not paying enough attention to others in the group.
The group interview is widely used by nonprofit charitable organizations; the interviewers are generally nonprofessionals and each member tends to have a different and separate agenda. The questions tend to be narrow in focus, and you have to direct the discussion into the more general areas which the interviewers need to consider.
Colleges, universities and many research laboratories are collegial in nature. They use the multiple interviews because they want to find out how you would "fit in" with the other members of their group. They also are very concerned about your specific area of expertise, and how it helps make their work unit more complete. The questions in these instances will tend to be much more technical and/or work-oriented. You may also get involved in philosophical discussions, into matters of style, of corporate culture and of specific projects.
The Second, Third and Fourth Interviews
The second interview is really easier than the first. You've already survived the initial screening process. You know more about the company now. And, your first interviewer has a vested interest in you. He or she has essentially said you're all right. So, you may be able to ask and get the ammunition you need to sail safely through the next interview.
With lower-level employees, the job offer is typically made on or after the second interview. But with mid- and top-level executives and managers, four and five interviews before hiring are not uncommon.
If your first interview was with someone in personnel, the second interview will probably be set up with the person to whom the position will report, or if the job is a top-level position, your interview may be with the board of directors or the executive committee. If either of these is the case, you might call the original interviewer and ask if you should know anything specific before you meet with the next interviewer(s).
You can also ask if there would be any objections to your making a direct call to the interviewer before you go in for the interview.
Since there will usually be no objection, call the second interviewer.
Say something like, "I'm looking forward to meeting with you on {date).
Would you like me to prepare anything in advance or bring along anything special to our meeting?"If you get specific requests, then collect them and bring them along to the interview. In any case, you've introduced yourself pleasantly to your interviewer, acknowledging that you're ready to do whatever you can to enhance your chances.
A second interview can follow the same track as a first interview-or it can be entirely different. It depends upon who's interviewing you and whether this will be someone to whom you'd be reporting or someone higher up. If it's the person you'd report to, expect the interview to be more direct and job-related. If the meeting is with someone nearer the top, you may have a relatively general interview in which you'll be expected to talk about your personal goals and objectives; about the company's goals and objectives, and bottom line; and about the contribution you would be expected to make.
Ask the first interviewer if he or she is going to introduce you to the second interviewer. If the answer is yes, upon your arrival ask the first interviewer for a briefing on what you can expect. You'll get at least an idea of the timetable and may gain other valuable insights. Also, when you're introduced by someone else in the company, you get a little bit of rub-off halo. The interview will get off to a friendly start, and the second interviewer may be predisposed in your favor.
