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I have an interview with a group of ten on Monday morning. It's in K-12 education and they almost always do group interviews so it didn't surprise me. A friend and former colleague who has been on both sides of the group interview table at least a hundred times strongly suggested that I walk up to each person, shake their hand and individually greet them during the introduction. She thinks it makes a very good impression and creates a connection with each interviewer.

As you may have guessed by me posting this question, I disagree. I've only been on a few group interviews panels but it was my impression that the entire panel was annoyed when a candidate did this. The schedule is tight and it wasted a lot of time which put us behind schedule for the next candidate. If it was only three or four interviewers I would agree but ten handshakes and individual greetings could take four or five minutes.

Any thoughts?

On another note, I asked her about the stuff in the Group Interview cast and she agreed 100%. She said candidates rarely send thank you notes at all but when one does it's a huge competitive advantage. I served on an interview panel for my boss's job (same job title I'm interviewing for Monday) and we got zero thank you notes or emails from any of the eight candidates and that job started at $95K! Heck, a couple of the internal candidates didn't even wear suites. She said I have nothing to worry about regarding eye contact but she admitted it is a common problem.

jclishe's picture

Personally, I would feel akward NOT shaking everyone's hand.

ctomasi's picture

Shake hands. 10 people won't take more than a minute or so. You can also learn their names.

Shake hands... "Hi, I'm Chuck."
"I'm Roger."
"Roger, nice to meet you." or "I'm glad to be here, Roger" or what ever professional phrases you like.

How long did that take? 5-7 seconds?

It shows you're personal. I look for that in a candidate - especially those who will be interacting with people. Last I checked, school teachers/administrative staff/principals interacted with lots of people. :)

asteriskrntt1's picture

Shake hands and try to get everyone's names ahead of time. As in all classroom management issues, learning all your student's names or showing them that you are trying to learn their names is hugely powerful.

In fact, in one of the presentation podcasts, M&M suggest standing outside the room and greeting every attendeee and introducing yourself. This theme is also repeated in the interview introduction podcast. Names and introductions are that important.

*RNTT

thaGUma's picture

I must admit there is no way I could remember so many names. The diffuclty arises when you send thany you notes to some but not all.

One tip - make contact wth the admin facilitator. Ring them a couple of days later to express admiration on how the day went. Get names and soem insight on progress.

Chris

HMac's picture

One of your key objectives is to make a personal connection with as many of them as your can.

Shaking hands and introducing yourself with them is the best way. Just don't make it fussy or showy.

You genuinely want to meet and connect with each of them.

-Hugh

bda1972's picture

Luckily, they were standing when I walked in so it would have been tough [i]not [/i]to shake their hands. I was REALLY nervous when I started but calmed down by the third question. I found it difficult to gauge how I was doing because they didn't show a lot of expression. They seemed more concerned with taking notes than actually listening. It was sort of humorous to see an entire room of people writing with their heads down while I talked. It almost felt like I was giving dictation. I'll know in a week or so if I made the second round of interviews. Then I get to do another group interview! :wink:

By the way, I have a second question regarding group interviews. In the Group Interview cast, M & M state several times that they don't like group interviews and that companies do them for the wrong reason but they never elaborate. Any thoughts?

HMac's picture

[i]Good luck bda1972![/i]

[quote="bda1972"]By the way, I have a second question regarding group interviews. In the Group Interview cast, M & M state several times that they don't like group interviews and that companies do them for the wrong reason but they never elaborate. Any thoughts?[/quote]

Sure:

[i][b]It's not an interview[/b][/i]
To my mind, when an interview is with more than one interviewer, it becomes a "presentation" - which is an entirely different animal than an interview. In a real sense, you're now dealing with an audience - some of whom are engaged, others who are just passing the time with their heads down, taking notes :wink: . And that's really different from the interaction in a one-on-one interview.

[i][b]Who's in charge here?[/b][/i]
A lot of M/M's recommendations get at the problem that in a group interview, the responsibility for the hiring decision is diffused - so nobody can really be held accountable for a poor decision ("Well, the team liked him..." "Nobody really spoke up with an objection...").

[i][b]Medocrity loves company[/b][/i]
When the interview is done by a group, nobody really prepares, because everybody feels like it's not their decision, so let me just wing it. Lazy interviewing becomes the norm.

Those are my opinions based on my experience, I'm sure M/M can be much more succinct.

-Hugh

bda1972's picture

[quote="HMac"][i][b]Medocrity loves company[/b][/i]
When the interview is done by a group, nobody really prepares, because everybody feels like it's not their decision, so let me just wing it. Lazy interviewing becomes the norm.[/quote]
Each interviewer coming up with their own questions would be nice as well. I had a high school principal ask me how I would migrate their servers from Netware to Windows and then stared at me blankly as I answered because he didn't even know what Netware was. There were virtually no follow-up questions the entire interview because nobody knew if I answered correctly or not. I probably had a couple of answers that should have been followed up and would have been had I interviewed one-on-one with a technical interviewer.

Success09's picture

I went on a similar interview, 10 men and myself a woman. I was applying for a professional position and while they all stood my only thought was "stuffed shirts". Not one smiled and the "leader" sat down, instructed me to sit down and began to explain the procedure. They never gave me the opportunity to shake hands.

I recently received my bachelors degree but am in an hourly position as an administrative assistant/office manager. The executive director told me that this position demanded long and odd hours where I would need to be on call. I explained that I was able to do that as I am dedicated and presently work long hours. He laughed and said yes but here we will not be paying you overtime.  I wanted to cry. All I could think of was what a jerk he was. I left knowing I did not get the job but also thinking if I did, I did not want it.

So the question is two fold, would you shake hands in the situation I described above? If so, how would you manage? 

Second, what do you do when someone says something like this? (the hourly and overtime issue) Also, being a recent non traditional college graduate how am I going to be able to move from a secretarial position to a professional position if the professionals do not see me as a professional?  (If that makes any sense.)

ashdenver's picture

I would shake hands on the way out then, for sure.

"It's not about the money, sir, it's about my dedication to doing a great job and going the extra mile."

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DiSC profile: 7-2-1-5

Success09's picture

I have a list of questions and things to study regarding interviews. Your reply was great and I am going to have to use it however I pray it never happens again. Also, I am so not fast on my feet when people are rude. Wish I were. I also am non confrontational and wish that I were stronger when people are not at their best.

Thanks for the reply.