Group job interviews are one of the evaluation methods for personnel selection that complement individual interviews. A group interview is a test in which several candidates participate for one or more jobs with the objective of evaluating their behavior, skills and abilities in a practical and social context.
Group interviews allow:
Evaluate a greater number of candidates
In group tests, many applicants can participate, so they are especially useful in mass selection processes.
Observe the participant in a more natural context
The use of games or challenges has long been a common practice in leading companies. They are used to encourage candidates to lose focus on the process itself, showing their true nature. I.
Assess soft skills
These dynamics are especially interesting to assess the non-cognitive skills that are essential to perform a job, but are difficult to observe in a traditional individual interview.
Assess social skills
You don’t really know a person until you observe them interacting with other people.
Show the value of the company
In addition to the value for evaluation, group dynamics are also a positive element in the “mutual selection process”, where the candidate is shown a dynamic, fun, innovative and current company.
Discover skills in workers
These dynamics not only serve for an initial selection, but the same logic also applies to the evaluation of the leadership and problem-solving capacity of individuals who are internal candidates for a role change or promotion.
From Crimidesa, Fernando Beltrán Aparicio, HR director until 2018, he tells us his example: “Taking advantage of a team building event we were able to verify the team management capacity of a candidate for internal promotion. Obviously, there were many other indicators, but being able to work for an hour on her computer was a opportunity to validate previous reports first-hand and we discovered a small area that we needed to strengthen before the change of responsibility.”
Through group dynamics, you can evaluate:
- assertiveness: communicative style necessary for any job in which dealing with people is required.
- Problem solving: the ability to produce, evaluate solutions and apply them, essential especially for managers.
- The creativity: the ability to produce innovative solutions, useful for any job.
- Flexibility: ability to adapt to new situations, essential in changing work environments.
- critical thinking: ability to reflect and draw own conclusions.
- Team work: add the capabilities of different people to achieve a better result. Working as a team means knowing how to identify and use the strengths of each team member to provide feedback. This skill is essential for virtually any work environment.
- emotional intelligence: managing one’s own emotions and understanding the emotions of others allows one to forge good interpersonal relationships at work and be more productive. In this article you will find more information about the.
- The leadership: ability to organize and lead groups, of vital importance in management positions.
- Ethics and values: the personal principles that govern conduct, essential in all jobs related to the health and education of the population.
- The proactivity: attitude aimed at action and collaboration.
Depending on the type of skills and characteristics that we are interested in evaluating, we will choose a different format and topic for the group interview.
In recent years, we have seen new initiatives gaining weight: escape rooms, improvisation theater or more complex strategy games, but the idea remains the same: show the potential of candidates in a spontaneous environment.
Group activities can range from playing tic-tac-toe to building a chair with cardboard, to small video games or card games. The most common dynamics in group job interviews are the following:
Forum
This group dynamic consists of carrying out a conversation on a topic proposed by the evaluators, who observe the opinions and communication skills of the applicants.
- For example, talk about the benefits of reading.
Brainstorming
This group exercise consists of producing ideas on a topic or solutions to a problem. It is useful to assess the creativityinnovation, the ability to concentrate, originality, authenticity and imagination, among others.
- For example, proposing different ideas of merchandising for the company.
Escape room
This group game consists of solving tests in a space set in a story. The objective is decipher the enigmas before a certain time. An escape room is a controlled space, where you can observe and listen to the performance of one or more candidates acting without the presence of those who evaluate them.
- For example, the Rombate escape game from The Rombo Code. With a capacity of up to 12 participants, it is ideal for assessing the ability to face problems, strategy and time management.
We spoke with Óscar Grifols, the head of the business area The Rombo Code Barcelona: the main escape room with services for Human Resources in Spain. Although the conclusions that we can draw from the environment of an escape game are equally useful for any other dynamic based on the game. “The technicians who evaluate, normally, have already played the game and know it: it is not so much about success or failure, but rather the ability to generate ideas and commit the team to them, analyze the processes of Problem resolution and also how the players relate to each other: this is a very specific opportunity to analyze soft skills that we can make the most of.”
Grifols refers to the importance of choosing an appropriate theme, for example, one that is not scary. It is also important to avoid elements that unnecessarily harm the process, such as poor lighting, and prioritize intellectual and teamwork challenges. Not any will do escape room, although almost any could be adapted to fulfill this function. He also highlights that above all it is another complement to the process, but that it provides a very fun point for the candidates that serves to reassure them and make them appear relaxed.
Without a doubt, the escape game as a group dynamic for job interviews is a very original that allows assessing the real performance of countless capabilities: attention, understanding, analysis, resolution, creativity, group work, communication, organization, logic, working memory, perseverance, imagination, work under pressure, self-regulation, security… Professionals in the sector can advise on choosing the best escape room based on of the capabilities that you prefer to value.
Debate
In this group job interview format, a dilemma is proposed against which each candidate must position themselves, argue and defend their position, which can be real or randomly assigned. This test allows you to assess communication skills, the ability to influence and the ability to persuasion so important in sales, especially.
For example, in-person work versus teleworking.
Round table
The objective of this group dynamic for job interviews is to reach an agreement. Interviewers can evaluate the applicants’ assertiveness, initiative, creativity, negotiation skills, diplomacy, self-control…
- For example, reaching an agreement on the order of priority of 15 objects for the survival of a group on a ship.
Practical case
For this exercise role-playingthe evaluators propose a common task in the workplace and observe how each of the participants performs it.
- For example, serving another participant as if they were a customer.
Crisis cabinet
Role-playing exercise that consists of simulating the resolution of a serious unforeseen problem. Participants must show their ability to resolution of problems, the ability to make decisions, flexibility, critical thinking, group work, execution under pressure and security.
- For example, raise situations such as that the business is being robbed or that the office has lost electricity.