by Timothy Ijala

Created on: June 23, 2008   Last Updated: October 28, 2010

No they should not. If you look at successful people in business and other fields, you will find that if they had gone through the process of an interview they would be nowhere today. An example is Bill Gates. He probably never even have made it to the interview seeing that he was a college dropout. But today he is one of the world's richest, most successful businessmen. So is Richard Branson. Take the example of the famous singer Gareth Gates. He couldn't even say his name when he first stood before a panel of people who were to decide his singing career and who asked him a few questions. But when given the chance to sing, he became a star. And that is what people need to be given. A chance to prove what they can do. An interview cannot do that. An interview only proves what you say you can do and not what you can actually do.

Another thing to consider is that those interviewing are humans and to err is human. As a human you cannot sometimes avoid personal opinion, which can be fair or unfair. Sometimes someone on the interview panel may be biased against the one being interviewed for a number of reasons.It may be because they have a particular person in mind who they want to get the job because that person is a friend or relative, it maybe that they just don't like you although you may even say the right things during the interview.Or still it may be that you do not agree with the point of view of the interview panel on certain matters. Some people are contrary. They see something from a different point of view and when given the chance to prove their point of view, they can do it very well. But if that point of view does not agree with that of your future employer, well then too bad! You don't get the job...you have failed the interview!

Then there is the aspect of fear. There are some people who are brilliant in their field but when it comes to facing an interview panel, they fail to express themselves because of fear. They fear they may say the wrong things or just that situation of being in an interview, that this is the moment that decides their future could bring out the worst in them. But, if you actually give that person the job to do you would be surprised at how well they would do it. An interview is like an examination. Some people will just not pass an exam because of any number of reasons one of which is they are just not good at passing exams. So they may be written off as failures. But the same people go on to become very successful in life. That is why some colleges today grade people not on the basis of an exam but on the bases of continuous assessments.

I believe that interviews are basically examinations. Examinations which you may be asked questions that you are ready for and so you pass or you are not ready for and you fail though that does not mean you do not know the subject. History is full of examples of people who are now famous because they were able to prove themselves practically in situations that called for action and not because they could stand before a bunch of infallible humans and say what they can do.

So definitely no. People should not be selected for a job based on their interview performance. Give the person a chance to prove what they can do on the job, then decide from there if they are good for the job or not.

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