by Paul Waddington

Created on: December 12, 2009   Last Updated: December 13, 2009

Yes, people should be selected for a position based only on their interview performance. This is the key instrument that can be used to judge a persons character, presentation, educational standards and other traits, good and bad, they have that do not show up on their application or resume.

With the majority of resume's nowadays being  overinflated 'spin' that doesnt actually reflect what they do on a daily basis is it very difficult if not impossible to actually judge someones true capabilities through their resume or application form which is where the interview comes in as the key deciding factor in whether a candidate is suitable for the position they are applying for.

 Yes it would be great to give applicants a chance to show what they can do and what they are capable of before making a decision about who is the most suitable candidate but this is often not an option for various factors. The number of applicants for the position - how many do you give this opportunity to to check you are getting the right candidate, the time involved  "babysitting" them through this trial period which could be used more productively elsewhere, how long does this temporary period last for - a couple of hours, a couple of days, a couple of weeks? This would be fine if there were only a couple of applications for each position but when you have hundreds of applications how would do you chose who would be most suitable for this trial period - by an interview of course.

The interview is the only way to judge someone's character. It gives them a chance to show  they have knowledge of the job and of situations they have faced and how they have dealt with these situations. It also gives the chance show they have potential to learn and improve and will be an asset in the long term and they aren't applying because there's nothing else available at the moment or if they are just going to use the job to add more waffle to their resume and then move on in a year. It gives them a chance to show their educational standards, capabilities for listening and responding, what their professional standards are and if they can make up a coherent sentence or give logical concisce answers to the questions posed to them, which are all essential qualities for future employers.

The interview is a hard situation to be in, but it is essential to see how someone handles themselves under pressure, there will be times when they will be needed to make decisions and choices on their own, regardless of what the job is and they will have to be capable of handling them instead of just crumbling and passing it on to someone else or not taking care of it effectively.

We've all been there at sometime during our careers and know what it is like to be interviewed and some interviews are easier than others but we've all come through them and moved on because of it, whether it was positive or negative experience. The employer needs to be able to meet the candidates face to face and make his judgement accordingly based on how they perform in an interview because this is the only opportunity they will have to make their decision about a candidate.

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