Is the person that interviews the best, the best person for the job? (employment, election)

[Kendrick G]

Moderator cut: Original: http://www.tspnsports.com/forums/showthread.php?t=84587

[jtur88]

Yes, if the interviewer is the best person for HIS job.

I bet you have a personal axe to grind. Tell us your life story.

[msgsing]

Not always. Some job applicants have better acting skills than others during the interview process. I recall one employee who was fired for gross misconduct after less than a year of employment. The person who did the hiring couldn't believe the person was terminated because he had interviewed so well.

[mongoslade223]

That may or may not be the case, but there is no excuse for not having good interveiw skills IMO. There are plenty of books and internet articles on how to ace interviews. The interviewer only knows you from the short time he has to talk to you, so you have to make a good impression in a short period of time.

[Itz]

Depends on the job.
My career is IT.. technical... Most of the interview questions are designed to determine how a person troubleshoots, their customer service skills, how they go about obtaining information... Are they a quick learner, etc...
one of the positions on my team was recently filled and the thre were several people who had great work history, the knowledge according to their resume, but when asked about "Tell me a time you had to implement a new technology and how did you go about doing it?".. The amount of skilled and highly qualified people answered that like a 1st year tech student. *next*

I've also been in interviews where the interviewer just talked and talked about the company, the position, blah blah... and never went into any questions about my qaulifications for the job and based it on my resume.. 'You'll be workign 8-5 with Mary and primarily answering phones, blah blah blah with an occasional out of town job assignment, blah blah blah. Oh BTW I'll need you here 15 minutes early every morning to power up the office. blah blah blah... Does that sound like something your interested in?"... me... out of work... need a job... not a lot of job skills at the time... "Sure.. That won't be a problem at all"..

[skinem]

Often, but not necessarily. I've been on both sides of the table--mostly the interviewer side. Haven't been fooled but a couple of times. Usually, if you're any good at interviewing, any problems, glitches, etc., are revealed.
Often, I've found that proficient people are plentiful--the trick is getting the person that will fit best within the organization and with the assets in place.

[h0tmess]

Apparently what matters the most is what racial quota the company is trying to fill.

[markg91359]

Not always. Some job applicants have better acting skills than others during the interview process. I recall one employee who was fired for gross misconduct after less than a year of employment. The person who did the hiring couldn't believe the person was terminated because he had interviewed so well.
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Being self-employed for twenty years, thank God I haven't had the experience of interviewing for a job. I know when I did it I was bad at it. Its a major reason I chose to work for myself. Its just as well. I'd make far less than I'm making working for myself and I'd worry constantly about being laid off. What an existence huh?

I will make a couple of observations that go back to when I was in college. I knew two guys running in an election for a student government position. Candidate 1 was smooth talking. He dressed well and had good looks. His motivation for doing anything was to pad a resume'--nothing more. Candidate 2 was a hard worker. He didn't dress well and he wasn't good looking. He was motivated by an inner desire to serve others and impress them with genuine accomplishments. Whenever he got an opportunity, which was not often, he worked his ass off to prove that confidence in him had not been misplaced.

Predictably Candidate 1 won the election by a landslide. He promptly went back to his old habits. He stopped attending meetings. He started looking for the next thing to pad his curriculum vitae with. Most of the people who voted for #1 weren't even able to judge his performance in office. Because of my peculiar position, I was able to observe the whole thing. I felt pretty disgusted.

Alot of people out there are suckers and will fall for a fancy suit, good lucks, and the right image. Some don't, but I think most do.

[rory00]

if that person is interviewing for public relations/communications etc.

but there are a lot of people who don't interview all that dazzingly and are fit for the job. charisma and ability to do your job are not the same thing.

also, a lot of people are discriminated by interviewers as they are people too with faults with erroneous judgement or personal preference also.

i think the current way people are hired for jobs is rather faulty and subjective. i hope it becomes more advanced and computerized and fair in the future.

[harry chickpea]

The original question doesn't make much sense once you examine it. An interview is only part of the hiring process. An interviewer may find an applicant makes a great impression but doesn't have the credentials, or has major gaps (think prison) in a resume, or has other flaws that outweigh the interview.

Add to this, the fact that often the interviewer is not the person who will be supervising or working closely with the person, and you may have key job skills or personality traits that are lacking.

If the interview held the power that the original question implies, then more people would be getting married after a first date and living happily ever after.