Using standard interviewing techniques, organizations all too often fall victim to less than desirable results. Interviewers are seldom explicit about the qualifications they seek in a job candidate, and without a well articulated sense of these requirements, the resulting interviews are poorly focused and inefficient. Interviews are seldom carried out in a consistent fashion. Most interviewers neither prepare their questions in advance of the interview nor use a systematic strategy during the interview. The result is that the quality of the data gathered is not consistent from one interview to the next.
Interviewers often spend more time talking than listening.
Many interviewers are tempted to spend as much time talking about themselves or selling the organization as they spend finding out about whether the candidate has the required capabilities. Impressions formed early in the interview guide the final decision. In one study of interviewing and decision making, it was found that on the average, interviewers made up their minds about whether or not to select a job candidate in the first five minutes, and then spent the rest of the interview asking questions to get support for the original conclusion. Interviewers are more interested in looking smart than getting good data. Strong impressions about candidates in one or two areas influence how candidates are rated in unrelated areas.