Skills of an effective interviewer
The goal of interviewers is to assess whether a candidate is a suitable fit for the position, applying the agreed selection criteria. This process is facilitated when candidates can give the best account of themselves at interview. Interviewers also act as ambassadors for chambers and candidates’ experience of their interview (whether positive or negative) will have an impact on their view of chambers as a whole and any subsequent decision making (such as whether to accept an offer or reapply in a following recruitment round). An interviewer should therefore aim to foster a positive candidate experience. The Bar Council highlights the importance of the following factors to be an effective interviewer:
Seeking to establish rapport with every candidate at the outset of the interview
Example: At the start of the interview,one member of the interview panel goes to collect the candidate, greeting them warmly, welcoming them to chambers, and congratulating them on being invited to interview. Once in the room, the member of chambers offers the candidate some water before introducing each member of the panel.
Maintaining rapport throughout the interview, including ‘active listening’
Example: during the interview, each member of the panel seeks to demonstrate ‘active listening’. This involves the panel members taking steps to focus on the interviewee and avoid distractions, such as logging out of email and putting phones on silent. They might also use verbal and nonverbal cues to show interest in and attention to the interviewee, such as making eye contact or summarising what the candidate has said.[1]
Avoiding actions that might put off interviewees
Example: it becomes clear during an answer that the candidate has misunderstood the question. It would be more effective to rephrase the question and prompt the candidate to return to the question in a friendly manner, rather than interrupting them to ask another question or to point out that they have misunderstood.[1]
Example: during the afternoon interviews, one member of the panel appears distracted by their phone. This may impact on the performance of the interviewee, if they feel that the interviewer is bored by their answers.
Demonstrating ‘active observation’ and keeping accurate records
Example: during interviews, panel members should make contemporaneous notes. These should be accurate factual records of candidates’ answers to questions, not the interviewer’s judgment or analysis of the candidate.[1] Rather than writing ‘good answer’ or ‘persuasive advocate’, notes might record what the answer was and how it was delivered.
Interviewers should bear in mind that notes will need to be retained as part of the recruitment records and may be requested by candidates (see discussion below).[2]
Conducting objective evaluation and analysis
Example: following each interview, each panel member should independently assess the evidence collected against the selection criteria and score candidates based on each criterion using a standardised form. Decision making must be based solely on the evidence of the interview and not be influenced by irrelevant characteristics (or the views of other panellists).[1]
