Group interview

[alexisvee]

does anyone have any advice or information on group interviews? What to wear, usual group size, how long does it last, what's the procedure, what's your past experience? thanks

[Kim888]

@alexisvee How exciting! Lots of luck on your interview!!!! I've only done a group interview once when I was a teenager for a retail job. A lot of this will depend on what you are interviewing for and your location. Especially whether we are discussing an office v. retail job and the industry you are in. 

It was quite a few years ago but from what I remember it was about 6-8 of us and there were 2 people interviewing us. They talked to all of us at once and asked general questions and then they talked to us individually for about 5 minutes each. I think the whole thing took about an hour. I feel like especially in group interviews they tend to ask the slightly standard interview questions (how would you handle a difficult situation, what's your weakness, etc.) so just have concise answers ready for those.  

General advice I would give is be assertive but don't interrupt. You want to make sure you get to answer especially if you have relevant experience to share but it comes off rude if you interrupt someone. If there are multiple interviewers be sure to look at both of them when answering questions and speak clearly since you may not be as close to them as you would be on your own. Be polite in the waiting room to other candidates before you go in - you never know when they are watching you.

Arrive 15 minutes early.  

It's  hard to give clothing advice without knowing what job you are interviewing for. I  work in a fairly conservative field so my advice may be slightly skewed but standard rule of thumb in my experience is you should always be slightly fancier on the interview. You can dress down when the job starts and you see what other people are wearing.  Plain black or nude heels are always appropriate and if you are wearing a skirt or dress it should be knee length  Shoulders covered. No cleavage.   In a group interview you do want to be slightly memorable so nice but not overly flashy earrings or necklace can be a nice addition. If you cannot resit playing with your hair when nervous pull it back. 

Good Luck!

[Anonymous]

Thanks for sharing your experience and giving good advice! It will help me soon!

[Anonymous]

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[alexisvee]

Thanks a lot! Unfortunately, my interview is in an hour so I hope a plain black maxi dress with a cape will do. I really do appreciate the tips though so I'll definitely try to keep that in mind!