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One-to-One Recruiting: Determining the Length of the Interview

Many interviewers cite a lack of time to commit a full hour when screening candidates. However, in the long run, it takes much less time to thoroughly interview each candidate than to have to manage a below-average employee, or even worse, terminate the person who never should have been hired in the first place.

In general, most first interviews will last an hour, while first meetings for upper-management positions should be around two hours. There are many reasons why hour-long interviews are necessary. Some candidates are professional interviewers - they talk a great game and are top-notch charmers - but they may not be able to maintain the show for an entire hour. You may find that they begin to trip over what they said earlier if they have been less than truthful.

Also, the longer the interview goes, the more patterns you can discover. For example, a short interview may reveal a candidate to be quite persistent. But if the meeting is extended, you may learn that while the applicant initially made the "right" comments related to persistence, he later revealed a dislike for situations calling for persistence. Allowing extra time would have helped you not only discover that the candidate was bluffing about his real persistence level, but also that this applicant lacked the proper qualifications for the job.

Let's say, in the interest of time, you opt to interview for 30 minutes. There is a high likelihood of missing some make-or-break information or insights about how the candidate will perform on the job by spending an inadequate amount of time with them. Is it worth the risk of saving 30 minutes to possibly end up with poor productivity, or worse, a troublemaker? I think we all know the answer....so do yourself a favor and dedicate a full hour to your interviews.

Source: Hire the Best and Avoid the Rest by Michael W. Mercer