Being interviewed by someone you know

Ginger Ninja

I had an interview yesterday and I'm 95% sure that one of the interviewers was a girl I went to college with (this was about 10 years ago). I didn't mention it in the interview as I wasn't 100% sure and I didn't want to make it seem like I was milking a contact. But it got me thinking, is being interviewed by someone you know, or are acquainted with, a help or a hindrance in an interview situation?

dazberry

It's happened to me a couple of times, on both sides of the fence. The time I was being interviewed I didn't get the job. The time I was interviewing the candidate didn't get the job.

On the latter occasion, I felt because the guy was too casual and familiar in the interview he didn't sell himself well. As I wasn't the only interviewer that then left it up to me to try and make a case for the guy. I was borderline on it because while I knew he could do the job, from opinions he expressed in the interview I couldn't see him getting on in the environment we had to work in at that time. In the end it was easier to go with someone else.

D.

tbh

I recently had an interview with a panel of people, one of whom I knew from when she worked for my current employer.

It worked against me initially, I'm not blowing my own trumpet or anything, but I did so well in the interview that the hiring manager thought the girl I knew had coached me [she hadn't, at all] and so didn't know if he could trust the interview. She assured him that she had nothing to do with it, and we had a quick follow up interview on the phone, and I got the job. [haven't started yet which is why I refer to my current employer]

She wasn't really involved in the interview, but on one occasion she asked a question which allowed me to bring in a load of relevant experience I had, so I was glad she was there, but I think I would have succeeded in the interview even if she hadn't been.

Irish_Elect_Eng

Interviewing someone you know can get messy.

Best to declare the conflict of interest and delegate.

Rad!

potentially very embarrassing if you've lied on your CV!

If you're a great candidate it will always stand to you. Yes I know this is a tautology.

Ginger Ninja

Some interesting viewpoints. What I would say is that I had no idea who was interviewing me until I walked into the room. She did have my CV in front of her so while she may not have recognised my name, she would have been aware in advance that we were in the same class in college (all the details were listed on my CV). As it never came up in the interview, I didn't mention it. Let's hope my approach pays off!