New Trend in recruitment- an open casting call (job interview, owner, employer)

[questioner2]

I was invited for an open casting call for an office manager position last week. Here is how it will work. All qualified candidates are invited to visit the employer on a certain day and time. So instead of talking to 8 candidates separately at different times in one on one interviews, all candidates will make presentations and do example work assignments in a big room at the same time.

It gives the employer a chance to see how each candidate looks like and performs standing right next to the other applicants. It is an interesting idea but I thought it was more suited for casting a play then filling an Office Manager opening. What do you think? If you make the cut you will have an opportunity to talk one on one to the hiring manager but this system saves the company time because most candidates are eliminated within the first session.

Look up "assessment centers" or "in basket exercises" in Google for more information

[gardener34]

That sounds ridiculous. But nothing would surprise me.
How/when do YOU get to ask questions about their company?

[Ohiogirl81]

I think it's insulting to the candidates. Their time is just as valuable as the company's time.

[FarNorthDallas]

Flight attendant interviews are also done in groups of about 10-12. There was another job interview I had where the first interview was an aerobics class. They wanted energetic people. I have never heard of that for an office manager position.

[SashaBlue]

I attended two of these type of interviews in Dallas back in 1990. An ad was posted in the paper for an office manager position and you were supposed to show up with your resume between the hours of 2:00 and 4:00. The owner talked to everyone on a first-come-first-serve basis. It was weird sitting in the waiting room with everyone else because everyone was "checking you out".