How 585 PS applicants are interviewed in 10 days

By MUNGAI KIHANYA

The Sunday Nation

Nairobi,

16 October 2022

After seeing the revised shortlist of candidates scheduled for interviews for the positions of Principal Secretaries (PSs), Cyrus Muchoki got concerned. There were 585 people on the list and they are to be interviewed over a ten-day period running from 12th to 22nd October 2022. Muchoki therefore wondered whether it is possible to interview about 60 people in a day.

As a member of the board of management in a public school, I get involved in the interviewing of teachers whenever a vacancy arises. At one time we had 120 candidates for one position. We conducted the interviews in just one day. We started at 9am and were through by 7pm. From this experience, I believe that the PSs interviews can be concluded in the time allocated.

I have seen the detailed timetable of the interviews and it appears that the Public Service Commission (PSC) has set up five panels for the exercise. This is because each time slot has been allocated to five applicants; thus, each panel will see only 12 people per day. Indeed, on the first day – 12^th October – a total of 59 people were interviewed.

Muchoki’s other concern was whether using several panels is fair: can the results from different interviewers be compared fairly? The answer is yes! But this depends on how the process is organised.

The core purpose of job interviews is to verify the information stated in an applicant’s Curriculum Vitae (CV). The interview in itself cannot help assess whether the person can do the job or not! In the teacher recruitment interviews, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) provides a very well-structured score-sheet which helps the panel allocate 95 per cent of the points before the applicant sets foot into the room.

In addition, using this form, different panels will assign exactly the same number of points to a particular candidate – even if it is repeated several days later. Thus, it is possible to use different panels for different applicants and then compare the points scored and pick the winner.

I believe that the PSC has also developed a similar score-sheet for the PSs interviews; so, the thirty minutes allocated per applicants are more than enough for the interviews. This should be a lesson especially for private organisations and businesses: you shouldn’t be spending more than 30 minutes interviewing an applicant for a job.