What are the characteristics of leaderless group meetings?

Interview: I encountered a leaderless group discussion

June 10, 2005

The interview is something all job seekers have to go through

At this stage, as the number of talents increases, the needs of each unit also increase. In order to find higher-level talents, employers are more picky about applicants. Employers are no longer satisfied with the traditional interview format of asking questions one-on-one. Some interview formats will surprise the candidates

Confused

5 minutes ago, I was still Imagine that the interviewers are all sitting upright, men in suits and ties, women in business suits, and then asking a lot of questions: "What are your strengths?" "Do you think you are qualified for this job?" "If you are asked "What are your career aspirations if you get hired?" "How would you feel if you couldn't be hired?" I have already prepared perfect and impeccable answers to these common questions.

Five minutes later, a girl with a smile came over and announced that "the interview has begun." Amazingly, she read six or seven names in one breath and then said, "Please come with me."

Isn’t it “one-sided”? How did it become a "group face"? Everyone started chirping and talking, and only vaguely heard a few words from a boy, "It's leaderless again."

Leaderless? I was confused - was there no leader present? No matter what, I'm lying on the table waiting for my name to be called. I feel really tired. In the past two months, I have traveled back and forth to Beijing, Shanghai, and Wuhan several times. Either I rushed to a boring job fair, or I finished the written examination and had nothing to do. I finally got into the interview this time, and I really hope I can get it. I just attended a buddy's "work celebration party" the day before yesterday. The pomp and atmosphere really made us envious of homeless homeless people.

Just as I was thinking about it, my name was called. Naturally, 6 other people were called at the same time. The girl took us to the door of a room similar to a conference room, and handed each of us a small piece of paper with a piece of news material on it. The girl said: "This interview is a leaderless discussion, which lasts 30 minutes. You will read the material for 5 minutes first, and then discuss whether this material has any comment value and where the comment points are. In order to facilitate the judges' identification and scoring, after entering Take your seats in the order in which I read your names just now."

Entering the room, an old man in his 50s with a kind face sat on the sofa on the far right; a young lady sat at the desk. Next to him, the pen in his hand has just been opened, and it seems that it is about to be graded. A man was sitting by the window. The sunlight hit his hair, making the originally sparse top of his head even brighter. Finally, there was a middle-aged man who was dressed casually but felt a little hidden. He sat next to the old man, respectfully handed over several resumes, and then made an opening remark: "Congratulations on entering this round of interviews. Everyone, sit down wherever you want. This is our boss, these are the staff of the Human Resources Department, and I’m the Human Resources Manager. Go ahead, don’t be nervous." Opposite them, there are 7 empty seats. Chairs, arranged in an arc. I don’t know how I found my chair. It was in the center, but I wasn’t the first one to speak.

As soon as he finished speaking, a girl quickly answered: "I am from the Journalism Department of XX University. Let me say a few words first, which can be considered as an introduction." Her "two words" "Sentence", he said it for three minutes. Then the topic was taken over by another girl, "I don't support your point of view, I think" this "think" is longer. The other few people couldn't seize the opportunity and looked at each other. There was nothing they could do in a hurry, because the girl's words were not sentence-reading, and they spoke at the same speed, like a barrage of firecrackers, leaving no one with a chance to sneak in the slightest chance.

I finally got used to this situation. I knew I had to speak or it would be over. But I never had a chance to interject. Seeing that my pitiful thoughts had already been expressed by others, I really regretted that I didn't get the first chance to speak. After a boy said modestly, "This is my personal opinion. I wonder if anyone has any objections." I finally got the chance. While I was secretly happy, I started to stutter. I couldn't express my words. Later, I I don’t even know what my point of view is.

In panic, I glanced at the examiners next to me. Three of the four examiners were obviously out of shape. They had already put down their pens and passed our resumes to each other. I also saw my resume. It is in the hands of the boss because there is a printed version of my full body photo on the cover. Just when I was struggling to find the right words to express my words, my words were picked up by a girl with a sharp tongue. If the examiner hadn't interrupted her, she would have been like the "Mai Ba" in the karaoke hall, and no one else could even sing a line.

At this time, the examiner announced that there was one last chance to speak, but in the end I still didn't get it. I couldn't hear clearly what they said next, and I didn't want to listen to them. I knew I was done.

Then it was announced that the interview was over, and I was the first to step out at lightning speed. What kind of interview was it? It was simply an admissions performance class at an art school. When the next group of people gathered around me and asked me how to take the test, I was so angry: "What the hell is the test? It's just a joke."

When I returned to the dormitory, I had only one thought, how could I be so bad and why? It will be such a complete failure,

I will not forgive myself, and I will never forgive myself for today.

Unpredictable

Six boys in suits and leather shoes, each wearing a number plate with their name on their chest, it was a bit grand like attending an international high-level meeting, even The language of communication was all English. Although it was not fluent, everyone tried to express their opinions clearly. This is the fateful moment. Only students who successfully pass the written exam for the MBA entrance exam are eligible to sit here.

Leaderless group discussion, a relatively unfamiliar term a month ago, is now quite familiar. Since we received the interview notice, four of us best friends have been discussing online. During that time, the forum was surprisingly lively. Everyone seemed to be online all the time, anxiously waiting for something. Only here can we find out the latest trends about the interview. .

In order to know what to expect, a few of us also got together and conducted several "mock interviews", which means "mock interviews." A few people get together, either in a coffee shop, in a private room after dinner, or in a random room, and use past interview questions to imitate a "leaderless group discussion" scene. During the discussion, we discovered our own characteristics and shortcomings, and accordingly defined our roles in the group. My logical thinking and generalization skills are both good, and we all agreed that I was suitable for summarizing opinions.

A month later, the simulated battlefield ended and we finally entered actual combat. Although I was relatively well prepared, I was still a little nervous. The serious atmosphere at the scene and the serious eyes of the examiner made people feel that even the air was cold and solid.

There are two examinees at a table, and the three tables are arranged in a square with one side missing. The examiners' tables are further away from the gap, presumably to facilitate overall observation.

The examiner first read out the interview rules and procedures, and then emphasized: "When discussing and speaking, everyone should face the group members, not the teacher."

This made me happy in the interview I regretted it for a long time, because when I spoke in English, I was afraid that the teachers could not hear clearly, so I unconsciously stared at a teacher, and the teacher stared at me. When I realized this, The discussion is already halfway through.

English is our weakness, especially in professional case discussions. Two of the six people have a background in foreign companies, so they naturally took on more responsibilities to save everyone's lives during the quiet period. Because, each of us knows that here, everyone has honor and disgrace. The success of the group is the success of everyone. If there is a flaw in one link, all members will suffer.

Despite everyone's caution, something big went wrong. One boy, whether unintentionally or not, actually brought up a point of view that had been rejected by everyone beforehand. Before entering the examination room, everyone has a few minutes to get to know each other and discuss their opinions. The direction of the discussion has been agreed upon.

I was so anxious that I wanted to interrupt him right away, but doing so would not only deduct my own points, but would also put the entire group at a disadvantage. So, after he finished speaking, I quickly followed up to subtly "suppress" his point of view and put forward my own point of view. The others obviously understood my intention and agreed. The situation was successfully reversed, and everyone secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Half an hour later, when it was time to draw conclusions, I took the initiative and gave full play to my strengths, concisely stating our conclusions and pointing out the basis. Other test takers made their own additions. When there was still a little time left, we politely gave the opportunity to a fellow test taker who was relatively silent throughout the session. After all, the balance of strength and performance of the entire team is also the guarantee for the team to get high scores.

At the end of the interview, everyone seemed satisfied with their performance and talked excitedly. Apart from the regret of "looking at the examiner", I also felt good about my overall performance. Although the elimination rate was 50%, I vaguely felt that I could pass.

Unfortunately, a few days later, the "black call" came unexpectedly. After telling a few close friends the bad news, they learned that our entire army had been wiped out. Everyone complained loudly that this kind of group discussion was unreasonable, and why they were defeated for no apparent reason. It seems that the reasons for the failure cannot be summarized. It seems that the interview format of leaderless group discussion should be studied more.

Gearing up

Sitting on the bus going to the interview location, I kept thinking: What kind of test will it be this time? I remember that in "One Side", from personal introduction, to topic statement, to group discussion, it was really full of swords and swords. Fortunately, I have experienced hundreds of battles and passed the test, and successfully entered "Two Sides".

But what will be the content of "Two Sides"? It should be different from "one side", right?

Entering the lounge with an uneasy mood, I found that there were many "one-sided" comrades inside, and I felt very friendly. There were gradually more people, so everyone started chatting. Names, schools, majors, and all the basic information that should be mentioned in personal introductions were exchanged. I couldn't help but snicker in my heart, haha, another round of interviews was staged ahead of schedule.

When everyone arrived, we were invited to another room, where 10 participants sat around a table with various fruits and cookies. There is paper, pen and a sign with their name in front of each person.

I know that it is a case (case), conducted in the form of leaderless group discussion, which is more popular now. In the past, I had only heard that this form was used during the MBA entrance exam to test candidates' adaptability and teamwork ability. I didn’t expect that this method is used everywhere now. Think about it, it really saves time and can be done in batches.

As expected. First, I introduced myself. I felt so bored, having to say the same thing again. But when I got the rules explanation, I couldn't help but feel nervous. I don’t know what the trick is: give each person 10 minutes to prepare, and then introduce themselves for 10 minutes. The order is determined by drawing lots. The content of the introduction is limited, and there are 4 required questions, including your favorite book, the person you admire the most, the most regretful thing and your future ideals. There are also some questions that can be answered depending on time. At the same time, each student is required to record carefully when other students make presentations, because this will affect the next link. As for what the next link is, I'm sorry, it's difficult to tell.

While the female examiner was explaining the rules, another male examiner next to her suddenly said that she wanted to add another required question - salary expectations. God, this is what I'm most afraid of. You really know our weaknesses. I couldn't help cursing secretly in my heart.

Perhaps it was a punishment for my unkindness just now, but I actually drew the second place. He was dead, and his fearless mood just now suddenly fell into hell, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and prepare quickly. The book is easier to say, "Dream of Red Mansions", I am a true fan of Red Mansions; as for people, let's talk about Premier Zhou, I really admire him from the bottom of my heart; the most regrettable thing, I hesitated for a while, I do have one thing I regret all my life, but I just don’t want to talk about it, but I don’t have enough time, and it’s too late to write it down now, so I have to talk about it; I decided to adopt a guerrilla strategy for the remaining issues, not talking about facts, only talking about ideas.

Then, the female examiner issued another rule description - based on the content just recorded, use 3 minutes to classify the personality of each member present (including yourself), and determine the classification yourself. standards, and give reasons for classification, and finally give a 3-minute presentation. I'm secretly glad that I took notes carefully. Everyone was in good order and each stated their own classification criteria. Everyone was confident and looked like they had experienced many battles.

It was all foreshadowing, and the main event finally took place.

Everyone must use group discussion to reach an agreement on the classification criteria within 30 minutes.

I have a small concern: there is a fat boy in the group who performed very well in the previous sessions. He is very thoughtful and expressive. I'm really afraid that he will express himself too much in group discussions, ignore teamwork, and become an invisible leader. In this case, our entire group is doomed, because in leaderless discussions, the entire group only survives.

It turned out that I was overly worried. The whole discussion was carried out harmoniously. When everyone was at loggerheads, he stated his own point of view and neutralized the conflicting parties. Finally, everyone finally reached a consensus.

I thought the third round would be the last round, but I didn’t expect the examiner to ask another question. Each person is required to write an article on the topic of what would be the reason if they were rejected for this interview. The time limit is 15 minutes. After listening to it, I felt exhausted, so I hurriedly handed in the paper after reviewing the mistakes in the second part. This protracted interview has officially come to an end.

In the car going back to school, I was so exhausted that I felt like I was surviving a disaster. Haha, it’s good to be alive. So, I geared up and started looking forward to the next group discussion.