Tech Planet, of Menlo Park, CA, uses weekly lunches and "wacky follow-up sessions" as substitutes for first-round job interviews. During the informal meals, potential workers are expected to mingle, and they are then reviewed by the Tech Planet employees they meet at the luncheons. One Tech Planet employee asks candidates to ride a unicycle in her office to see if "they'll bond with the corporate culture or not." Toward the end of the screening process, the surviving group of interviewees has to solve brainteasers, and then openly evaluate their fellow candidates' strengths and weaknesses.
The group should arrive at answers regarding the following set of questions:
What issues with screening might this form of interviewing elicit?
Is this form of candidate selection likely to increase or decrease diversity at Tech Planet?
Does this methodology raise concerns about reliability and validity? If so,how?
What do you think would be a better methodology at Tech Planet and why?