To help HR teams sharpen their interviewing skills, we recently conducted a 5-hour, high-impact workshop for a leading automobile manufacturing company. Here’s a breakdown of what made the session engaging, cinematic, and industry-relevant.
🎯 Why This Training?
HRs today face the dual challenge of hiring both technical and behavioral fits. They must identify candidates who not only understand manufacturing processes but can also adapt, collaborate, and lead in high-pressure shop floor environments.
This workshop aimed to:
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Upgrade interviewing techniques
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Introduce bias-free evaluation
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Bring behavioral and competency-based interviewing into action
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Make learning fun and relatable through movie clips and real-time role-play
🧩 The 5-Hour Learning Journey
✅ 1. Dream Hire Icebreaker (20 mins)
We kick-start the session with a fun group activity called “Dream Hire”. Teams were asked to create their ideal candidate for roles like:
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Production Engineer
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Plant Manager
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R&D Executive
It set the tone: hiring is not just about skills; it's about mindset, values, and fit.
🧠 2. Types of Interviews (Structured vs Unstructured)
Through role-plays, teams demonstrated:
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Structured vs Unstructured interviews
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When to use panel, technical, and behavioral formats
🔍 Key Learning: Structured interviews lead to more objective hiring decisions.
🎬 3. Learning from Hollywood & Bollywood
We brought cinema into HR!
Here are few scenes that sparked incredible conversations:
🎥 The Pursuit of Happiness – Chris’ First Interview
Takeaway: Emotional intelligence, honesty, and presence matter—even under pressure.
🎥 Rocket Singh – First Job - Confident Interview
🎥 3 Idiots – Sharman Joshi’s Nervous Interview
Takeaway: Nervousness doesn’t equate to incompetence. How do we assess potential beyond first impressions?
🎥 The Intern – Robert De Niro’s Age Bias Interview
Takeaway: Don’t underestimate experience. Maturity can be a game-changing asset to modern teams.
These clips made the learning sticky and relatable—turning typical training into a movie night with meaning.
💬 4. Behavioral Interviewing Using the STAR Method
We trained teams to use the STAR framework:
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Situation
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Task
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Action
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Result
Participants conducted mock interviews, rated responses, and refined their questioning techniques using real-world factory scenarios like:
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Equipment breakdowns
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Team conflicts
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Continuous improvement processes
⚖️ 5. Identifying & Reducing Interview Bias
This was an eye-opener.
Through debates and simulations, we explored:
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🌟 Halo and Horns Effect
A cognitive bias where one positive (halo) or negative (horns) trait influences overall judgment of a candidate.
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Example: A well-dressed candidate is assumed to be more competent (halo), or one with a visible tattoo is assumed to be irresponsible (horns).
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Impact: Skews objective evaluation; can lead to poor hiring decisions.
🤝 Affinity Bias
The tendency to favor candidates who share similar backgrounds, interests, or traits.
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Example: Choosing a candidate from the same hometown or college.
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Impact: Reduces diversity and innovation in teams.
✅ Confirmation Bias
The tendency to seek or interpret information that confirms pre-existing beliefs or first impressions.
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Example: If a candidate stumbles in the intro, the interviewer may unconsciously ignore their later strong answers.
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Impact: Prevents fair evaluation and encourages snap judgments.
🧠 Harvard Implicit Bias Test
A widely-used online tool developed by Harvard to help individuals uncover unconscious biases related to race, gender, age, and more.
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Use: Helps HR professionals and interviewers recognize hidden prejudices that influence decisions.
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Outcome: Promotes self-awareness and encourages structured, fair interviews.
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Tools like the Harvard Implicit Bias Test helped participants recognize their own blind spots.
Source : https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Screenshot-of-Implicit-Bias-Check-Resource-Implicit-Association-Test_fig5_367383874
🎯 Final Mock Interviews & Feedback
The session ended with a round of mock interviews for key manufacturing roles. HRs interviewed each other, scored responses, and gave peer feedback. The room was buzzing with insights and confidence.
👏 The Verdict
Interviewing is an art backed by science. When done well, it can transform the entire organization—bringing in not just skill but culture, commitment, and long-term value.
💬 Have you ever seen a movie clip used in an HR training session? Share your experience or thoughts in the comments!
📩 Want us to conduct this session for your organization? Reach out at training@compassclock.in / +917845050100
🎁 Bonus Downloads for Your Team
Want to run a similar session or sharpen your own interview skills? Here's what you can take away:
✅ STAR Interview Template
✅ Interview Bias Checklist
✅ Sample Scorecard for Technical & Behavioral Interviews
✅ Movie Discussion Guide
Just drop us a message if you'd like access to the resource pack.
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