The mini multiple interview (MMI) is a candidate evaluation system developed by McMaster University, consisting of several eight-minute interviews with multiple interviewers at different stations to assess candidates’ personal skills and aptitude for the job. The method has resulted in greater accuracy of candidate predictions and has been adopted by other academic institutions, companies, and government services. The key features of the MMI system remain consistent across industries and occupations, with each mini-interview lasting approximately eight minutes and no more than nine interview stations.
The mini multiple interview, or MMI, is a candidate evaluation system developed in the early 21st century by medical school candidate evaluators at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada. The evaluation method consists of several eight-minute interviews with several interviewers placed at different stations. Candidates progress through several interview stations, with each interviewer focusing on specific questions and criteria to be scored, depending on the organization’s goals and requirements. Upon completion of the interview circuit, each applicant’s scores are calculated and averaged to provide information on which to base acceptance decisions.
Prior to the development of various mini-interview assessment methods, medical school applicants were interviewed using traditional face-to-face interviews with one or two assessors. Unfortunately, the results of initial assessments did not accurately predict a candidate’s future success in the medical school program or in professional practice after graduation. Furthermore, few interviewers could accurately judge candidates’ interpersonal skills or soft skills with reproducible or measurable results. As a result, professionals at McMaster University began to develop an interview circuit to aggregate scores collected by multiple raters to better predict a candidate’s likelihood of success, ability to interact with peers and patients, and gauge a candidate’s intentions and try to complete medical school and eventually licensure.
Seven years of research and development eventually led to the current method of multiple mini interviews, including standardized times, number of stations and other necessary details. In studies, the multiple mini-interview assessment method resulted in greater accuracy of candidate predictions, with little influence by gender, race, or educational background. The success rate resulting from the initial predictions leads to the development of several mini-interview methods for other academic institutions, companies and government services. Each system features different questionnaires and measurement tools to assess candidates in a specific industry. All systems, regardless of industry, seek to measure less obvious characteristics that affect a candidate’s chance of success in terms of personal skills and aptitude for the job.
Overall, the key features of the multiple mini-interview system remain consistent across industries and occupations. Professionals recommend that each mini-interview last approximately eight minutes, with no more than nine interview stations. For large recruiting pools, each candidate starts at a different station, moving neatly through the entire interview circuit. With nine stations and eight-minute interviews, a group of nine candidates can complete the entire circuit in just over an hour. At the end of the assessment process, interviewers submit individual scores for aggregation and potential candidates are selected.
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