Interviewer shadowing and reverse shadowing: a program that gets new interviewers ready
On this page
- What is the difference between shadowing and reverse shadowing?
- Why does shadowing work?
- How do you set up a shadowing program?
- What should the trainee watch for?
- How do you tell the candidate?
- What happens in the conversation afterwards?
- When is someone ready to interview alone?
- How many interview slots does a shadowing program need?
- What goes wrong with shadowing programs?
- Questions people ask
Interviewer shadowing is when a new interviewer sits in on an experienced colleague's real interviews, takes notes and scores the candidate silently, then compares with the host. Reverse shadowing flips the roles: the new interviewer leads while the experienced interviewer observes, scores independently and gives feedback. A practical program is two shadows and two reverse shadows, with sign-off judged against written criteria rather than a count. Amazon builds shadowing into its Bar Raiser training, where trainees shadow experienced Bar Raisers over several months (Amazon).
This page is the full program: choosing hosts, briefing, what to watch, telling the candidate, the conversation afterwards and readiness. It builds on the short shadowing steps in the interviewer training checklist and the shadow record in the interview calibration session page.
What is the difference between shadowing and reverse shadowing?
| Shadowing | Reverse shadowing | |
|---|---|---|
| Who leads | Experienced host | Trainee |
| Who observes | Trainee | Experienced host |
| What the trainee learns | What good questioning, probing and timekeeping look like on a real candidate | Whether they can do it themselves, under time pressure |
| Who scores | Both, independently | Both, independently |
| Whose scorecard counts | The host's | Usually the host's, until the trainee is signed off |
| Typical interviews | Early and mid-stage | Early-stage; never a finalist's only chance |
Why does shadowing work?
Shadowing is a form of behavior modeling: watch someone do the skill, then practice it with feedback. A meta-analysis of 117 studies by Taylor, Russ-Eft and Chan (2005, Journal of Applied Psychology) found that behavior modeling training improved skills and job behavior, and that those effects held steady or grew over time even as declarative knowledge faded. Transfer to the job was greatest when trainees saw both positive and negative examples, practiced with scenarios they generated themselves, set goals, and when their superiors were trained too. The studies were not about interviewing specifically, but each finding maps onto a design choice below.
Interview research supports training in general. Huffcutt and Woehr (1999) concluded from 120 studies that interviewers should be trained whether or not the interview itself is structured. Google's re:Work guidance says Google's interviewers are only eligible to interview once they have completed formal training (Google re:Work).
How do you set up a shadowing program?
- Choose hosts, not just experienced people. A good host asks the kit's questions as written, scores against anchors and can explain why. Tenure alone does not qualify someone.
- Brief the hosts on coaching. The meta-analysis found transfer was better when trainees' superiors were trained as well. Ten minutes on the feedback script below is enough.
- Pick the interviews. Early or mid-stage interviews for the role the trainee will interview for, with the same kit. Avoid finalist interviews and senior or sensitive searches.
- Tell the candidate in the invitation and at the start (wording below).
- Brief the trainee for five minutes before: which competencies this interview covers, what the host will do, and one thing to watch closely.
- Run the interview. The trainee observes, takes notes and asks nothing.
- Both submit scorecards before talking. Comparing first and scoring second teaches the trainee to copy the host.
- Hold a 15-minute conversation the same day.
- Switch to reverse shadowing once the trainee's shadow scores land on the same side of the bar as the host's.
- Sign off against the readiness criteria, recorded by a named person.
What should the trainee watch for?
Give the trainee a checklist so they watch behavior, not just the candidate. Ask them to note one example of each item done well and, where it happens, one done badly; the meta-analysis found mixed positive and negative models helped transfer.
SHADOW OBSERVATION CHECKLIST
Interview: [role / stage] Host: [name] Date: [ ]
OPENING
[ ] Introductions, including the observer
[ ] Agenda and timing explained
[ ] Recording or note-taking notice given, if used
QUESTIONS
[ ] Core questions asked as written, in order
[ ] Follow-ups ask for an example, not for agreement
Good probe heard: "[ ]"
Leading probe heard (if any): "[ ]"
[ ] When an answer drifted, how the host brought it back: [ ]
[ ] Personal information volunteered by the candidate was not pursued
NOTES AND TIME
[ ] Notes record the candidate's words, not conclusions
[ ] Each competency got enough time; any rushed: [ ]
CLOSE
[ ] Time left for the candidate's questions
[ ] Next steps and timing explained; no hint of the outcome
MY SCORE (before comparing): [competency: score]
One thing I would copy: [ ]
One thing I would do differently: [ ]For what "done badly" often looks like, common interviewer mistakes lists the patterns to point out, and illegal interview questions covers the topics the host should steer away from.
How do you tell the candidate?
In the invitation:
Your interview with [Host] on [date] will also be attended by [Trainee],
a colleague who is training to join our interview panel. [Trainee] will
observe and take notes but will not ask questions. If you would prefer
the interview without an observer, just reply and we will arrange it.At the start of the interview:
"Before we begin, this is [Trainee], who joined our team recently and is
learning how we interview. They'll be listening and taking notes, and
won't be asking questions today. Is that okay with you?"On video, the observer keeps their camera on during introductions so the candidate knows who is there. If you want to record interviews for training rather than shadow live, that is a different use of the candidate's data and needs its own consent; see the interview recording consent script.
What happens in the conversation afterwards?
Fifteen minutes, the same day, after both scorecards are in:
AFTER A SHADOW (host leads)
1. "Read me your scores, then your strongest piece of evidence for each."
2. "Here are mine." Compare: same side of the bar on each competency?
3. Where you differ: "Which anchor line did your evidence meet?"
4. "What did you see me do that you would copy? Anything you'd change?"
5. Host names one thing they did on purpose that the trainee may have missed.
AFTER A REVERSE SHADOW (host leads)
1. "How do you think it went? Anything you'd redo?"
2. Compare scores, as above.
3. Host gives two specific strengths and one change, each with the moment
it happened: "At minute 20, when she said 'we', you moved on..."
4. Agree one goal for the next interview.The goal in step four reflects the meta-analysis finding that goal-setting improved transfer. Keep it to one goal; three goals in a 45-minute interview means none get practiced.
When is someone ready to interview alone?
Set criteria and an owner instead of a fixed number. A reasonable set:
- In at least two reverse shadows, their scores landed on the same side of the bar as the host's on every competency.
- They asked the kit's core questions as written and finished the competencies within the time.
- Their notes record what the candidate said, and their scorecard was submitted the same day.
- They avoided off-limits topics, including when the candidate volunteered personal information.
Some people get there in four sessions and some need eight. Amazon's Bar Raiser program shows the same spread: its program manager said one trainee may graduate after fewer than a dozen interviews and another after 40 or more. Once signed off, check new interviewers' scores against the panel for the next quarter; the inter-rater reliability page shows how.
How many interview slots does a shadowing program need?
An example with invented numbers: you are adding six new interviewers, each needing two shadows and two reverse shadows. That is 6 × 4 = 24 real interviews with a trained host. If the team runs 12 interviews a week for the role, and you allow a trainee in no more than half of them so candidates are not always observed, that is 6 a week, or 24 ÷ 6 = 4 weeks to get everyone through. Plan the program at the start of a hiring push, not in the middle of it.
What goes wrong with shadowing programs?
- The shadow joins in. One question from the observer turns it into an unplanned panel. Agree beforehand that they stay silent.
- Too many people. One host and one trainee is enough. A host, a trainee and a second trainee feels like a tribunal.
- Scoring after comparing. The trainee learns to agree with the host, not to read evidence.
- Hosts who never get feedback themselves. If a host's own scores drift, they teach the drift. Hosts should attend calibration too.
- No sign-off owner. Without a named person, trainees either interview alone too early or wait forever.
Questions people ask
What is reverse shadowing in interviews?
Reverse shadowing is the second stage of interviewer training: the new interviewer runs a real interview while an experienced interviewer observes silently, scores the candidate independently and gives feedback afterwards. It tests whether the trainee can do what they watched during shadowing.
How many interviews should a new interviewer shadow?
There is no research-based number. A practical starting point is two shadows and two reverse shadows, with readiness decided against written criteria rather than a count. Amazon says its Bar Raiser trainees have graduated after fewer than a dozen interviews in some cases and 40 or more in others.
Should the candidate be told that someone is shadowing the interview?
Yes. Say so in the invitation and again at the start, introduce the observer by name and role, and explain that they are there to learn and will not ask questions. An unexplained silent person on a video call makes candidates anxious and looks like a test they were not told about.
Should the shadow's scorecard count toward the hiring decision?
No. Decide before the interview whose scorecard counts, which is the host's during shadowing and usually the host's during reverse shadowing too, until the trainee is signed off. The trainee's scorecard is for comparison and coaching only, so the candidate is not scored twice by one seat.