Rapport in job interviews?

I think the opportunity for developing rapport or hitting it off with an interviewer depends on the style of interview. There are still many interviews that are with the manager or owner and rapport is important then. But there are good reasons for the style of interview that looks for more than hitting it off with the interviewer.

Research tells us that best practice in interviews is a structured interview, with clear scoring criteria and scoring scales and the same questions being asked of candidates. Just liking someone isn't a reliable enough way of selecting candidates. 

Panel interviews have the advantage of looking for a candidate that can display all of the competencies required, the fully rounded candidate - who is not just good at one area (like getting on with people) but can work in (or lead) teams, solve problems, deliver results, communicate well, and has the relevant specialist knowledge. 

If the hiring manager isn't involved, does rapport still matter? I think it does. Even though the interviewee wouldn't be reporting to us, we still want to get a sense of how well you get on with others and with us. Getting a number of viewpoints on one candidate brings balance to the decision making and gives a chance to a candidate who has relevant experience but just didn't click with that one interviewer in the style of interview you mention in the question.

Some of those more structured interviews include the hiring manager, some do not. Where the hiring manager is involved, some thought can be given to how the person being interviewed would fit into the existing team. One of the most frequent comments I hear back from hiring managers after interviews is how much they appreciate the different viewpoints and the balance that is brought to the process.

The lists and tick boxes mentioned in the question, the competencies and their definitions, help candidates in framing their answers and interviewers in judging those answers. It's a shared set of criteria. Structured interviews help us minimise bias. We are human beings however and it helps if we like you!