There are four major interview types: Screening, decision, structured, and unstructured. A screening interview usually works off of a general job description and is looking for a reasonable match for a particular position. Decision interviews focus on trying to find out: 1) Can you do the job?; 2) Will you do the job?; and 3) Will You fit into the organization? Large companies with standardized hiring procedures tend to use the structured format because it has a specific set of questions and results, in uniform interviews. In structured interviews, the interviewer is typically looking for specific skill sets. The unstructured interview is the opposite, with little consistency of content from candidate to candidate. It tends to be more conversational while working off of the resume and includes general questions and answers.
The mode of the interview can be one-on-one, board/panel, group, stress, behavioral, or case. The one-on-one interview is the most common, and used most often in screening interviews. Both panel and group interviews are more common during the site visit.
The group interview is often a discussion of an issue or problem. However, the purpose of the group interview is to evaluate how applicants interact with each other. Most groups tend to stratify, with a natural leader emerging. Other roles are conciliators, synthesizers and problem solvers. It is important to assume one of these roles in group interview.
The board interview, involving a group of interviewers talking to one candidate is the most difficult type. Try to concentrate your efforts on addressing the question at hand and responding to the individual who asked it. If you can link your response to one that you have previously given, do so. If at all possible, get the panel members talking among themselves about your responses.
As the name suggests, stress interviews are used primarily by interviewers when the job they are trying to fill involves an individual to perform under an extreme amount of stress. This interviewing style, when used, is typically found in the sales/marketing arenas. The candidate may have to wait a considerable amount of time for the interview to start, rapport may not be built, the interviewer may not be friendly during the interview. This interviewing style is used to assess an individuals ability to deal with unexpected as well as expected stressful situations.
For example, a sales candidate came into a "final" interview with the VP of Sales with a verbal offer already made and the impression that this stage was just a formality. Instead of talking about the various aspects of the job offer, the VP informed the candidate that the company had changed it's mind and would not need his services after all. What the VP really wanted to see was how this individual could "sell" himself after he was initially rejected. Could he convince the VP that the company needed his services and he was the "best" person for the job. From the company's standpoint, a good sales person won't just take no for an answer. They need to convince a potential customer that they "need" the company's product. This was a test to see how the candidate would react in this type of situation.
The above is just one type of stress interview. Styles vary amongst industries, companies, interviewers and positions.
The basic thrust behind behavioral interviewing is: past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior. What have you done as opposed to what would you do. In this type of interviewing, the interviewer will ask questions relating to a specific skill that will require the candidate to reflect on past events to answer the question. Interviewers are looking for specifics (times, dates, locations, names, etc.). There are no right or wrong answers to these questions since you are pulling from events in your past. Be honest and truthful when answering these questions. A skilled interviewer most likely will be able to tell if an answer is not truthful or they are being "snowed." Also, be prepared to reflect on past events and identify, in hindsight, what you would have done differently in a particular situation. Some examples of behavioral interviewing questions are:
- Give me an example of a time at work when you had to deal with unreasonable expectations of you. What parts of your behavior were mature and immature? Please be specific.
- Give me an example of a time when you had to be assertive in giving directions to others.
- Describe a time when you had to sell an idea to your boss, authority figure, or technical expert.
Companies will choose questions in areas critical to a particular type of position. Most companies use some sort of behavioral interviewing.
Case interviews are typically used by consulting firms and financial banking. This type of interviewing involves presenting a "problem" or "case study" to an applicant. Some companies are looking for "right" answers (financial models, knowledge of the industry, competitors, challenges, etc.) others are looking for the process a candidate will use to come to a conclusion to a problem.
For example, a candidate was asked: "How many tires are there in the United States?" The answer is: who knows!! And who cares!!! However, the interviewer wanted the candidate to explain to him how he came up with an answer. What were the thought processes? What angles were analyzed? Many projects employees are assigned in the workplace are ambiguous and require strong analytical skills. This type of interviewing attempts to assess that skill.
The one thing to remember when interviewing is to be yourself. The majority of the time there isn't a "right" answer. Interviewers are looking for energetic, knowledgeable, motivated individuals to help their company achieve it's goals. Have confidence in yourself!! If you don't, it usually will be blatant to the interviewer. Spend some time identifying the significant accomplishments and "challenges" you have experienced both in the workplace and at school and be able to clearly articulate them. Identify your strengths and developmental areas (no matter what we may think, none of us are perfect).
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