Job seekers who are unprepared may assume there is only one type of interview and one interview format. It is to your advantage to recognize and be prepared for different interview encounters. For in the end, each type of interview plays an important role in your job search.
Many interviewers are seasoned professionals who are well prepared to conduct each interview. Most Human Resource personnel you encounter will very often fit this description. You may however, encounter an interviewer who conducts interviews infrequently, seems uncomfortable in that role or perhaps seems unprepared for your interview.
The two most important things are that you ask questions to gain the information you need, and that you covey information that emphasizes your accomplishments to the interviewer.
Expect to encounter several types of interviews. Job seekers will experience some combination of these five types of job interview: Screening, one-on-one, sequential, series and panel.
The screening interview may be the first of several job interviews you have with an employer. The purpose of the screening interview, as the term implies, is to screen people in or out of further consideration.
Employers choose to use screening interviews because they save time and money, because they can be conducted more quickly than other interview types and because it enables them to filter out and short list the best candidates. Most screening interviews are conducted by telephone. If you receive a call from an employer — no matter what the reason for the call, assume that you are being screened and take this call as seriously as you would any job interview.
Face-to-face, one-on-one interviews are the most common type that you will encounter. The applicant and the employer meet, usually at the company offices, to discuss the position and the candidate’s skills, knowledge and abilities — in other words the “fit” between you and the job opening.While a screening interview is likely to be conducted by someone in human resources, subsequent interviews are more likely, though not necessarily, conducted by someone from the department where the position is open.
For many positions — especially those beyond entry level — there will be more than one job interview. Multiple interviews are the rule, rather than the exception, for higher level positions. Sequential interviews are simply a series of interviews with a decision being made either to screen the candidate in or out of further consideration after each interview
Candidates who are successful, are called back for another interview. Although each interview is frequently a one-on-one interview, the candidate could meet with more than one company representative at the same time. Usually, if there are several interviews, the applicant will meet additional persons from the organization.
Like sequential interviews, series interviews consist of several interviews. But whereas a decision was made as to whether or not a candidate would be called back for another interview, after each of the interviews in the sequential interview process, series interviews are conducted one after the other until all interviews have been completed. Only then is a hire or rejection decision made.
Usually the interviews are scheduled with a variety of people. They may consist of several types of interviews, and be held over several days.
Panel interviews are not that common, they are certainly used less frequently than in the past. However, you need to be aware of them because you may encounter such an interview. In a panel interview, you are interviewed by several people at one time. Whether intended or not, the panel interview produces greater stress for the job candidate. After all, you have more people to analyze and respond to simultaneously which puts you in an inherently reactive situation. Some panel interviews are intended to put pressure on the applicant — part of what the employer wants to discover is how well the interviewee maintains composure under stress. While this is not an exhaustive list of interview types, for instance we have omitted group interviews and assessment centers, it is important to recognize these different forms, and importantly their process and purpose.
Remember that the interview process is a two-way street, the outcome for you really does depend on whether or not you have probed sufficiently enough to determine whether or not the job on offer, is of long-term benefit to you.
Good luck!
(Based in Dubai, David Thatcher, [email protected], is managing director of career management firm Bernard Haldane Associates in the Middle East.)
