03 jun Types of interviews

When you have sent your curriculum vitae you naturally hope for an introductory meeting. It is important to prepare this well. There are several forms of interviews, we explain it to you.

Behavioural Interview

Behavioural interview questions will be more pointed, more probing and more specific than traditional interview questions. There are no right or wrong answers; the interviewer is simply trying to determine how you behaved in past situations so it gives them an indication of what you would potentially do in the future. Be honest and keep the answers simple and to the point; highlighting key strengths.

STAR approach

Use the STAR approach for answering these questions: S: Situation – describe the situation T: Task or problem – what dilemma or problem did you face? A: Action – what action did you take? R: Result – what was the result of your action; where possible list tangible results and quantify your result. What impact did this have on your organisation, team, client?

Situational Interview

Situational interviews are similar to Behavioral Interviews. However they are used to attain how one would react in a specific situation as opposed to past experiences as described above.

Unstructured Interview

Unstructured interviews are commonly used to assess personality traits and to assess cultural fit. It is normally quite informal and is more of a discussion based around your previous work history. These forms of interviews are often used to ascertain cultural fit.

Group Assessment Centres

Assessment Centres are traditionally used by companies with a large number of vacancies for similar roles. This form of interview is ideal to see how an applicant relates within team work situations, public speaking and role plays. Assessment Centres are traditionally for customer service, IT Helpdesk or graduate positions.

Panel interview

Panel interviews consist of a few interviewers from the same company. This is an ideal form of interview if many stakeholders within the organisation are obliged to participate in the recruitment process. Panel Interviews are harder to build a relationship with the interviewers but keep calm and answer each question with confidence and ease.