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Interviews - Interview Typs
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There are several different types of interviews
which you may encounter. You probably won't know in advance which
type you will be facing. Below are some descriptions of the different
types of interviews and what you can expect in each of them.
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| Structured Interview |
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In a structured interview, the interviewer explores certain predetermined
areas using questions which have been written in advance. The interviewer
has a written description of the experience, skills, and personality
traits of an ideal candidate. Your experience and skills are compared
to specific job tasks. This type of interview is very common and
most traditional interviews are based on this format.
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| Multiple Interviews |
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Multiple interviews are commonly used with professional jobs. This approach
involves a series of interviews in which you meet individually with
various representatives of the organization. In the initial interview,
the representative usually attempts to get basic information on your
skills and abilities. In subsequent interviews, the focus is on how
you would perform the job in relation to the company's goals and
objectives. After the interviews are completed, the interviewers
meet and pool their information about your qualifications for the
job. A variation on this approach involves a series of interviews
in which unsuitable candidates are screened out at each succeeding
level.
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| Stress Interview |
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The interviewer intentionally attempts to upset
you to see how you react under pressure. You may be asked questions
that make you uncomfortable or you may be interrupted when you
are speaking. Although it is uncommon for an entire interview to
be conducted under stress conditions, it is common for the interviewer
to incorporate stress questions as a part of a traditional interview.
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| Targeted Interview |
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Although similar to the structured interview,
the areas covered are much more limited. Key qualifications for
success on the job are identified and relevant questions are prepared
in advance.
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| Group Interview |
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You may be interviewed by
two or more company representatives simultaneously. Sometimes,
one of the interviewers is designated to ask stress questions
to see how you respond under pressure. A variation on this format
is for two or more company representatives to interview a group
of candidates at the same time.
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| Standardized, open-ended
interview |
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Here, the same open-ended
questions are asked to all interviewees (an open-ended question
is where respondents are free to choose how to answer the question,
i.e., they don't select "yes" or "no" or provide a numeric rating,
etc.); this approach facilitates faster interviews that can be
more easily analyzed and compared
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| Closed, fixed-response
interview |
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Where all interviewees are asked the same questions and asked to choose
answers from among the same set of alternatives. This format is useful
for those not practiced in interviewing.
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| Informal, conversational
interview |
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No predetermined questions are asked, in order to remain as open and
adaptable as possible to the interviewee's nature and priorities;
during the interview, the interviewer "goes with the flow".
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