How To Prepare For 7 Different Types of Interviews ?

Consider Your Options

Different types of interviews serve different purposes. For example, can you imagine if you conducted all 25 of your first-round interviews in person? It wouldn’t be practical, would it? It’s more efficient to start with phone or video interviews, so you can screen candidates and narrow your talent pool.?

Likewise, you probably wouldn’t rely on a phone interview alone to assess a candidate’s technical skills. You might incorporate a skills or capability test instead.?

Before you conduct an interview, it’s important to consider your options and the strengths and shortcomings of each. In this lesson, you’ll learn about seven different types of interviews—and their pros and cons. Use this guide to make your interview process more effective and tailor it to your unique industry and position needs.?

7 Types of Interviews

As you consider the different types of interviews, keep in mind that you don’t have to limit yourself to one choice. You can mix, match, and blend approaches as you see fit. The upcoming sections will cover the following seven interview types:?

• The Phone Interview
• The Video Interview
• The In-Person Interview
• The Panel Interview
• The Group Interview
• The Meal or Drinks Interview
• The Capability Test

1. The Phone Interview

First, let’s talk about the?phone interview.?Phone interviews are often used in the early stages of the interview process because they require the least amount of time and effort to conduct. Click on the tabs below to explore the pros and cons of the phone interview:

Besides choosing your interview type, you’ll also need to decide how many interviews are appropriate. For example, an entry-level position may only require two rounds of interviews, whereas an upper-management position may require three or four. Review the position and its requirements to help you in your decision-making.?

PROS

• Fastest, cheapest, and most efficient way to conduct an interview
• Requires the least amount of effort from both you and the candidate
• Ideal for screening candidates early in the hiring process?
• Ideal for making first cuts in a large pool of qualified candidates
• Helps you assess a candidate’s phone manner
• Lets you reach long-distance candidates
• May reduce interviewer bias

CONS

• You can’t read a candidate’s body language
• More difficult to build rapport
• More challenging to assess a candidate’s interpersonal skills and corporate culture fit

Don’t hesitate to keep phone interviews short. If it’s the very first interview and you still have a large pool of candidates to narrow down, you might schedule 20-30-minute calls to make the first cut.?

2. The Video Interview

Next, the?video interview?uses video conferencing software like Skype, Zoom, or Google Hangouts, which allows you to see a candidate without actually meeting in person. It blends the efficiency of a phone interview with the face-to-face component of an in-person interview. Video interviews are another ideal tool for narrowing the talent pool in early rounds of the interview process. Consider the pros and cons of a video interview :

PROS

• It’s the fastest, cheapest, and most efficient way to conduct an interview—next to the phone interview
• You can reach long-distance candidates
• It feels more personal than a phone interview and helps build rapport

CONS

• Bad signals, background noise, or technical issues can often interrupt video interviews
• The process requires more effort than a phone interview—you must appear more focused and present on-screen than over the phone
• It’s more difficult to read a candidate’s body language, interpersonal skills, and corporate culture fit in a video interview than in an in-person interview

Don’t let technical issues interrupt your video interviews.?Choose and test your video conferencing software well before reaching out to candidates. Provide candidates with details about how to use the program and what to expect. Also, ask candidates to test their tech in advance so that you can both be present for the entirety of your scheduled time together.

3. The In-Person Interview

The?in-person interview?is the traditional type of job interview. Candidates are asked to come to the workspace in person to interview individually. An in-person interview gives you a strong sense of a candidate’s personality, interpersonal skills, and corporate culture fit. An in-person interview requires more time and effort, so it is best reserved for top candidates who are in the middle to final rounds of interviews. Let's explore more pros and cons of the in-person interview:

PROS

• Fewer distractions and interruptions
• You can read the candidate’s body language
• You can better assess the candidate’s interpersonal skills and culture fit
• Easier to build rapport
• Both the candidate and the interviewer are more focused and more present?
• Ideal for more in-depth interviews after your potential talent pool has been narrowed down to your top choices

CONS

• Requires more time and effort than a phone or video interview
• More difficult for long-distance candidates
• More susceptible to interviewer bias

4. The Panel Interview

Let’s move on to the?panel interview.?A panel interview describes when multiple people interview a candidate at the same time. For example, the manager and team members of the position may participate in a single interview and equally weigh in on the hiring decision. A panel interview can be conducted over a phone or video conference call—or in person. It allows you to get the whole team involved so that you can see how the team and the candidate interact. Let's look at the pros and cons :

PROS

• Provides both the team and the candidate a better sense of corporate culture alignment
• Gives both the team and the candidate an opportunity to meet who they may be collaborating with, and insight into how they would interact
• Helps to counteract interviewer bias by considering multiple perspectives in the decision-making process
• Saves time by having multiple people involved in a single interview
• Ideal for assessing top candidates in the late stages of the interview process

CONS

• Requires more time, effort, and cost since more team members are involved
• May feel intimidating for the job candidate
• May be difficult to coordinate multiple schedules
• Different panel members may assess candidates based on different criteria
• Panel discussions or decisions are prone to groupthink
• Panel members may disagree, or it may be difficult to collect and translate notes from multiple people into a single decision
• Panel members may accidentally repeat questions or talk over each other

Align Your Panel Members

Your panel members need to be on the same page. It’s worth the extra effort to hold a meeting with all of your panel members well before the interview. Discuss and create shared criteria for evaluating candidates. Develop a structure or agenda for the interview and decide who will be asking what questions in what order. Finally, consider how panel members may submit their notes before hearing feedback from other panel members to avoid groupthink.?

5. The Group Interview

Next, we’ll introduce the?group interview. In a group interview, you bring together multiple candidates to be interviewed at the same time. Group interviews are typically conducted in person and are the most nerve-wracking for job candidates. However, they are designed to see how candidates respond to pressure and interact with others. They’re also ideal to use as a screening tool for quickly narrowing down a large pool of candidates. Let's look at the pros and cons :

PROS

• Saves time by allowing you to interview multiple candidates at once
• Gives you a sense of how candidates perform under pressure
• Provides insight into how candidates interact with others and might fit with your company culture
• Ideal for screening or reducing the pool of candidates early in the interview process

CONS

• Strong personality types may dominate the interview
• May favour extroverts over introverts
• Limits how much you can learn about an individual candidate
• It’s often the most intimidating type of interview for candidates

6. The Meal or Drinks Interview

The?meal or drinks interview?is up next. This is an in-person interview, but it’s conducted in a more casual setting outside of the company or workspace such as over lunch, dinner, or coffee—or even cocktails.?

You might consider this type of interview if you want to help put the job candidate at ease, encourage a more conversational interview, or determine what a candidate might be like in a social setting or while representing your company at networking events and client meetings. You can conduct a meal or drinks interview one-on-one, or you can include multiple members of your team. Let's look at the pros and cons :

PROS

• Feels more casual, conversational, and personal?
• May put the candidate at ease?
• Candidates may respond more openly and honestly
• Reflects your high value on company culture?
• Gives you a sense of what a candidate is like in a social setting or while representing your company in client meetings or at other work-related events

CONS

• Background noise may be distracting
• You will be disrupted during the interview, such as when giving your order or receiving your food and drinks
• More difficult to follow a structured interview process, which leaves greater risk for interviewer bias and missed questions
• Alcohol may impact a candidate’s performance—as well as your interviewing skills and judgment

Remember: It's Still an Interview

Both you and the candidate must remember that the meals or drinks interview is still an interview. You must act professionally and appropriately. Consider scheduling this type of interview over breakfast, lunch, or coffee and avoiding alcohol to stay focused. Also, while this type of interview may feel more conversational, you should still stick to a predetermined set of questions that you ask all candidates. That will help you to maintain consistency and prevent interviewer bias in the process.

7. The Capability Test

The last type of interview we’ll cover is the?capability test. A capability test is when you give a candidate an exercise, assessment, or assignment that closely mirrors the day-to-day work they’d be performing if hired for the position.?

With this type of interview, you don’t have to take a candidate at their word for being an excellent communicator or experienced project manager. You can see an example of their work and assess their skills yourself. For example, you might ask a candidate to write a sample social media post or blog article, give a presentation, take a live coding test, complete a technical questionnaire, or even work with you for a day. Let's look at the pros and cons :

PROS

• It’s based on a candidate’s objective performance and minimizes interviewer bias—you can even remove the names from assessments to further reduce bias while evaluating the results
• Allows candidates to demonstrate their abilities and gives you a work sample that’s tailored to the position?
• More difficult for candidates to fabricate or exaggerate their skills
• Shows you how a candidate’s skills may translate to the specific functions of the position

CONS

• Requires more time and effort from candidates?
• May feel intimidating to candidates
• The constraints—or lack of constraints—on the assessment may not mirror real life

Try to make a capability test as relevant and accurate as possible.?What are the primary duties or skills required for the position? How can you create a practice assessment, exercise, or assignment that is relevant to those duties or that truly applies those skills?

Which Type of Interview Is Best?

An approach that works for one company may not work for another, just like what works for a healthcare position may not work for a sales position. The right type of interview is the one that best suits your company, industry, team, corporate culture, and the position. The hiring team and upper management should work together to review the knowledge, skills, and abilities required for the position and determine the best interview process to assess them.??

Check Your Understanding

Summary

Choosing the right number and types of interviews in your hiring process can make or break your success in determining the right candidate for a position. Consider the job criteria and your company culture. Then, ask yourself questions like: What type of interview will best measure that criteria and a candidate’s culture fit? How can I balance efficiency with quality? And what is a logical succession for interviews? Review all of your options to make a more informed decision when choosing whether to use:

• The Phone Interview
• The Video Interview
• The In-Person Interview
• The Panel Interview
• The Group Interview
• The Meal or Drinks Interview
• The Capability Test

Keep interviewer bias at the forefront of your considerations.?Consider how different types of interviews might leave more or less room for unconscious bias, or accidental discrimination, and take steps to minimize it.

Every job has its ups and downs. But lately, your work has felt like it’s mostly comprised of downs. You reflect,?“I used to enjoy this, right?”?And you wonder,?“Is this really what I want to do or where I want to be for the next five, 10, or 20 years?”

At the same time, you may remind yourself that you’re lucky. You’re employed. You have benefits. Maybe you like your team. Or, perhaps you work for a reputable brand where there’s opportunity for growth.?

Is this just a temporary slump? Is the problem really you—and not the job? Would jumping ship actually improve your circumstances? Or would you just find yourself in the same situation at a new job?

Determining whether to stay at, or leave, your job is a highly personal decision—and it’s not always a clear-cut one. In this course , learn to look for five signs that it’s time to find a new job, followed by how to prepare yourself to find your dream job....

For free access to this course click here