Telephone Interviews
Telephone interviews are always screening interviews. In five minutes the interviewer can often gather all the information necessary to determine if a full interview is warranted. When local employers call, the telephone interview is usually quite short, typically no more than five or ten minutes. Employers calling from out of state, on the other hand, may talk to you for half an hour. Those they choose to interview will be flown in and put up in a hotel for the night, so they must do everything possible to determine in advance that the person is a solid job candidate.
Telephone interviews often catch people by surprise. For that reason, don't hesitate to tell the person that you've been concentrating heavily on other matters and that you'd like a few minutes to get yourself ready. Then offer to call the person back within five or ten minutes. The first thing you would do is go to your employer cards and read the information you have on the organization. Then get mentally prepared to sell yourself.
Screening Interviews
If the company is large enough to have a human resources department, the first interview will often be conducted by a personnel specialist, recruiter, or interviewer. These people interview frequently and often have extensive training in interviewing techniques. Their interviews will generally be planned in advance, and applicants will typically be asked the same questions. The screening interview is generally quite short-its purpose is to eliminate those applicants who are obviously not qualified. The problem is that the screener rarely has a full understanding of what the job entails. This can be particularly frustrating for applicants who have lots of potential but not much direct experience, since they are usually screened out during the resume phase or after the screening interview. There are numerous things you can do, however, to make it past the screening stage.
It helps to understand the motivation of the screener. A screener will never be criticized for screening out someone who has potential but lacks the desired background. If someone slips through, who a manager feels was completely unqualified, the screener is going to hear about it. That screener will not take such a chance a second time. With this in mind, your challenge is to show that you meet or exceed the minimum qualifications. Your only goal is to be passed on to the hiring manager.
A screening interview will consist primarily of probing questions designed to determine your technical competence. The screener may even have a checklist which will be gone through quickly to determine how much experience you have in each area. Questions will also be asked to reveal inconsistencies. These screeners will also be the ones most likely to check out your references. While the emphasis is on technical competence, they will also screen out those whose personalities are obviously not right or those who clearly would not fit in that organization's corporate culture. Don't be concerned if the screener seems rather impersonal-you may be the twentieth person inter viewed that day. Simply do everything you can to gain the screener's seal of approval.
Non Directed Interviews
Non directed interviews rely primarily on open-ended questions. The interviewer is generally untrained and is simply asking a series of questions without a specific goal in mind. To do well in these inter views, remember that while you do not control the direction of the interview, you do control the content. Even if the interviewer seems unfocused, you should be much focused. You should enter the interview with your own agenda, making sure you share the experiences that will sell you. Interviewers have been known to run out of questions during this type of interview. If this happens, you might take some degree of control by saying, "Perhaps I should share with you some of my strengths that might prove helpful in this position." If the interviewer indicates willingness for you to share this information, take it from there.
Stress Interviews
Stress interviews, which are rarely used these days, consist of questions and situations designed to put the interviewee under stress. The theory behind this type of questioning is that the interviewee will reveal how he or she will actually handle stress when it occurs on the job. The stress applied, however, is usually so artificial that little is learned.
Although the pure stress interview is seldom used, we find that employers still like to put people under stress at different times during an interview.
A common form of stress is to use silence. You may have just completed an answer, yet the interviewer maintains silence and simply looks at you. If you break the silence, you lose. If you were truly finished with your answer you should remain silent. Maintain a soft look at the interviewer and begin to silently count the seconds. It is almost guaranteed that the interviewer cannot hold out for more than 15 seconds. If you find it difficult to maintain eye contact during the silence, look down, but do not show any nervousness or discomfort with the situation.
The primary antidote to the stress interview is to simply recognize it. As soon as you realize the interviewer is intentionally putting you under stress, say to yourself, "Aha, I know what you're doing, and you're not going to get me to panic or get angry or become defensive." Then become assertive, as the person receiving the rapid fire questions should have.
Group Interviews
In a group interview you will find yourself with a group of candidates who are being observed by company officials. Although there will generally be a person who is leading the group interview, there may be other company employees who appear to be candidates. You won't know who they are, but they'll be closely observing what you say and how you behave. In some group processes the observers may be watching you from behind a one-way glass. In the group interview the observers are trying to determine how you interact with people. They may divide the candidates into groups and give them a task to work on. They will then observe who the natural leaders are and which people actively participate in the group process. Generally, the candidates who offer the least to the group receive lower ratings. One question some airlines have used when interviewing flight attendants was, "Why would you make a better flight attendant than the person to your right?" The best way to answer that question, or questions like it, is not to put the other person down, but to emphasize your own strengths.
Board Interviews
In the board interview two or more people interview you simultaneously, usually taking turns asking questions. Sometimes the questions have been determined in advance. In other board interviews you may be interviewed by five individuals who have their own separate agendas. In a board interview you'll often find that the only person really listening to your answer to a question is the person who asked it. Your primary goal is to make each member feel totally involved in the interview and all of your responses. You can do this by resisting the tendency to make eye contact only with the questioner. Keep each person involved by looking at each one and making each one feel important and attended to. Governments frequently use the board interview to narrow a field of candidates down to three. The department head then makes a final selection from among those three.
Lunch Interviews
Lunch interviews tend to be more relaxed than other interviews, but they also require you to be more alert. Because of the relaxed nature of lunch interviews, it is all too easy to simply chat and talk about topics that may be interesting, but do not help you sell yourself. You must be sure to take the opportunity to sell yourself whenever possible. There is also a tendency to let down your guard during a lunch interview. While it is important to come across as genuine and willing to reveal yourself, you must also remember that even in this informal interview you are being judged, and therefore must take some care in what you reveal.
Behavior-Based Interviews
Behavior-based interviewing consists of asking questions which enable the interviewer to know how you have actually reacted or behaved in certain types of situations. It has been confirmed that employers can more accurately determine those who will succeed on the job by identifying actual past behavior. Behavior-based interviewing is based on the concept that future behavior is best predicted by past behavior, and that future success is best predicted by past success.
The behavior-based interview is one of the toughest types of interviews you will face, but if you are prepared, it can be the most enjoyable and challenging. Behavior-based interviews are usually con ducted by people who have received extensive training in interviewing techniques. Every question is asked with a specific purpose and has been selected with great care. Managers prepare for the interview ing process by first analyzing the job and its requirements. During the analysis stage, the manager determines which technical skills and personal qualities are most needed to do the job.
Preparing for behavior-based interviews can take many hours, as you can readily see. The behavior-based interviewer wants you to be well prepared and wants to hear the very best example you have for each question. The better your responses, the better the interviewer can predict your success on the job. Since most people are not pre pared to tell vivid stories which clearly demonstrate specific strengths and qualities, you can really set yourself apart by your preparation.
Series Interviews
The series interview consists of consecutive interviews with two or more people in the organization. Four or five interviews in one day is common. Typically, the interviewers have not met to determine who should ask certain questions or even to discuss the goal of the interview. After the interviews are completed, all of the interviewers will meet to discuss each person interviewed. While you certainly want to sell yourself to each person, the person who counts most is the hiring manager. Be sure you know in advance who that person is. It is rare to be interviewed by fewer than two people for anything other than en try-level positions.
You need to muster lots of energy to go through a series interview. It can be grueling to meet with four people over a 3-6 hour period. There is a tendency to forget what you said to whom. You may find yourself wondering, "Have I already shared that accomplishment with this person?" Except for one or two significant experiences that you might share with each interviewer, try to share a variety of stories and examples.
Before the interviewing begins, find out from the person arranging the interviews who you will be meeting with, and how much time to set aside. This is particularly important if the interviews will require that you take time off from work.
