6 Interview Types You Must Know as a Candidate

To be best prepared for your job interview, you need to know what type you will be going in for. There are several kinds and therefore it is always a good idea to enquire which one you will be doing.

1) Traditional one on one job interview:

This is one of the more common job interview types. In a traditional one on one interview, the company’s representative, usually the head of the position you’re interested in, interviews you for the simple reason of wanting to assess your skills. He/ She then checks if they tally with the job requirements.

Questions are based on your past experiences. Very often, they ask you if you can bring anything new to the table if hired. Other frequent ones include “Why would you be good for the job?” and “Tell me about yourself.”

2) Panel interview:

As the name suggests, this interview is one where you get interviewed by a panel of interviewers. The panel may contain a myriad of company representatives. The purpose of a panel interview is to save time and/or to share the panelists’ opinions. Each representative may ask you questions that are related to their position in the company.

3) Behavioural interview:

The objective of a behavioural interview is to see how you respond to and solve certain problems, posed by the interviewer based on common situations that your job might throw up. They will ask you about what you did when you were in a particular situation and how you solved it. The logic behind this is that your past performance is an indicator of your future performance if hired.

4) Group interview:

In order to simultaneously assess candidates for the job and explain the functioning of the company, group interviews are held. They usually begin with a presentation about the company, after which the candidates are individually spoken to.

Keep in mind that on the basis of your interaction with the other candidates, you are being scrutinized throughout the interview. Your leadership skills or your ability to complete tasks are all noted.

5) Phone interview:

A phone interview is conducted mostly if your locale is different from the company’s or as another prescreening procedure. Either typical questions or behavioural questions can be expected.

Schedule an appointment
at a time suitable for both the interviewer and you. It is completely acceptable to ask the interviewer to reschedule if he/she calls without prior notice. During a phone interview, always remember the following:

• Turn off call waiting on your phone.
• Make sure the room is free from disturbances.
• Eating, drinking or chewing gum is a big no.

6) Lunch interview:

Lunch interviews are less formal than the other types, where the company invites you for a meal with other members from the team. The primary goal is to see how well you blend and mix with the other team members. If you have any questions, this is where you ask them.

A few tips to keep in mind:

• Don’t order anything too expensive or messy.
• Etiquette is of utmost importance.
• Don’t take your leftovers back home, as this can
  seem a bit slack.
• You aren’t expected to pay, so you don’t need to
  offer.
• Take small bites of food and chew quietly.

Now that you understand the different types of job interviews, prepare accordingly for an impressive performance at the interview. However, it is very important to practice before your actual interview to calm your nerves and anxiety during the interview. InterviewBuddy is one such platform that offers practice interviews with senior industry experts across various domains.

This is a handwritten article by Team InterviewBuddy. InterviewBuddy connects students, job seekers & people looking to scale up their careers with senior industry experts to practice interviewing.