One of the steps to getting a job is going through an interview. There are various types of interviews: individual and group, biographical and free. To get the desired position, you should successfully pass the interview. To do this, you must first figure out how to go through different types of interviews.
Individual interview
An individual interview is the most common type of interview, which includes the communication of one employer with each applicant separately. Such a dialogue allows the employer and the candidate for the position to establish trusting relationships and conduct the conversation in the most meaningful way. In a short time, you can discuss all the necessary topics and get complete and frank answers from the job seeker. Due to the fact that no strangers are present at such an interview, the candidate will be able to communicate without unnecessary excitement and present himself from the best side.
The disadvantage of an individual interview is the situation when the employer compares the applicant for the position with previous applicants and subjectively overestimates or understates his impressions. A correctly conducted interview will help to better know the future employee. If he does not fit the declared position due to lack of experience or lack of certain skills, he may be offered another vacancy at the same enterprise.
Group interview with several applicants
For many candidates for the post, an unpleasant surprise is the need to communicate at an interview not only with the employer, but also with their competitors. There can be a different number of applicants - from 5 to 20 people.
Such a job interview usually takes place according to the general scenario: first, the employer talks about the company and the vacancy, and then asks all the applicants to introduce themselves and tell a little about themselves. Each candidate will also be asked why he believes that he should be taken to an open position. During a group interview, applicants for a vacancy are divided into several teams and asked to perform certain tasks. So the employer will be able to observe how people will work in an unusual environment, as well as evaluate their ability to act in a team.
Group interview with several company employees
Such a meeting is held if an open vacancy implies the presence of highly professional skills that one employee in the human resources department will not be able to evaluate. A group interview is also conducted if the recruiter has just recently taken up a position and has not yet managed to establish himself.
To test the knowledge from the applicant, experts from the department where the future employee will work are invited. They communicate with the candidate for the position, testing his professional skills. The personal qualities of the employee are also discussed in order to understand how well he will fit into the already formed team of the department.
It is easy to get confused at such an interview, because questions are asked at a fast pace and on completely different topics. During communication, people are often nervous because they feel as if they were being cross-examined. It is important to stay calm and confident, as well as answer all questions as fully as possible.
Online interview
An online interview is used when a candidate or employer lives in another city or even country. This type of communication will save time on the road, and will also help the applicant to communicate more confidently, thanks to the familiar home environment. How to get an interview online:
- Choose your clothes carefully - you should look as if the interview will be held in the office. Strict appearance will help to tune in to a business conversation.
- It is necessary to take care of the background for the place of communication in advance. It can be a wall or a window, but the appearance of a carpet on a wall or details of everyday life is undesirable.
- During a conversation with the employer, there should be silence in the apartment. It is necessary to ask the family not to interfere with the conversation, as well as remove pets from the room.
- Check the technique so that during the conversation the conversation does not interrupt due to incorrect program settings.
- Some companies record these types of interviews on video so that others in the organization can watch them. Therefore, you need to carefully control your speech, to be more concise, polite and friendly.
Biographical interview
A biographical interview is based on a discussion of facts from the life of the candidate, such as experience, previous jobs, education, skills. The following questions are usually asked during such an interview:
- Which university did you graduate?
- Why did you choose this particular institution?
- What attracted you to your chosen specialty?
- What caused the dismissal from a previous job?
- What would you change in your life if you had the opportunity to return a few years ago?
In order not to get confused during the interview, you need to think through the best answers in advance, that is, be able to clearly tell about your biography. If you have work experience or special skills in the field of a vacant position, you should focus on this and tell in more detail about your knowledge.
Situational interview
Types of interviews related to resolving a fictitious problem have gained popularity when recruiting employees in sales departments and hiring sales managers. A situational interview implies a fictitious environment by the employer when the applicant must describe his behavior. With such an interview, the future employee will show what behavior he considers socially correct. Each company has its own moral values and the employer will be able to understand whether this applicant is suitable for an open position.
A situational interview can test the employee’s personal or professional skills. So, to determine the culture to which the candidate is accustomed, the following task may be proposed: “The visitor came to the reception 15 minutes earlier. What will you do? ”The right decision is to ask the manager if he will accept the person. If the answer is no, offer the visitor to sit down while waiting.
Free interview
A free interview is reminiscent of an acquaintance of two people, and the applicant speaks more than the employer. So the employer is most informally trying to understand whether the future employee will be able to get used to the team. Such an interview is conducted in situations where a large number of applicants are not expected for an open position or with minimal selection criteria.
An example of an interview in the form of a free conversation is a request to the candidate to tell about his life. The applicant should describe the family, education, work experience, hobbies and plans for the future. It is difficult to prepare for such an interview in advance, because the employer asks any questions that occurred to him while the candidate spoke. But you can think in advance of a brief and interesting summary of your biography. Talking about yourself, you should try not to evade the main topic of the conversation, otherwise the employer will be able to give only an informal assessment, without having understood the candidate’s professional skills.
Serial interview
A series job interview means several interviews with various company employees on the same day. Applicants for especially responsible positions are evaluated by different people, starting with an employee of the personnel department and ending with the director of the enterprise.Then these results are summarized and analyzed, after which a decision is made on the approval or rejection of the candidacy.
Such an interview is tedious for the applicant, since you need to spend a lot of time waiting for this or that employee, and also to answer repeated questions several times. It is important for the candidate not to show their tiredness or boredom and try to maintain interest during each interview.
Advice for Successful Interviewing
How to get a job interview:
- View the location of the interview place and plan your route. It is better to pre-record the desired stop and street than call the tenant and specify the address.
- You must come for an interview on time so that the employer does not have to wait. You can even arrive 10-15 minutes earlier.
- It should be carefully dressed - the best option would be a business or classic style. The hairstyle should be neat and the shoes should be clean.
- For more confident communication with the employer, you should study the company's website, read the history of its creation, organizational structure, see the list of goods or services provided. So the employer will see the candidate’s interest in getting this position.
- You need to look in advance for information on what types of interviews are. Thus, any form of passing the interview will not come as a surprise.
- During the interview it is necessary to politely communicate, not to interrupt the employer and to answer questions in a detailed manner.
If you are going for an interview, you need to tune in to pass it successfully to show your interest to the employer and prove yourself to be the best candidate for the position.
