By: Marco A. Gonzalez
Did you know there are seven types of interviews?
Get ready as you prepare for your next interview...
According Bohlander and Snell from the book Managing Human Resources, there are seven types of interview process. Below, you'll find a good description of each one.
1. The Nondirective interview- A nondirective interview is made of open ended questions where the interviewer does the majority of the listening in order to evaluate the candidate’s responses. This type of interviews is used more in the higher-level position or in counseling.
2. The structured interview- A structured interview is designed to rate each candidate based on how they answer their questions compared to the ideal structured pre-established answer. This type of interviews is usually rated by a group of people that take notes on the interview process to later provide their rating. The notes also serve for legal purposes. In this type of interview, there are no open ended questions; the questions are specially design to test the level of skills the candidate has on the job he/she is applying for.
3. The situational interview- The situational interview is part of the structured interview and is used to test the answer of the candidates. The example in the book where the worker is asked to go and attend an emergency before he is about to go on vacation is the perfect example of this type of interviews. It is not what you can do, but how you are going to handle it.
4. The behavioral description interview- Behavioral interviews are designed to check how the candidate would react on certain job duties based on previous experiences. This type of interviews is usually for higher level positions such as general managers and executives. A good example is the typical question of “Tell me a situation where you had to coach an employee to help him/her sell better”. The interviewer wants to see how you would react on certain situations.
5. The panel interview- The panel interview is an interview where 3 or more people interview a single candidate. The decision making is faster and if the panel is made of a diverse group there is less room for discrimination.
6. The computer and virtual interview- The future of the interview process is the computer and virtual interview. Many companies such as USAA have a computerized process to screen candidates before they can even make it to a one-on-one interview. This type of computerized screening process is good, but can also leave many good people out. In large companies where many people apply daily, this type of systems is very effective and save a lot of money to the company.
7. Video and digitally-recorded interviews- Video communication is now a thing of the present. What was at one point impossible or far to see is now available for many different benefits. One benefit is the virtual interview process where a candidate can in the comfort of his/her home and the HR recruiter on his desk somewhere else. Video and digitally-recorded interviews are used to eliminate cost and screen candidates before the interviewer meets them face-to-face.
Bohlander - Snell - Managing Human Resources - 15E -Chapter 6 - Part 3 - Developing Effectiveness in Human Resources - Employee Selection - Page 277
