Interviews are an essential tool in the candidate selection process, but they are also used in a variety of other situations, such as academic, journalistic, and investigative research. There are different types of interviews, each with its own characteristics and specific purposes. In this context, it's crucial to understand the specifics of each type of interview to know how to conduct them effectively and obtain the desired information. In this article, we'll explore the different types of interviews and their distinguishing features.
Learn about the different types of interviews conducted in today's job market.
Currently, the job market offers a wide variety of interview types that can be conducted during a selection process. It's important to understand each of these formats to prepare adequately and increase your chances of success in your search for a professional opportunity.
One of the most common types of interview is the individual interview, in which the candidate is interviewed by a company representative. In this format, the focus is on the candidate's experience and skills, as well as their fit with the company's organizational culture.
Another type of interview is the group interview, in which multiple candidates are interviewed simultaneously. In this format, it's important to demonstrate teamwork skills and the ability to excel in a competitive environment.
In addition, there are also the competency-based interviews, in which the interviewer seeks to assess whether the candidate possesses the necessary skills to perform the role. In this format, it is important to present concrete examples of situations in which the skills were successfully applied.
Another type of interview that has been gaining popularity is the video interview, in which the candidate is interviewed remotely, usually through online platforms. In this format, it's important to pay attention to the quality of the internet connection and personal appearance.
Finally, it is worth highlighting the technical interview, in which the candidate is specifically assessed based on their technical skills and specific knowledge of the field. In this format, it is important to demonstrate mastery of the subject and the ability to solve practical problems.
With proper preparation and knowledge, it is possible to increase your chances of securing the desired opportunity in the job market.
Understand the meaning and main aspects of a professional interview.
A professional interview is a process in which a job candidate is evaluated by a recruiter or employer. During the interview, the candidate is questioned about their experience, skills, abilities, and motivations to determine their suitability for the desired position.
There are different types of interviews, each with its own specific characteristics. The most common is the individual interview, in which the candidate meets face-to-face with the interviewer. A group interview involves the participation of several candidates simultaneously, who are evaluated jointly. Another type is the telephone interview, which is conducted remotely.
In addition, there are also behavioral interviews, which focus on the candidate's past situations to predict their future behavior, and technical interviews, which assess the technical skills and specific knowledge required for the position.
Key aspects of a professional interview include candidate preparation, effective communication, posture and body language, the ability to answer questions clearly and concisely, and the ability to ask pertinent questions of the interviewer.
It is important that the candidate prepares adequately and demonstrates their skills and competencies clearly and convincingly to increase their chances of success.
Classification of the different types of interviews that exist: what they are and how they work.
Interviews are widely used in a variety of contexts, including personnel selection, academic research, journalism, and more. There are different types of interviews, each with their own specific characteristics and distinct objectives. Let's classify the main types of interviews and explain how they work.
1. Structured interview:
Structured interviews use a pre-defined script with standardized questions to be asked of all interviewees. This ensures that everyone is assessed equally, facilitating comparison of responses. One of the main benefits of this type of interview is the objectivity of data analysis.
2. Semi-structured interview:
In a semi-structured interview, the interviewer has a basic script to follow but is free to explore other questions that arise during the conversation. This allows for greater depth in obtaining information, as the interviewer can adapt the approach based on the interviewee's responses.
3. Unstructured interview:
The unstructured interview is freer and more flexible, without a pre-defined script. The interviewer guides the conversation more spontaneously, allowing for greater interaction and connection with the interviewee. This type of interview is more common in more informal contexts and can yield unexpected insights.
4. Group interview:
A group interview involves the interaction of several candidates simultaneously, under the supervision of one or more interviewers. This type of interview is used in selection processes to assess teamwork, leadership, and communication skills. It's important to observe how candidates interact with each other and how they stand out in the group.
5. Competency-based interview:
Competency-based interviews focus on analyzing the interviewee's skills and behaviors in specific situations. The interviewer asks questions about the candidate's past experiences, seeking to identify skills relevant to the position in question. This type of interview is often used in more technical and formal selection processes.
Now that you understand the main types of interviews and their characteristics, it's easier to choose the most appropriate approach for each situation. Remember to always prepare well, both as an interviewer and as an interviewee, to achieve the best possible results.
Interview classification: understand the different types and their main characteristics.
Interviews play a fundamental role in evaluating candidates at various stages of the selection process. There are different types of interviews, each with their own specific characteristics and distinct objectives.
One of the most common classifications is individual interview, where a candidate is interviewed by one or more interviewers. In this type of interview, the focus is on analyzing the candidate's skills and experience, as well as assessing their fit with the company culture.
Another type of interview is the group interview, where several candidates are interviewed simultaneously. In this format, group dynamics are assessed, as well as participants' teamwork and communication skills.
Furthermore, we have the competency-based interview, which involves asking specific questions to assess the candidate's skills and behaviors in past situations. This type of interview is often used to predict a candidate's future performance.
Finally, the situational interview is one in which the candidate is placed in hypothetical situations and asked how they would act in certain circumstances. This type of interview is useful for assessing the candidate's problem-solving and decision-making abilities.
The different types of interviews and their characteristics
A interview is a qualitative information gathering technique in which two individuals participate (although more may participate). This is not considered an informal conversation, as has an intention, an objective For an interview to take place, at least one interviewer and one interviewee must participate, and there must be an agreement on both sides. The former is the one who will obtain information about the other person.
The word interview derives from Latin, specifically the term is composed of inter (between) and videre (vision), which means "to see." Therefore, it refers to observing in the middle, that is, reaching the target. This term first appeared in French as "entrevoir" and later in Spanish. But, beyond the nominalism, the truth is that there is no single concept of interview, but rather several. That's why we talk about types of interviews, each with its own uses, strengths, and weaknesses.
Different types of interview
The interview has different fields of application and that is why there are different types of interviews depending on their use : job interview, clinical interview, cognitive interview, journalistic interview, etc.
On the other hand, the classifications used are varied: according to the content, the participants, the procedure… Below you can see an explained list of the different types of interviews .
1. According to the number of participants
There are several ways to distinguish between different types of interviews, and taking the number of participants as a reference is one of these criteria.
1.1 Individual interview
A individual interview is the most used and is also called personal interview .
When a person is looking for a job and meets the interviewer in person, when a psychologist receives his patient to see firsthand the reason for his behavior or when a personal trainer receives his client to find out his motivation for training sports, the individual interview is used.
1.2 Group interview
A group interview It is generally used in the workplace as it allows the assessment of different skills of job candidates.
This type of interview involves multiple interviewees and an interviewer (although they may sometimes receive assistance from another company member). In addition to the information the individual can provide verbally, group interviews allow you to observe the interactions between the candidates, providing relevant information for hiring.
In the clinic, this type of interview is called family interview However, in this field, it is distinguished by having objectives established in the relationships between the people involved (as a form of psychological intervention), whereas in other contexts of psychology, this objective does not need to be present. In fact, it is sometimes used simply as a way to save time and resources, almost as if they were individual interviews that occur at the same time and place.
1.3 Panel interview
A panel interview is also a group interview used in the workplace. In this case, and unlike the type of interview mentioned above, there are several interviewers interviewing a candidate.
Each interviewer will evaluate the candidate according to their own criteria, and when the interview is over, the criteria will be unified and a common decision will be made as to whether the interviewee is an ideal candidate for the position.
Obviously, one of the main advantages of this type of interview is that it allows you to contrast different perspectives in a single session, allowing you to gain a more balanced understanding of the candidates. For example, you might the Human Resources technician and one or more department heads participate in the interview, those whose work processes depend on the vacancy that will be filled.
This allows for the perspectives of people specialized in the different aspects of the job that need to be taken into account: soft skills and personality aspects according to the organizational psychologist, technical knowledge according to the department head, etc.
2. According to the procedure
In addition to the number of participants, we can categorize the types of interviews according to their format , that is, the way in which the interviewer communicates with the interviewee and asks him one type of question or another.
2.1 Structured interview
This type of interview, the structured interview , follows a series of fixed questions that have been prepared in advance, and the same questions apply to all interviewees. This type of interview emphasizes the need to create a context that is as similar as possible between the different interviews conducted in order to better compare the results obtained without extraneous variables that contaminate the conclusions.
In job interviews, scoring systems are often used to evaluate candidates. This greatly facilitates the unification of criteria and the evaluation of the interviewee.
2.2 Unstructured interview
A unstructured interview also é call of free interview It uses open-ended questions, without a pre-established order, acquiring the characteristics of a conversation and allowing for spontaneity. This makes this one of the types of interviews that most resembles an informal conversation, although it still has a clear method and objectives.
This technique consists of asking questions based on the answers that emerge during the interview.
2.3 Mixed interview
O mixed interview ou s emistructured is a mix of both. Therefore, the interviewer alternates between structured and spontaneous questions.
This type of interview is more complete than the structured and unstructured ones, as it has the benefits of both, allowing you to compare different candidates and also delve deeper into their specific characteristics.
3. Depending on the mode (or channel)
We can also classify the types of interviews according to the type of channel in which communication between the interviewer and interviewee is established.
3.1 Face-to-face interview
A interview in-person is interview in-person Both actors in the interview face each other. This allows nonverbal communication to be taken into account.
3.2 Telephone interview
A telephone interview It is used in personnel selection, as it is used as a filter in the recruitment process if there is a large volume of candidates.
This allows a recruitment specialist to rule out a candidate if they consider them unsuitable for the position, as they are generally assessed based on whether they meet the job requirements. It also allows them to understand their concerns and level of motivation.
3.3 Online interview
Although it is increasingly used in clinical or educational settings, online interviews are characteristic of personnel selection processes when there are many applicants for a job offer. It is common in large companies and is generally used when the candidate is not in the same location.
There are currently programs that conduct interviews in which a candidate is recorded at home after being asked a series of questions. There is no interviewer, but the questions appear in text format, and the candidate's responses are later recorded. The response is stored and sent to the selection team responsible for conducting the assessment.
3.4 By email
This type of interview is common in the journalistic field. email interviews , a series of questions is sent via email, and the respondent returns their answers. This way, in addition to the psychological variables to be taken into account, the specific skills that will be used in the workplace are assessed.
However, it is also true that this type of interview can simply be a cheap version of the selection process, in those contexts where it is decided not to dedicate practically any means or time to this phase.
4. Other types of interviews
The interview classes we have seen so far can be characterized relatively easily. But there is another category of interviews whose peculiarities lie in slightly more complex aspects. . We explain them below.
4.1 Competency-based interview
Such competency-based interview is also known as behavioral interview and is used by Human Resources specialists to determine whether the interviewee is the right fit for the position they're applying for. The recruiter focuses on obtaining behavioral examples from the candidate's personal, academic, and professional life, after first understanding the needs of the position and the company.
This means that this type of interview has a component that brings it closer to competency and skills tests, although it is generally not considered an exam for which it is necessary to prepare specifically.
The behavioral interview was born as a result of the concept of competition, very popular in the business and organizational field Thanks to the competency interview, it's possible to assess whether the interviewee's motivation, knowledge, skills, or values meet the company's needs. There's a lot of groundwork for this type of interview because, first and foremost, it's necessary to define the skills required for the position and the company.
Currently, a type of has been extended interview of competence called critical incident interview , which is based on a series of open-ended questions that expect the person being interviewed to describe in more detail what they said, thought, felt and did on certain occasions, as this way it is possible to know whether the candidate has the necessary skills.
To learn more about the competitive interview, you should read this article: “How to face a competitive interview: 4 keys to getting the job”
4.2 Tension-provoking interview
A stress provocation interview It is used in job interviews, especially for managers. The goal is to create stressful or stressful situations to assess the candidate's problem-solving ability, as well as to determine their level of frustration tolerance or stress management.
However, we must keep in mind that the types of situations that produce stress are very different: perhaps the tension caused by the work to be performed is well managed by the candidate, but the stressful situation applied to the interview, being new, is not.
4.3 Motivational interviewing
A motivational interview is a directive, customer-focused style of interaction designed to help people and encourage them to compare the advantages and disadvantages of certain situations in order to bring about positive changes in their behavior.