Effective Strategies For different Types of Job Interview Situations That You Can Use

You need to understand the different types of job interview situations you might encounter before you start the interview process.

There are several types of job interview situations you may encounter:

Telephone interview

Try to avoid telephone interviews as much as possible since it will be more difficult to show your qualities and fit with the company.

The objective of a telephone interview is to basically screen and eliminate candidates.

For this reason, make sure that you are at your best. Minimize any distractions. Make sure your voice portrays the enthusiasms and interest that you feel.

Prepare to answer basic questions on your resume, experience and goals.

Traditional interview

Questions in the traditional interview will focus on your resume and your work experience.

It is important to practice how you would answer these questions. Practice with a good friend or even in front of a mirror.

Human Resources Interview

Similar to the tradition interview, questions in the HR interview will focus on your resume and your work experience. Never underestimate the importance of your interview with HR.

Although the questions will not be as detailed as your interview with the potential hiring manager, the HR interview is focusing on your personality and fit with the company.

This is often a screening process and only good candidates will be passed on to the next interview.

Team interview

Team interviews are conducted to help employers gain a better perspective on candidates. In this approach the interview may be conducted by 2 or more persons or you may meet 2 or more interviewers over several interviews.

The interviewers may include a HR specialist, the hiring manager, the hiring manager’s boss and/or some of your potential team members.

It is important that each person you meet with has a good impression of you.

A common mistake is for a candidate to act too casual or ask inappropriate questions (salary, perks) when asked to spend time with a potential team member to review the job. Remember to treat every contact that you have with company’s employees prior to being hired as an interview!

You may notice that the interviewers ask the same or similar questions.

This is done on purpose to insure that you are consistent in your responses.

If your interview is with 2 or more people make sure to make eye contact with all interviewers- even if only one person is asking the questions.

Behavioural interviews focus on past behaviours and how this behaviours determine how you would react in future situations.

The interviewer will ask you specific questions like; “Describe a time where you did not agree with a team member’s actions. What did you do?”

The interviewer is expecting you to give a specific example so avoid saying things like; “I think I would handle...”. And, be prepared to give two examples, as the interviewer may ask for another example if your first answer was not clear enough.

Make sure to answer the question clear and concisely. Do not ramble or give too much unnecessary detail.

It is important to go back and practice the questions in each of the different types of job interview situations.

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