Types of interviews to prepare for

Interviews can serve more than the purpose of asking you to re-hash your resume. Chances are the company that invites you to interview uses a particular method for a particular reason. Here are some types of interviews you might encounter.

1. The screening interview – Often done by phone by someone in the human resources department, these interviews are meant to determine if you should be considered as a candidate before bringing you in to do a more in-depth interview. These initial interviews can be done by the hiring manager, but often there are quite a few candidates to talk to and it is likely the manager does not want to invest the time until the candidates have passed a screening.

2. The case interview – This interview is often used in management consulting organizations, but you will find this method being increasingly used in other business areas as well. A case interview can be thought of as a sort of role-play where the candidate is given a business dilemma and asked to work it. You will want to analyze, evaluate and suggest how to handle the scenario while the interviewer continues to ask you questions about what you would do and why. To prepare for this type of interview, practice, practice, practice! There are several online resources that brief you in case interviews and how to handle them.

3. The behavior-based interview – In this interview, the interviewer asks questions about how you would use your skills in various situations. They are looking to measure your technical and performance skills with your answers to the questions. Some example questions are, ‘Give me examples of the types of experiences you have had managing people’ or ‘In as much detail as possible, tell me the ways you used team building skills in your last job.’ There are great online resources for practicing behavior-based interview questions as well.

4. The group interview – This involves meeting with more than one person at a time, though some people may participate in the interview via telephone. These interviews require you to keep up with everyone in the room; making eye contact, addressing people even if they didn’t ask the question, being conscious that your body language does not exclude anyone. Companies hold these types of interviews to see how you handle them as well as to give a cross section of people you would likely be working with the opportunity to give their opinion about you.

5. The telephone interview – With an increasingly mobile business world it is possible to work for and with people you have never met in person. Online correspondence and meetings can eliminate the need for co-workers to share a physical space. For this reason, you should be well-prepared to take a phone interview. Don’t underestimate the need for preparation just because you might not have to worry about what you are wearing or if there is lettuce in your teeth. If anything, you need to prepare more rigorously for these interviews. You lose a very valuable way to communicate in a phone interview-your body language. To assure you get your message across, always be prepared with notes available near the phone, speak clearly and naturally and smile. Smiling relaxes you and it will come across in your tone.

 

By: Becky Papp, Elance.com