Skip to content

Types of Interviews – Explanation, Examples and Cases

you can read this

Different types of interviews

Employers conduct different types of job interviews, such as behavioral interviews, case interviews, group interviews, telephone and video interviews, online interviews, second interviews, and even lunchtime interviews.

These are important job interviews to understand if you are looking for a job, but there are other interviews you can experience throughout your career. These job-related interviews include exit interviews, mock interviews, and informational interviews.

You can see all the information about interviews here

What are the types that exist?

Below are the types of interviews that can be conducted in a job.

Behavioral Interviews

Interviewers use behavior-based interviews to determine how various work situations have been handled in the past. The idea is that past behavior predicts how they will act in the new job. You will not get many easy “yes” or “no” questions and, in most cases, you will have to answer with an anecdote about a past experience.

Case Interviews

Interviews in which the interviewer gives you a business scenario and asks you to handle the situation are called case interviews. They are most often used in management consulting and investment banking interviews and require you to show your analytical and problem-solving skills.

Competency-based interviews

Interviews that require the applicant to give examples of specific skills are called competency-based interviews, or job-specific interviews. The interviewer will ask questions that will help the applicant determine if he or she has the knowledge and skills needed for the specific job.

Exit Interviews

An exit interview is a meeting between an employee who has resigned or been terminated and the company’s Human Resources department. Companies conduct this type of interview to learn more about the work environment and to obtain information about the job. They may ask the applicant why he or she left his or her job, and why he or she is taking a new job and what he or she would change about his or her job. These tips help you handle an exit interview so you can move forward gracefully.

Final Interview

The final interview is the last step in the interview process and the last interview is where you find out whether or not you will get a job offer. This type of interview is usually conducted by the CEO or other members of senior management. The key to a final interview is to take it as seriously as all preliminary interviews. Just because you’ve been asked for a final interview doesn’t mean you’ve gotten the job yet.

Group Interviews

Employers can conduct group interviews because they are often more efficient than individual interviews. There are two types of group interviews, one involving an applicant being interviewed by a group (or panel) of interviewers, the other involving an interviewer and a group of applicants.

Informal interviews

Hiring managers can begin the selection process with a relaxed, informal conversation rather than a formal interview. This is more of a casual conversation than a typical job interview. Similarly, a conversation over a cup of coffee is another, less formal type of job interview.

Informational Interview

An informational interview is used to gather information about a job, a career field, an industry or a company. In this case, the applicant is the interviewer and finds people to talk to so that they can learn more about a specific field.

Lunch and dinner interviews

One of the reasons employers take candidates to lunch or dinner is to assess their social skills and see if they can handle themselves gracefully under pressure. Remember that you are still being watched, so use the best table manners, choosing foods that are not too messy or expensive.

Different types of interviews

Mock Interviews

A mock interview gives you the opportunity to practice for an interview and receive feedback. Although you can do an informal mock interview with a friend or family member, a mock interview with a career coach, a counselor, or the college career office will give you the best feedback.

Off-site Interviews

Employers sometimes schedule job interviews in a public place, such as a coffee shop or restaurant. Perhaps there is no local office or they don’t want current employees to know about the possibility of a new hire. In either case, it’s good to be practical.

for interviews outside the company.

On-site interview

Sometimes you’re expected to do an interview on the spot. For example, you may submit your application and be asked to interview immediately. Or when an organization (typically retail or hospitality) announces that it will conduct open interviews on a certain date. In situations like this, hiring staff use on-site interviews to select candidates and immediately decide who should and should not be included in the next step of the hiring process.

Panel Job Interview

A panel job interview takes place when you are interviewed by a panel of interviewers. You can meet with each panel member separately or all together. And sometimes there will be a panel of interviewers and a group of candidates all in one room.

Telephone interviews

While looking for a job, you should be prepared for a phone interview at some point. Companies usually start with an unscheduled phone call, or you may be able to schedule your call. In either case, it’s good to be ready and prepared to ask phone interview questions for the interviewer as well.

Second interviews

You passed your first interview and have just received an email or a call to schedule a second interview. This interview will be more detailed and may take several hours.

Structured interview

A structured interview is typically used when an employer wants to evaluate and compare you to candidates in an unbiased manner. Essentially, the interviewer asks all candidates the same questions. If the position requires specific skills and experience, the employer will write the interview questions focusing exactly on the skills the company is looking for.

Unstructured Job Interview

An unstructured interview is a job interview in which the questions can be changed according to the answers of the interviewee. While the interviewer may have some fixed questions prepared in advance, the direction of the interview is rather casual, and the flow of questions is based on the direction of the conversation. Unstructured interviews are generally considered less intimidating than formal interviews. However, because each respondent is asked different questions, this method is not always reliable.

Video Interviews

Perhaps you have applied for a distance learning job or are interviewing for a position in another state (or country). Software programs such as Skype, Zoom and FaceTime make video calls easy and video interviews are becoming more common.