Job Interview Techniques

There are several types of job interview techniques used by interviewers; each serves a specific purpose.

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Employers may use stress interviews to determine how you respond under specific types of stressful situations, they may invite you to attend a group interview to see how you work as a part of a team, or they may ask you to attend a panel interview to allow all members of the team to meet the candidates for the job.

Below are several job interview techniques or types of interviews, some are more commonly used than others, and some tips on how to handle each type of interview.

Phone Interview
Employers may use a telephone job interview to do some initial screening before committing the time to bring you in for a full, in person interview. Ensure you are in a quiet place with no distractions in order to make the best first impression.

Group Interviews
A group interview is a situation in which the employer interviews more than one job candidate at a time. Employers use this type of interview to see how you work as a part of a team, to be more efficient with their time or to cause a little bit of added stress and to see how you react to that type of stress.

Panel Interviews
Panel interviews are interviews that are conducted by more than one interviewer. Often employers use this type of interview to give others who will work closely with you an opportunity to meet the candidates for the job. Panel interviews can also be used to allow the team to share responsibility for hiring new staff.

Second Interview
If you are called for a second, or third interview, you are well on your way to being offered the job. Follow up interviews are often more about assessing your personality than assessing your ability to do the job. That is, if an employer has called you in for a second interview, at that point he or she is probably convinced you have the skills to do the job and wants to determine if your personality and work style would be a good fit with the job, their customers and the existing staff.

Situational Interviews and Behavioral Interview Technique
Situational interviews or behavioral interviews better describe a specific type of question that you may be asked in a job interview, as opposed to a type of job interview technique. That is, you will rarely experience an interview that is comprised of nothing but situational or behavioral questions. However, you will be asked a few situational or behavioral questions (along with other types of questions) at most job interviews you attend.

You can find tips for answering behavioral interview questions, tips on using the STAR technique for behavioral interviews and tips on handling situational interview questions on this site.

Stress Interview.
In this type of interview, employers purposely cause more stress than the usual interview stress. They do this because the job will involve a certain type of stressful situation, and they want to see if you respond effectively to this type of stress.

Stress interviews are not common, but they do exist, so it's good to know about them. If you ever find yourself in a job interview that feels more stressful than typical interview stress, simply remind yourself that this is simply a technique used by some interviewers, it is not personal, and they simply want to see you react effectively under stress.

Stress interviews can be challenging because it can be difficult to determine the true nature of the employer or supervisor you will be working with. That is, if they are intentionally causing stress, you may not get a good opportunity to really read the interviewer and get a sense of what it would be like to work and interact with him or her day to day, under regular circumstances.

Some people immediately assume that an employer who is causing stress during an interview would be a terrible person to work for. This is often an incorrect assumption. You may be interviewing for a job with a fine employer who simply needs to know that you can handle certain types of challenges on the job.

Lunch or Dinner Interview
Again, this type of job interview technique is not particularly common. You may be asked to a lunch or dinner interview, or an interview over coffee in a very informal setting. Alternatively, the employer may be quite busy and really want to interview you but has no other way to fit it into his or her schedule.

On some rare occasions, the employer may want to observe your manners and the way you carry yourself in this type of social situation. If, for example, you were interviewing for a job that would involve frequently dining with and entertaining customers or other business contacts, the employer may want to observe you in this type of situation.

If you are invited to this type of interview, read up on your table manners and avoid ordering any food that is difficult to eat (it will distract you from the conversation). Do keep in mind that this type of interview is very uncommon, and unless you will be entertaining business contacts on a regular basis as a part of your job, you will not likely experience this job interview technique.

Psychological or Pre Employment Testing
Some employers use psychological tests to assess your personality or your aptitudes (the things you will likely be good at) as they relate to the job. If you are required to undergo this type of test, do not try to beat the test, answer questions honestly and to the best of your ability, get a good night's sleep and go dressed to make a good first impression. This is the best way to do your best on these types of assessments.

Internal Interview Tips
Tips to help you make a great impression at an internal interview.

One on One Interview
Many people say they feel most comfortable with this job interview technique, and this, along with panel interviews are probably the two types of job interview techniques you will experience most often. Review the tips for preparing for a job interview and answering interview questions to put your best foot forward in this type of interview.

Job Interview Advice - 10 Types of Job Interviews
A summary of several of the job interview techniques commonly used by employers.

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