The word “interview” comes from Latin and Middle French words meaning to “see between” or “see each other.” Generally, an interview is a private meeting between people where questions are asked and answered. The person who answers the questions is called the interviewee, and the person who asks the questions is called the interviewer.
According to Gary Dessler, “An interview is a procedure designed to obtain information from a person’s oral response to oral inquiries.”
According to Thill and Bovee, “An interview is any planned conversation with a specific purpose involving two or more people.”
Types of interview
There are many types of interviews that an organization can arrange. It depends on the objectives of taking the interview. Some important types of interviews are stated below.
1. Personal interview
Personal interviews include:
- Selection of the employees
- Promotion of the employees
- Retirement and resignation of the employees
Of course, this type of interview is designed to obtain information through discussion and observation about how well the interviewer will perform a job.
2. Evaluation interview:
The annual evaluation interview is conducted to review the employee’s progress. Naturally, it is occurring between superiors and subordinates. The primary objective of this interview is to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the employees.
3. Persuasive interview
This interview is designed to understand the persuasive talent of the employee about a product or an idea. When a sales representative talks with a target buyer, persuasion takes the form of convincing the target that the product is needed.
4. Structured interview
Structured interviews follow formal procedures predetermined by an agenda or set of questions.
5. Unstructured interview
When the interview does not follow the formal rules or procedures. It is called an unstructured interview. The discussion will likely be free-flowing and may shift rapidly from one subject to another, depending on the interests of both the interviewee and the interviewer.
6. Counseling interview
This may be arranged to find out what has been troubling the workers and why someone has not been working.
7. Disciplinary interview
Disciplinary interviews occur when an employee has been accused of breaching the organization’s rules and procedures
8. Stress interviews
It is designed to place the interviewee in a stressful situation in order to observe the interviewee’s reaction.
9. Informal or conversational interview
In the conversational interview, no predetermined questions are asked, to remain as open and adaptable as possible to the interviewee’s nature and priorities; during the interview, the interviewer goes with the flow.
10. General interview
The guided approach is intended to ensure that the same general areas of information are collected from each interviewee. This provides more focus than the conversational approach, but still allows a degree of freedom and adaptability in getting the information from the interviewee.
11. Standardized or open-ended interview
Here, the same open-ended questions are asked to all interviewees; this approach facilitates faster interviews that can be more easily analyzed and compared.
12. Closed or fixed-response interview
This is an interview where interviewers ask the same questions and the interviewee is asked to choose answers from the same set of alternatives. This format is useful for those who have not practiced interviewing.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What is an interview?
An interview is a formal conversation between an employer and a candidate conducted to evaluate the candidate’s skills, qualifications, experience, and suitability for a job.
2. What is the main purpose of an interview?
The main purpose of an interview is to select the most suitable candidate for a job by assessing knowledge, communication skills, personality, and overall fit for the organization.
3. What are the different types of interviews?
The major types of interviews include:
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Structured Interview
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Unstructured Interview
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Semi-Structured Interview
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Panel Interview
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Group Interview
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Stress Interview
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Technical Interview
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Behavioral Interview
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Telephonic Interview
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Online (Virtual) Interview
4. What is a structured interview?
A structured interview is a type of interview where the interviewer asks a fixed set of predetermined questions to all candidates.
5. What is an unstructured interview?
An unstructured interview is informal and flexible. The interviewer does not follow a fixed set of questions and may ask questions based on the candidate’s responses.
6. What is a panel interview?
A panel interview is conducted by more than one interviewer who evaluates the candidate at the same time.