Interviewing Styles: Tips for Interview Approaches

Interviewing is often just as stressful for the interviewer as it is for the job seeker. Knowing the different types of interviews, and why and when they are successful, can help make your interviews more comfortable for both parties. Organizations frequently try to come up with their own style for interviews. They have a perception about what interviewing can accomplish. Because of this practice, people who are looking for a job find the inconsistency in interviews, from organization to organization,hard and extremely stressful.

Interviews divide into two categories: the screening interview and the hiring or selection interview.

Screening interviews are used to qualify a candidate before he or she meets with a hiring authority for possible selection. The hiring or selection interview can take on many different forms. Screening interviews are the normal process for companies to weed out candidates for a single job opportunity. These interviews are usually quick, efficient and low cost strategies that result in a short list of qualified candidates. These interviews save time and money by eliminating unqualified candidates.

If invited to a face to face screening interview, it will usually be with a third party recruiter or someone from the Human Resources department. These are considered the gatekeepers for a company. They are typically experienced and professional interviewers who are skilled at interviewing and screening candidates. These interviewers should be effective at judging character, intelligence, and if the candidate is a good fit for the company culture. They also should be good at identifying potential red flags or problem areas in the candidate's work background and general qualifications. Some examples of screening interviews include the telephone interview, the computer interview, the video conference interview and the structured interview.

Telephone Interviews:

The telephone interview is the most common way to perform an initial screening interview. This helps the interviewer and the candidate get a general sense if they are mutually interested in pursuing a discussion beyond the first interview. This type of interviewing also saves time and money. They may be tape recorded for the review of other interviewers. The goal, for the candidate during the phone interview,is to arrange a face to face meeting.

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