Going through an interview, whatever its type, is the experience you most probably will have several times during your career path, an experience that critically defines your near future. Hence, it’s essential to prepare yourself to ace the interview and win the job.

However, because there are different numbers of interview types, it might confuse you to decide what you should be doing during each one of them. To eliminate this confusion, we will guide you through the different types of job interviews and deal with each class separately.

Interview types

It’s normal that you won’t have to experience each type of interview . However, for instance, you suddenly received a call telling you, “Hello, this is an interview,” don’t you need to win the first round and move to the second interview? Or imagine having a video interview. Do you have the complete perception of how you should get ready and prepare the surroundings to help you ace this interview?

As we believe you need to strengthen your interview skills and get acquainted with the different types of interviews, we will guide you through them and expect them while going through each experience.

One to one interviews:

One-to-one is the most known form of the interview. However, it could differ slightly according to the job role and the work circumstances. Here are the forms of one to one interviews you might face:

1. Traditional interviews

These are still the most common interview types , where you will have to meet your manager or the hiring specialist/manager. These one-to-one interviews usually hold at the interviewer’s office or the meeting room for half an hour as an average, or maybe less or more according to some factors.

It’s anticipated that the interviewer will ask you about your background, work experience, education, and some other questions to assess your skills and viability.

You can learn about the toughest interview questions and answers through this article.

2. Structured interviews

During the structured interview, the interviewer will direct the same questions for each candidate. The goal is to compare answers and select the best match for the job role. During this interview, all you need to ensure is to think about your skills that match the job position.

Also, try to get acquainted with the traditional interview questions to get your mind ready and always be honest and organized.

3. Unstructured interviews

During this kind of interview, the interviewer questions the interviewee according to his answers, even so, this interview includes traditional questions. Therefore, the recruiter would have to ask unusual questions that match the type of answers the candidate would provide.

This would give the interview a causal nature; however, you need to stay professional and serious until the end.

4. Informal interviews

These interview types are usually held during the initial screening process, in which the recruiter wants to create a first impression about the candidate. Hence, informal interviews are more laid back than the usual interviews and often take place in a coffee or other less formal space than the office.

Make sure to act professionally while maintaining a friendly approach. Also, try to discuss the main questions that spin in your mind regarding the job role or the company’s policy.

5. Final interviews

Sometimes you need to go through more than one interview to get accepted. Final interviews are the last step before you get the job. Usually, the CEO or the owner, or maybe high-level employees, are the ones who are responsible for this interview.

However, you might think this interview is a forgone conclusion. It could be your last chance to prove your viability for the job role.

One to group interview types :

6. Panel interview

During this type of interview, you will be in a meeting with multiple people at once, maybe three or four. Usually, your direct manager has to be there, with the hiring manager and other employees that you might report to in the future. So usually, panel interviews are held if you have to report to more than one person.

You should expect that the interviewer will mainly concentrate questions on your work experience and skills. It would help if you took it under consideration while answering the questions to direct your answer to the person who asked the question while maintaining eye contact with the rest of the interviewers.

7. Group interview

The group interview is one of the interview types that are only excluded for companies that usually hire multiple people for the same job role, most probably for sales roles or customer service, and maybe internships.

During this type of interview, make sure to be friendly with the other interviewees, as this might affect your image in front of the interviewer. Also, avoid interrupting or showing disrespect for them.

And remember, you are not in a competition, as it’s expected that all of you, or most of you, will get hired.

Evidential interview types

8. Stress interview

You might never heard of this interview type. However, it’s a bit common among the companies which hire for high-stress positions. Since the hiring manager will need to assess how much you would likely handle stress.

During this interview, the interviewer will ask you some odd questions other than your background and work experience. Or maybe he will request to solve a puzzle or react to unusual behavior.

9. Behavioral interview

The behavioral interview is one of the interview types that goes beyond the yes or no answer. Instead, its primary goal is to learn about how the candidate previously dealt with the challenges and overcame them. 

That’s why it’s recommended to follow the STAR response method (Situation – Task – Action – Result) to answer questions during this interview, as you need to mention the whole story and highlight the action you took and the result.

It’s expected that the interviewer will provide you with a problem or scenario to solve. The goal is to assess your problem-solving skills. There is no right or wrong answer here. You only need to concentrate on how you act and give examples of a similar problem during your experience and how you reacted back then.

10. Situational/Case interview

During this interview type, the interviewer will ask you to solve a problem that you might face inside the company, or maybe more than one problem. Most of which might be real and occurred at the company.

Again, the goal is to asses your problem-solving skills based on actual cases you will face in your job role.

11. On the job interview:

In these interview types , the interviewer will ask you to perform a task on the spot. For example, if you are applying for a writing job, they might ask you to write an article using the information they give you.

It would help if you are always ready for the unexpected while going to the interview. So, consider that they will ask you to perform a task and be prepared for this.

12. Second interview

As we previously mentioned, sometimes you have to go through more than one interview to get accepted. Second interviews usually come after the initial phone or in-person interview, during which you still need to impress the person in charge and prove your credentials.

Remote interview types

13. Phone interviews

A phone interview is usually made to screen a pool of candidates before going further with them and having an in-person interview. It often includes the fundamental questions that seem pretty enough to decide if the candidate is worth proceeding with them. 

Phone interviews are mostly confusing; however, you need to be prepared for them, as they act as the key to getting the job you applied for.

14. Video/ Online interviews

It’s the interview type that has been widely spread during the last few years, following the hype of working remotely or from home.

 There is no core difference between the traditional and the online interviews except that you need to prepare the surroundings to fit in the interview morale and check the tech side.

Less common interview types

15. Job fair interview

Have you ever been to a job fair? you must notice some recruiters running interviews for people who just submitted their CVs. This kind of interview also acts as an initial interview, which is usually followed by another second interview.

Recruiters and companies’ representatives usually collect CVs from attendees. That’s why you need to print out some copies of your resume before going to any job fair, just in case.

16. Restaurant/Off-site interview

One of the rare interview types is the lunch interview, in which the interviewer, whether your direct manager, CEO or the hiring manager, asks to have a meal with you outside of the office.

However, don’t worry. If you are invited to a lunch interview, this is a good sign. The main goal of this interview is to learn more about the candidate outside of the office. During this interview, you need to take care of your attitude, as the friendly ambiance would misguide you, so make sure to act professionally.

It’s advisable to order a plate that is easy to eat. Also, it would be great if you ordered a similar dish as your interviewer.

Exit interview

The hiring manager or your direct manager would like to have an exit interview with you to assess the company’s performance and how the policy and flow of it affect the employees.

Also, they would try to figure out the real reasons behind your resignation and how they can develop and boost the company’s performance.

The bottom line:

Interview types might differ at some specific points. However, significant aspects are mutual for all interviews, such as questions, body language, and appearance. Nevertheless, you need to familiarize yourself with the different types of interviews, just in case you had to go through any of them.

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