Interview Styles

Knowing the different types of interviews, and why and when they are successful, can help make your interviews more comfortable for both parties. Organisations frequently try to come up with their own style for interviews.

See below a breakdown in the different styles of interviews. Understanding these can have you one step ahead of the competition!

1. Behavioral Interview

Many companies are increasingly using the behavioral interview. They use a candidate's previous behavior to indicate their future performance. Depending on the responsibilities of the position and the working conditions, a candidate may be asked to describe a situation that required problem solving skills, adaptability, leadership, conflict resolution, multi-tasking, initiative or stress management.

2. Tag-Team Interview

The tag-team interview is often attractive to companies that rely heavily on team cooperation. A candidate may be expecting to meet one-on-one with an interviewer, but find themselves in a room with several other people. Employers want to gain the insights of various people when interviewing candidates.

3. Information Interview

The informational interview is underutilised by job seekers. Job seekers secure informational meetings in order to seek the advice of someone in their current or desired field. Employers, who like to stay on top of a list of available talent, even when they do not have any job openings, are often open to these types of interviews. The job seeker and employer exchange information and get to know each other better without reference to a job opening.

4. Mealtime Interviews

The mealtime interview is used to determine what a candidate is like in a social setting. But, interviewing over a meal can be a candidate's worst nightmare or challenge. The interviewers want to not only know how you handle a fork but how you treat your host, any guests and the serving staff. A candidate must take cues from the interviewer and always remember she is the guest. These tips will help you with mealtime interviews.

5. Audition Interview

Audition interviews work well for positions in which companies want to see a candidate in action before they make a hiring decision. Interviewers may take the candidate through a simulation or brief exercise in order to evaluate the candidate's skills. This allows a candidate to demonstrate his/her abilities in interactive ways that are familiar to the candidate.

5. Stress Interview

A stress interview is generally intended to put the candidate under stress and assess their reactions under pressure or in difficult situations. A candidate may be held in the waiting room for an hour before the interviewer greets her. The candidate may face long silences or cold stares. Insults, rudeness and miscommunication are very common. All of this is supposed to be designed to see whether or not the candidate has what it takes to withstand the company culture, the company's clients or any other possible stress.

Once you understand these, you can WIN that new position!

Good Luck!