Formal Interviews
A formal interview is a meeting between a potential job candidate and the prospective employer. Formal interviews can be conducted in any business or trade. Formal interviews are traditional and the most common form of interviewing
Phone interviews
A phone interview is typically called a screening interview and the first stage in the interview process. Usually, a phone interview includes a brief review of your experience and youâll be asked questions intended to determine if you're a suitable candidate for the position. Phone interviews tend to last between 10 to 20 minutes.
When you have a phone interview, the interviewer can't see your facial expressions, hand gestures or other body language signals. The tone of your voice is vital, so make sure you sound enthusiastic, engaged and interested. Let your personality shine through. The interviewer wants to get a feel for who you are as a person.
- If you have a phone interview booked in, find out how long the interview time is planned for.
- Find a quiet place where you wonât be interrupted. The worst thing is when an interviewer can hear screaming kids, animals, or other loud noises in the background. It comes across as very unprofessional.
- I used to find that when I was a bit nervous on the phone, I would forget what I wanted to say, or wouldnât be able to get my point across in the right manner. Print a copy of your resume out so you have it in hand, and you can refer to it if you get lost words.
- Have a notepad ready to jot down any notes or questions you might think of.
- Start with saying, "Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk with me today. I've been looking forward to this call".
- Know the details of the job you have applied for. If you have a copy of a job description, read that fully and have a copy printed out so you can refer to it if needed.
- Candidates I coach, I tell them that interviewers can "hear your smile" over the phone. Consider how you sound when you talk about something exciting with one of your friends.
- Stand up when youâre on the call, this places a reduced amount of tension on your diaphragm than sitting down. Your voice will be clearer and psychologically, youâll feel more confident and in control. Youâre more likely to embrace a natural form of dialogue.
- Be prepared to talk about salary. The interviewer may ask you what your salary expectations are. So, make sure you have done your research into what the industry is paying for the role you are applying for.
- Towards the end of the interview, always ask about the next steps, so when you are likely to hear back whether you have succeeded to the next interview stage. Always, always, always thank the interviewer for their time.
Video and Virtual Job Interviews
A virtual interview, also known as digital or video interview, allows people to conduct an interview in an automatic manner by conducting it online. The interviewers use a virtual interview as a standard way of assessing the potential of the candidates.
A one-way video interview is an asynchronous video interview in which job candidates record video responses to interview questions in their own time. One-way video interviews are also called pre-recorded video interviews because they don't require the interviewer to be present.
On the day of the interview, dress professionally, wearing the same interview attire you would for an in-person interview. While the camera angle should show you from the waist up (your face is the real focal point), if there is any possibility you will need to stand up, make sure you are wearing pants or a skirt and itâs professional.
Tips for a virtual interview:
- Double-check your audio, video, and internet connection an hour or two before your scheduled interview time
- Pick a plain or distraction-free background
- Dress for the job you want
- Make sure you're in a well-lit room and the interviewer can see you clearly
- Keep your body language open
- Keep your hands in view
- Angle and eye contact are critical
- Frame yourself from the chest up
Group Interviews
Employers conduct group interviews to see how candidates engage and interact in unfamiliar environments. Employers may have many candidates for the same role and instead of having individual interviews, they group people so they can disregard those who are not right for the position. Doing it this way saves a huge amount of time. Most people become rather shy and timid in this kind of situation. People are less reluctant to discuss previous employment experience in front of a group of people they donât know.
The strategy for this type of interview is to find the right balance of being extroverted and introverted. In this type of interview, you will be watched as soon as you walk through the building door, or even earlier. Be the first one to introduce yourself to people, such as the receptionist, other people that might be interviewing with you, other employees and the cleaners. Do this in a way where you are not being overly loud. Open body language, communication and the way you interact with others is extremely important. Make sure you listen to other people and respond accordingly and encourage other people to join in and participate in any discussions.
One on One Interviews
The one to one job interview is the most common style of interview, where only the interviewer and the interviewee are present. The structure of the interview is where the interviewer is directing the discussion initially and the interviewee is asking questions towards the end.
The best way is to have a conversational type interview, back and forth with questions and answers from both sides, so itâs a flow of information. If you can control the interview in a subtle way youâre 90% there to landing the job of your dreams.
Panel Interviews
Panel interviews are conducted by a group of two to five people, sometimes more. Often, you'll be in a room with several people who work at the company and these interviewers make up the panel. Your panel of interviewers will represent multiple areas of the company, and they will come from different backgrounds and roles. Each of them will view your resume and responses in a different way.
Companies like this style of interview because it saves a huge amount of time. The company can book one interview instead of coordinating several one-on-one meetings. It allows all the companyâs representatives to reach an agreement before making a hiring decision.
Panel interviews can be extremely nerve-racking and intimidating. To prepare for this style of interview. Find out who will be present at your interview. Ask your company contact to give you a bit of background on each of the panel.
Your opening introductions with the panel will be crucial. If youâre terrible at remembering names, you will need to flip your mindset. Tell yourself that you are great at remembering names. To really stand out from the crowd and impress during the interview, you must remember and use each interviewerâs name and role throughout the meeting.
If youâre adamant you wonât be able to remember and recite the panelâs names, at the start of the interview, ask the interviewers if they mind if you take down some notes. This is almost always acceptable. Once you know whoâs who in the zoo, you can build rapport by connecting and engaging with the interviewers as a group and individually.
Answer each question precisely while adding points to tackle the different viewpoints of the other interviewers. For example, one interviewer might ask you about how you work effectively within a team. Other department managers will be more concerned with how you would engage with their teams. So, you could say something like, âWorking effectively in a team is a necessity; everyone should have clearly defined roles and responsibilities. This helps to improve communication within the team and collaboration across other teamsâ.
When replying, direct your answer to the person who asked the question, as you continue to go into detail and provide examples, address the rest of the panel by making eye contact, moving your shoulders so that youâre directly facing each person. If they look down and mak...