Interviews remain the most popular method of assessment for selection, although more and more employers are using other methods as well. You are unlikely to get a job without being interviewed as part of the selection process. Interviews:
- give both candidate and employer a chance to meet face to face
- allow you to question them as well as vice versa
- rely on the interviewer’s accurate recording and interpretation of your accounts of the details you provide; and so may be subjective.
Whatever the type of interview, interviewers will probably take notes as the interview goes along, you will usually be given an opportunity to ask questions at the end and you will need to be prepared to talk about past and present experiences.
Competency Based Interviews
- Focus on particular areas of competence which are important to a job.
- Are clearly related to the job in question.
- The questions will relate to particular abilities or styles, e.g. “Tell me about the time when you had to meet a tight deadline. How did you cope? What was the outcome?”
- You will need to come up with lots of examples of situations, from your work experience, leisure activities or home life.
- Will probably feel like hard work!
Biographical Interviews
- The most traditional format.
- Focus on the kind of information you might put on a CV, e.g.
- Work experience
- Educational background
- Leisure interests
- Circumstances (e.g. the kind of working hours/conditions you can manage)
- Health
- Aspirations
- Look at what you have done in the past
- The link between the questions and the job you’re applying for may not be apparent.
Situational Interviews
- Questions ask you to imagine yourself in given hypothetical situation and ask what you would do.
- The situations may be taken directly from the job in questions or may be more general.