The different types of interview and their characteristics
The interview It is a qualitative information gathering technique in which two individuals participate (although they can participate more). This is not considered an informal conversation, as has an intention, a goal. For an interview to take place, it is necessary that at least one interviewer and one interviewee participate, with an agreement on the part of both. The first is who will get information about the other person.
The word interview derives from Latin, specifically the term is composed of inter (between and videre (sight) which means "to see". Therefore, it refers to observing in the middle, that is, hitting the target. This term first appeared in French as “entrevoir” and later in Spanish. But beyond nominalisms, the truth is that there is no single concept of interview, but several. That is why we talk about types of interviews, each with its different uses and strengths and weaknesses.
Different types of interview
The interview has different fields of application and therefore there are different types of interview depending on what it is used for
: job interview, clinical interview, cognitive interview, journalistic interview, etc.On the other hand, the classifications used are varied: according to the content, the participants, the procedure... Below you can see an explained list of the different types of interview.
1. According to the number of participants
There are many ways to distinguish different types of interviews from each other, and taking the number of participants as a reference is one of these criteria.
1.1. Individual interview
The individual interview It is the most used and is also called personal interview.
When a person looks for a job and is face to face with the interviewer, when a psychologist receives his patient to know first-hand the reason for his behavior or when a personal trainer receives his client to find out the degree of motivation of him for sports training, the interview is used individual.
1.2. Group interview
The group interview It is usually used in the workplace, as it allows assessing different competencies of job applicants.
In this type of interview, different interviewees and an interviewer participate (although sometimes they may receive help from another member of the company). In addition to the information that the individual can provide verbally, the group interview allows observing the interaction between the different candidates, thus providing relevant information for their hiring. This is very important, because in most work contexts in an organization you have to coordinate with others and sometimes even the task itself is of a group nature.
In rare cases, work consists of going to a cubicle every day of the week and not talking to anyone more of the company during this period, and small errors in these kinds of situations can have consequences serious. Thus, an interview that is more like the real work context gives more valuable information.
On clinic, this type of interview is called family interview. However, in this area it is distinguished by having objectives set in the relationships between the people involved. (as a form of psychological intervention), while in other contexts of psychology this objective does not have to give yourself. In fact, it is sometimes used simply as a way to save time and resources, almost as if it were individual interviews that take place at the same time and place.
1.3. Panel interview
The panel interview It is also a group interview used in the workplace. On this occasion, and unlike the type of interview mentioned above, there are several interviewers who interview a candidate.
Each interviewer will evaluate the candidate according to his own criteria and, once the interview is finished, They will unify criteria and a common decision will be made on whether the interviewee is a suitable candidate for the Market Stall.
Of course, one of the main advantages of this type of interview is that it is possible to contrast different points of view in a single session, so you have a more weighted view of the candidates. For example, the interview may involve both the Human Resources technician and one or more department heads, those whose work processes depend on the vacancy to be filled.
This allows the points of view of people specialized in the different aspects of the work that must be taken into account: soft skills and personality aspects according to the organizational psychologist, technical knowledge according to the department head, etc.
2. According to the procedure
Beyond the number of participants, also we can categorize the types of interviews according to their format, that is, the way in which the interviewer communicates with the interviewee and asks him one type of question or another.
2.1. Structured interview
This type of interview, the structured interview, follows a series of fixed questions that have been prepared in advance and the same questions are applied to all interviewees. This type of interview emphasizes the need to create a context as similar as possible between the different interviews carried out, in order to better compare the results obtained without non-relevant variables contaminating the conclusions.
In the case of job interviews, scoring systems are often used to evaluate candidates. This greatly facilitates the unification of criteria and the assessment of the interviewee.
2.2. Unstructured interview
The unstructured interview also receives the name of free interview. It works with open questions, without a pre-established order, acquiring the characteristics of conversation and allowing spontaneity. That makes this one of the types of interviews that most closely resembles an informal conversation, although it is not without a method and clear objectives.
This technique consists of asking questions according to the answers that arise during the interview.
2.3. Mixed interview
The mixed interview or semiestructured it is a mixture of the previous two. Therefore, the interviewer alternates structured questions and spontaneous questions.
This type of interview is more complete than the structured and unstructured ones since, having the benefits of both, allows comparison between the different candidates and also allows to delve into the specific characteristics of these.
3. Depending on the mode (or channel)
We can also classify the types of interviews according to the type of channel in which communication between interviewer and interviewee is established.
3.1. Face to face interview
The face to face interview is the face-to-face interview. Both actors in the interview are facing each other. This brings non-verbal communication into account.
3.2. Telephone interview
The telephone interview It is used in the selection of personnel, as it is used as a filter within the recruitment process if there is a high volume of candidates.
Through this, an expert in personnel selection can discard a candidate if he considers that is not suitable for the position, since it is usually evaluated if it meets the requirements of the job that is offer. It also allows to know his concerns and if the degree of motivation of him.
3.3. Online interview
Although it is being used more and more in the clinical or educational field, the online interview it is characteristic of the recruitment processes when there are many candidates for a job offer. It is common in large companies and is also often used when the candidate is not in the same location.
Currently, there are programs that conduct interviews in which a candidate is recorded from his home after asking a series of questions. There is no interviewer, but the questions appear in text format and, later, the candidate's response is recorded. The response is stored and sent to the selection staff who are in charge of carrying out the assessment.
3.4. Via email
This type of interview is common in the journalistic field. In the email interviews A series of questions are sent by email and the interviewee returns them with their answer. In this way, in addition to those psychological variables to be taken into account, the specific skills that will be used in the job are checked.
However, it is also true that this type of interview may simply be a cheap version of selection process, in those contexts in which it is decided not to devote practically means or time to this phase.
4. Other types of interview
The kinds of interviews that we have seen so far can be characterized relatively easily. But there is another category of interviews whose peculiarities lie in somewhat more complex aspects and that they have more specific objectives. We explain them below.
4.1. Interview by competencies
This type of competency interview also known as behavioral interview and it is used by Human Resources experts to find out if the person interviewed is the right person for the position to which they aspire. The recruiter focuses on obtaining behavioral examples from personal, academic, and professional candidate, after previously knowing the needs of both the position and the business.
This means that this type of interview has a component that brings it closer to competency tests and skills, although it is not usually presented as an exam for which you have to prepare in a specific.
The behavioral interview was born as a result of the concept of competition, very popular in the business and organizational field. Thanks to the competency interview, it is possible to assess whether the motivation, knowledge, skills or values of the person interviewed fit with the needs of the company. There is a great deal of previous work in this type of interview, because first of all it is necessary to define the skills that the position and the company require.
Currently, a type of competency interview called critical incident interview, which is based on a series of open-ended questions that expect the person being interviewed to describe in more detail what they are said, thought, felt and did on certain occasions, because in this way it is possible to know if the candidate has the competencies required.
To know more about the skills interview you should read this article: "How to face an interview based on skills: 4 keys to getting the job”
4.2. Tension provocation interview
The stress provocation interview It is used in job interviews, especially for managers. The objective is to create tension or stressful situations to assess the candidate's ability to solve problems, in addition to knowing their degree of tolerance to frustration or their ability to handle stress.
However, it must be taken into account that the type of situations that produce stress are very different: perhaps, the tension caused by the The job to be performed is well managed by the candidate, but the stressful situation applied to the interview, being novel, does not it is.
On the other hand, it cannot be overlooked that this type of interview is going through an unpleasant experience; Moreover, that degree of discomfort is the reason for the interview, and without it it would not make sense. This has ethical connotations that are worth assessing and that also include considering how that fits with the values, work philosophy and business culture of the organization.
4.3. Motivational interview
The motivational interview It is a directive style of interaction, focused on the client and aimed at helping people and stimulating them to that they compare the advantages and disadvantages of certain situations, in order to bring about positive changes in their conduct.