The different types of interviews and their characteristics
The interview is a qualitative information collection technique in which two individuals participate (although they may participate more). This is not considered an informal conversation, since has an intentionality, an objective . For an interview to take place, at least one interviewer and one interviewee must participate, and there must be an agreement between them. The first is the person who will obtain information about the other person.
The word interview is derived from Latin, specifically the term is composed of inter (between) and videre (view) which means “to see”. Therefore, it refers to observing in the middle, i.e. hitting the target. This term appeared first in French as “entrevoir” and later in Spanish. But beyond nominalisms, the truth is that there is not one single concept of interview, but several. That’s why we talk about types of interviews, each with its different uses and strengths and weaknesses.
Different types of interviews
The interview has different scopes of application and therefore there are different types of interviews depending on what is used : 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 a list explained about 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 is the most widely used and is also called the personal interview .
When a person is looking for a job and is face to face with the interviewer, when a psychologist receives his or her patient to find out first-hand the reason for his or her behavior, or when a personal trainer receives his or her client to find out his or her motivation for sports training, the individual interview is used.
1.2. Group interview
The group interview is usually used in the labour scope, as it allows for assessing different skills of the job applicants.
This type of interview involves different interviewees and an interviewer (although on occasion he or she may be assisted by another member of the company). In addition to the information that the individual can provide verbally, the group interview allows for the observation of 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 the task itself is of a group nature.
It is rare that working consists of going to a cubicle every day of the week and not talking to anyone else in the company during this period, and small mistakes in this kind of situation can have serious consequences. Therefore, an interview that more closely resembles the real work context gives more valuable information .
In clinical terms, this type of interview is called the family interview . However, in this setting it is distinguished by having objectives set in the relationships between the persons involved (as a form of psychological intervention), whereas in other contexts of psychology this objective does not necessarily have to be met. In fact, it is sometimes used simply as a way of saving time and resources, almost as if it were individual interviews taking place at the same time and place.
1.3. Panel interview
The panel interview is also a group interview used in the work setting. 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 or her own criteria and, once the interview is completed, criteria will be unified and a common decision will be made as to whether the interviewee is a suitable candidate for the position.
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 that you have a more considered view of the candidates. For example, it is possible that both the Human Resources technician and one or more department heads participate in the interview, those whose work processes depend on the vacancy to be filled.
This allows us to have the viewpoints 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.
According to the procedure
Beyond the number of participants, we can also categorize the types of interviews according to their format , that is, the way in which the interviewer communicates with the interviewee and asks him/her 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 previously and the same questions are applied to all the interviewees. This type of interview emphasizes the need to create a context that is as similar as possible between the different interviews carried out, in order to be able 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 evaluation of the interviewee.
2.2. Unstructured interview
The unstructured interview is also called the free interview . It works with open questions, without a pre-established order, acquiring the characteristics of conversation and allowing spontaneity. This makes this one of the types of interviews that most resembles an informal conversation, although it does have a clear method and objectives.
This technique consists of asking questions according to the answers that arise during the interview.
2.3. Mixed interview
The mixed interview or s emitted is a mixture of the two previous ones. Therefore, the interviewer alternates structured questions and spontaneous questions.
This type of interview is more complete than the structured and unstructured ones since, as it has the benefits of both, it allows for a comparison between the different candidates and also allows for an in-depth analysis of their specific characteristics.
3. Depending on the mode (or channel)
We can also classify the types of interviews according to the type of channel in which the 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 means that non-verbal communication is taken into account.
3.2. Telephone interview
The telephone interview is used in personnel selection, as it is used as a filter within the recruitment process if there is a high volume of candidates.
Through this, a recruitment expert can discard a candidate if he or she is not considered suitable for the position, as it is usually assessed whether the candidate meets the requirements of the job being offered. It also allows you to find out your concerns and your level of motivation.
3.3. Online interview
Although it is increasingly used in the clinical or educational field, the online interview is characteristic of recruitment processes when there are many candidates for a job offer. It is common in large companies and is also used when the candidate is not in the same location.
Currently, there are programs that conduct interviews in which a candidate is recorded from home after being asked a series of questions. There is no interviewer, but the questions appear in text format and the candidate’s response is subsequently recorded. The answer is stored and sent to the selection staff who carry out the assessment.
3.4. By e-mail
This type of interview is common in the journalistic field. In email interviews a series of questions are sent by email and the interviewee returns them with his/her 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 can simply be a cheap version of the selection process, in those contexts where it is decided to dedicate practically no means or time to this phase.
4.Other types of interviews
The kinds of interviews we have seen so far can be characterized relatively simply. But there is another category of interviews whose particularities lie in somewhat more complex aspects and which have more specific objectives. These are explained below.
4.1. Competency-based interview
This type of skill interview is also known as behavioural interview and is used by Human Resources experts to get to know whether the person interviewed is the right person for the position they are applying for. The recruiter focuses on obtaining behavioural examples from the personal, academic and professional life of the applicant, after previously knowing the needs of both the position and the company.
This type of interview has a component that brings it closer to tests of competencies and skills, although it is not usually thought of as a test for which you have to prepare specifically.
The behavioral interview was born from the concept of competence, very popular in the business and organizational field . Thanks to the competence 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 prior work in this type of interview, since first of all it is necessary to define the competencies that the post and the company require.
Currently, a type of interview by competencies has been extended, called the critical incident interview , which is based on a series of open-ended questions that expect the person being interviewed to describe in detail what they said, thought, felt and did on certain occasions, since in this way it is possible to know whether the candidate has the required competencies.
To know more about the skills interview you should read this article: “How to face a skills interview: 4 keys to get the job”
4.2. Stress-provoking interview
The stress trigger interview is used in job interviews, especially for managers. The aim is to create tension or stressful situations in order to assess the candidate’s ability to solve problems, as well as his or her degree of tolerance to frustration or his or her ability to manage stress.
However, it must be taken into account that the type of situations that produce stress are very different: perhaps the stress caused by the job to be performed is well managed by the candidate, but the stressful situation applied to the interview, being new, is not.
On the other hand, it cannot be overlooked that this type of interview involves going through an unpleasant experience ; moreover, this degree of discomfort is the reason for the interview, and without it it would not make sense. This has ethical connotations that are worth valuing and which also include asking how this fits in with the values, work philosophy and business culture of the organisation.
4.3. Motivational Interviewing
Motivational interviewing is a style of managerial interaction, centred on the client and aimed at helping people and encouraging them to compare the advantages and disadvantages of certain situations, in order to bring about positive changes in their behaviour.