Interviews can be nerve-wracking at times, but if you are well-prepared and confident the process can be much easier. They can take place in many forms: Face-to-face, Telephone, Video, and even Assessment centers. These vary based upon your prospective employer and the kind of role that you apply for; however Face-to-face interviews remain the most common. The thought of an interview may seem daunting but the more you prepare the better you will feel. Click here to read about Work Visa
1. Telephone Interview
2. Video Interview
3. The Panel Interview
4. Assessment Interview
5. The Group Interview
6. The Individual Interview
Telephone interviews are hugely valuable because they speed up the interview process and minimize time-wasting, whilst culling your weaker candidates earlier on. In general, a telephone interview should take about 10 to 3o minutes. Click here to read about business visa
Video interviews (Skype, Google Hangouts, and Zoom) are a great alternative to telephone interviews. The fact that you can actually see each other adds a certain level of importance and professionalism to the ‘call’ and removes the temptation for either party to multi-task or lose focus. Of course, you could still face similar issues to those that plague the telephone interview.
Background distractions could still occur, other calls could come through, the bad signal could distort the conversation and, as you can both see each other, there’s no hiding from them! Video interviews will vary in length, depending on the situation. But it should last roughly 30 minutes.
Panel interviews are the same as the individual, face-to-face interviews, but with two or more interviewers in the room.
The main advantage of panel interviewing is that it precludes any personal biases that might creep into the assessment process.
Each interviewer will pick up on different characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses and together (hopefully) make a much fairer judgment.
The panel interview is usually conducted as the sole or final step in the interviewing process to take place instead of an individual interview and following any telephone and/or group interviews. Panel interviews should last 45 Minutes.
Assessment “days” can be used to assess larger groups of interviewees at the same time, for a range of different skills.
Common amongst graduate employers, they are a great way to evaluate candidates in more detail, for a longer period of time.
If you’re interviewing a large group and your offices are only small, it’s a good idea to seek out a local assessment center to host the day for you.
Group interviews are used a lot less regularly than the other interview techniques we’ve mentioned, but they still have their place in modern recruitment.
You could conduct your group interview in two key ways… like an individual interview; asking exactly the same questions that you would ask in an individual interview, openly, to the whole group, allowing candidates the chance to compete to impress.
Or like the assessment day, with brief introductions, leading into group tasks and activities. Group interviews that replace the individual interview, should last roughly an hour and a bare minimum of 45 minutes.
Individual, face-to-face interviews are by far the most popular and efficient form of assessment. Allowing you to get up close and personal with each candidate while keeping an eye on their body language is far more effective than any other interviewing format.
Think about it: do you find it easier to build a relationship with someone over the phone or face-to-face?
30 minutes or less would imply a less-than-average candidate. Either they didn’t grip you at all and answered with the bare minimum or something was seriously wrong and you just wanted to get them out of the room (or vice versa).
45 minutes is roughly average. This shows that the candidate is engaging in conversation, expanding, and answering with detail. These could be great candidates for the job.
Over an hour: Candidates that are really impressive will keep you talking and before you know it, the interview will have overrun. These super-engaging candidates are the ones to look out for.
‘When you fail to prepare you to prepare to fail’.
While you may feel nervous, smile, and be polite – first impressions are formed quickly and you want it to be a good one.
• Shake hands on arrival, make eye contact, and try to address people by their names.
• Stay calm, relax and breathe!
• Make sure you listen to the question properly, don’t be afraid to ask for clarification if you are unsure what to say. If it helps, write down some key points while the question is being asked.
• Be honest about your strengths and weaknesses, but try not to dwell on any weaknesses as you want to stay positive.
Asking questions of the interviewer shows enthusiasm, and the ability to ask informed and relevant questions show that you have done your research. The sort of questions you could ask include:
Bear in mind that if you have got this far, you are definitely being considered for the role. A second stage interview is likely to be conducted by people you will work with directly should you get the job, and maybe more senior members of the company.
It is a good idea to try and find out the format of the interview in advance. If you’re registered with us, your Dutton consultant can get this information for you.
Consequently, the focus of the interview may be slightly different. It may be to assess you more as a person and how you may fit within the team, or it may build on answers that you gave in your previous interview.
Therefore, it is just as important, if not more, to prepare fully for this interview.
Good luck with the interviews!