by Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D.
Job interviews are all about making the best matches. Both the company and the
job-seeker want to determine if there is a correct fit between them.
Job-seekers going on job interviews can basically expect one of two styles of
interviewing. While the styles differ, there are some basic activities
job-seekers need to do both before and after the interview in order to succeed.
This page is organized in the following manner: First, the common aspects of
interviewing will be discussed. Second, the two types of interviews will be
discussed briefly.
Common Aspects of Interviewing:
- Preparing and Researching: Job-seekers must spend time before the interview
conducting research on the type of job, company, and industry they are
interviewing. Your knowledge of these factors is critical to your success.
You can find some great sources of information by visiting the
Guide to Researching Companies.
- Anticipating Questions (and Preparing Answers): While the types of
questions differ depending on the interviewing style, job-seekers must plan
and be prepared for the typical types of questions. You should not memorize
answers, but script specific responses so that you will be able to remember more details
when asked the question in the interview. You should also have several
questions ready to ask the interviewer. Here are some
Traditional Interview Questions.
The Guide to Interviewing Resources provides links
to other sites that list common interview questions and other preparation suggestions.
- Follow-Up: It is amazing how many job-seekers skip this crucial step.
You must immediately write a thank you note to each person who interviewed you.
Not only is this letter part of professional etiquette, but it is often time to
reinforce a concept or skill that you have and that the employer desires in the
person they will be hiring. See an example
of a good thank you letter.
Types of Interviewing:
The two styles of interviewing used by companies today are the traditional job
interview and the behavioral interview.
- The traditional job interview uses broad-based questions such as,
"why do you want to work for this company," and "tell me about your strengths
and weaknesses." Interviewing success of failure are more often based on the
ability of the job-seeker to communicate than on the truthfulness or content
of their answers. Employers are looking for the answer to three
questions: does the job-seeker have the skills and abilities to perform the
job; does the job-seeker possess the enthusiasm and work ethic that the
employer expects; and will the job-seeker be a team player and fit into the
organization. You can find 50
Traditional Employment Interview Questions here.
- The behavioral job interview is based on the theory that past performance
is the best indicator of future behavior, and uses questions that probe specific
past behaviors, such as: "tell me about a time where you confronted an
unexpected problem," "tell me about an experience when you failed to achieve
a goal," and "give me a specific example of a time when you managed several
projects at once." Job-seekers need to prepare for these interviews by
recalling scenarios that fit the various types of behavioral interviewing
questions. Expect interviewers to have several follow-up questions and probe
for details that explore all aspects of a given situation or experience.
Recent college grads with little work experience should focus on class projects
and group situations that might lend themselves to these types of questions.
Hobbies and volunteer work also might provide examples you could use.
Job-seekers should frame their answers based on a four-part outline:
(1) describe the situation, (2) discuss the actions you took,
(3) relate the outcomes, and (4) specify what you learned from it. Read more in
these related sections:
Of course, besides these two common types of interviews, there are other types of job interviews. For
example, read about:
Don't forget to check out our Interviewing Do's
and Don'ts -- or for even more tips and suggestions about interviewing,
go to our Job Interviewing Tutorial.
Finally, test your knowledge by taking our Job
Interviewing Quiz.
Questions about some of the terminology used in this article? Get more information (definitions and links) on key college, career, and job-search
terms by going to our Job-Seeker's Glossary of Job-Hunting Terms.
Dr. Randall S. Hansen is founder of Quintessential Careers,
one of the oldest and most comprehensive career development sites on the Web, as well CEO of
EmpoweringSites.com. He is also founder of
MyCollegeSuccessStory.com and
EnhanceMyVocabulary.com. He is publisher of
Quintessential Careers Press,
including the Quintessential Careers electronic newsletter,
QuintZine. Dr. Hansen is also a
published author, with several books, chapters in books, and hundreds of articles. He's often
quoted in the media and conducts empowering workshops around the country. Finally, Dr. Hansen is
also an educator, having taught at the college level for more than 15 years. Visit his
personal Website or
reach him by email at randall(at)quintcareers.com.
Have you seen all our job interviewing resources?
