The basic itnterview tips

Biographical–

the golden-oldie of interview techniques, and still quite common. It’s simply a discussion of what you’ve done in the past, what you’d like to do and what experience you can bring to the role.

Behavioural –

employers soon realised that the biographical interview wasn’t ideal for identifying the best candidate – especially in a field when all interviewees had similar resumes and experience. The structured behavioural interview attempts to dig a little deeper into a candidate’s personality and response to work situations – for example “tell me about a difficult decision you’ve had to make”, or the classic “tell me your weaknesses”.

Stress interview –

a technique sure to put a chill down the spine of anyone who has experienced them. Interviewers deliberately stress the candidates to breaking point to see how they react under difficult working conditions. This can take the form of an intimidatingly large panel of questioners, all asking rapid questions; interrogators deliberately acting in a rude or dismissive way to create an emotional response; or making the candidate perform deliberately impossible tasks in a busy environment. Fortunately stress interviews seem to have been a creation of the more “aggressive” business world of the 80s and 90s and have declined along with the wearing of red braces and powersuits.

Assessment/selection days–

candidates are invited along to a whole day of activities and interviews, which may take the form of a variety of the techniques described here. Assessors from the company hosting the day will be of the look out for candidates who display the suitable ability and personality. Have found favour with forward looking organisations, who want to allow candidates to demonstrate all their skills in a less formal and relaxed environment – rather than in a pressurised interview.

Psychometric testing –

a recent fad amongst employers, who look to identify both strengths and potential weaknesses of candidates through structured psychological testing which may seem completely removed from the actual role applied for. Psychometric questions can also sneak into more traditional interviews – such as the famous “why are manhole covers round?” question, allegedly a favourite of Microsoft interviewers.

Business roleplay -

in recent years organisations have been keen to test out potential recruits in as real-to-life situations as possible. By creating realistic business simulations, companies can see how candidates make decisions, work as a team and deal with challenges and real-time dilemmas.

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