Interview TypesCompetency Based Interviews:

These are structured to reflect the competencies the employer is

seeking for the particular job. These will usually be detailed in the
job spec so make sure you read it through, and have your answers
ready for questions such as Give me an example of a time you
worked as a team to achieve a common goal. For more examples of
competency based questions click here.
Structured Interviews:
Fixed format interview in which all questions are prepared
beforehand and are put in the same order to each interviewee.
Although this style lacks the free flow of a friendly conversation (as
in an unstructured Interview) it provides the precision and reliability
required in certain situations. Also called directive interview.
Open Ended Interviews:
An open-ended interview is a way of gathering information from
people. An interviewer asks questions of a participant, who then
answers those questions. The interview is considered open-ended
because even though the questions can be scripted, the interviewer
usually doesn't know what the contents of the response will be.
These interviews may have some questions to gather basic factual
data on participants such as age and gender, but usually they focus
more on the participant's thoughts, feelings, experiences,
knowledge, skills, ideas and preferences.
Types
Open-ended interviews are separated into three groups based on
how structured they are. The first type, informal, is the least
restrictive. The interviewer doesn't prepare any questions in
advance, instead asking questions spontaneously. Subsequently, no
two informal interviews are alike. The second type, interview guide,
is semi-restrictive. The interviewer uses a general outline of issues
or questions, but can use other questions generated spontaneously
or go to other topics based on the responses of the participant. The
third type, structured, is the most restrictive. The interviewer can
only use the exact same questions on specific topics for each
interview, and those questions are carefully worded to avoid
ambiguity or specific undesired connotations.
Execution
Interviewers have several choices about how to execute an openended interview. If it isn't practical for the interviewer to travel to

the participant, or if scheduling is troublesome, interviewers usually

ask their questions via mail, email or phone, as well as text and
video chat. However, many open-ended interviews are one-on-one
events in which the interviewer and participant meet in the same
room.
Advantages
One advantage of an open-ended interview is that, in addition to
fulfilling the original interview objective, the provided complete
explanations can lead interviewers, researchers and other
businesspeople in new directions, letting them see perspectives and
opportunities they didn't consider before. Participants also can
clarify what they mean, with motivations often revealed.
Disadvantages
Open-ended interviews generally don't provide data that are
quantifiable. This doesn't mean the data are useless; it just means
that the interviews aren't particularly helpful in instances where
concrete statistics are required. Also, because participants can
answer however they like for most questions, it is difficult to
constrain the time of the interview. Interviewers cannot guarantee
that they will finish in the time allotted for execution. Depending on
how the interviewer executes the interview, the interviewer may not
be able to gather valuable information from the body language of
the participant. Lastly, open-ended interviews are not practical
when the interviewer needs data from a large number of
participants.
Applications
Structured open-ended interviews are best applied to research
where the interviewer wants the most control over result. Most
interviews fall into the interview guide classification and can be
applied in contexts such as marketing, journalism and employee
selection. Informal interviews may be useful for getting a general
sense of what a person is like or allowing the participant to be
expressive, such as with psychology.
Behavioral interview:
In a behavioral interview, the interviewer will ask you questions
based on common situations of the job you are applying for. The
logic behind the behavioral interview is that your future
performance will be based on a past performance of a similar
situation. You should expect questions that inquire about what you
did when you were in XXX situation and how did you dealt with it. In
a behavioral interview, the interviewer wants to see how you deal
with certain problems and what you do to solve them.

Behavioral interviewing is a relatively new, but widely used mode of

job interviewing. The behavioral interview technique is used by
employers to evaluate a candidates experiences and behaviors in
order to determine their potential for success. This approach is
based on the belief that past performance is the best predictor of
future behavior. In fact, behavioral interviewing is said to be 55
percent predictive of future on-the-job behavior, while traditional
interviewing is only 10 percent predictive. The interviewer identifies
desired skills and behaviors, and then structures open-ended
questions and statements to elicit detailed responses. A rating
system is developed and selected criteria are evaluated during the
interview. Even if you dont have a great deal of work experience,
companies expect you to be able to relate past experiences from
undergraduate or graduate school, campus activities, volunteer
work, membership in an organization, etc. to the job for which you
are interviewing.
BEHAVIORAL V. TRADITIONAL INTERVIEWING
Behavioral-based interviewing provides a more objective set of facts
to make employment decisions than other interviewing methods.
Traditional interview questions ask you general questions such as
Tell me about yourself. The process of behavioral interviewing is
much more probing and works very differently.
In a traditional job-interview, you can usually get away with telling
the interviewer what he or she wants to hear. Even if you are asked
situational questions that start out How would you handle XYZ
situation? you have minimal accountability because the interviewer
cant really predict if you would react the way you said you would if
that particular situation ever arose. In a behavioral interview,
however, its much more difficult to give responses that are untrue
to your character. When you start to tell a behavioral story, the
behavioral interviewer typically will pick it apart to try to get at the
specific behavior(s). The interviewer will probe further for more
depth or detail such as What were you thinking at that point? or
Tell me more about your meeting with that person, or Lead me
through your decision process. If youve told a story thats anything
but totally honest, your response will not hold up through the
barrage of probing questions.
WHAT TO EXPECT IN A BEHAVIORAL INTERVIEW
Behavioral-based interview questions generally start with any
one of the following phrases:
Tell me about a time when you
Describe a circumstance when you were faced with a problem
related to
Think about an instance in which you
Tell me how you approached a situation where
When your interview is behavioral-based, you should expect a
structured interview with set questions, as opposed to a

conversational style of interviewing. The interviewer is probably

evaluating you against a profile of desired behaviors considered
necessary for success. You will oftentimes receive follow-up
questions that probe for more details and attempt to evaluate the
consistency of your answers. Many of the questions will have
multiple parts, and the interviewer will generally take notes during
your answers.
AREAS OF EVALUATION:
Some of the most common behavioral questions evaluate such
attributes as:
Integrity
Leadership
Initiative
Communication Skills
Problem Solving Skills
Interpersonal Skills
Adaptability
Here is one list of sample behavioral-based interview questions:
Describe a situation in which you were able to use persuasion
to successfully convince someone to see things your way.
Describe a time when you were faced with a stressful situation
that demonstrated your coping skills.
Give me a specific example of a time when you used good
judgment and logic in solving a problem.
Give me an example of a time when you set a goal and were
able to meet or achieve it.
Tell me about a time when you had to use your presentation
skills to influence someone's opinion.
Give me a specific example of a time when you had to
conform to a policy with which you did not agree.
Please discuss an important written document you were
required to complete.
Tell me about a time when you had to go above and beyond
the call of duty in order to get a job done.
Tell me about a time when you had too many things to do and
you were required to prioritize your tasks.
Give me an example of a time when you had to make a split
second decision.
What is your typical way of dealing with conflict? Give me an
example.
Tell me about a time you were able to successfully deal with
another person even when that individual may not have
personally liked you (or vice versa).
Tell me about a difficult decision you've made in the last year.

Normal interviews (also called unstructured interviews) are

essentially a conversation where the interviewers ask a few
questions that are relevant to what they are looking for but without
any specific aim in mind other than getting an overall impression of
you as an individual. Questions are fairly random and can
sometimes be quite open. For example, a question such as "What
can you offer our company?" is meant to gather general information
about you but does not test any specific skill or competency. In an
unstructured interview, the candidate is judged on the general
impression that he/she leaves; the process is therefore likely to be
more subjective.
Competency-based interviews (also called structured or
behavioural interviews) are more systematic, with each question
targetting a specific skill or competency. Candidates are asked
questions relating to their behaviour in specific circumstances,
which they then need to back up with concrete examples. The
interviewers will then dig further into the examples by asking for
specific explanations about the candidate's behaviour or skills.

Which skills and competencies do competency-based

interviews test?
The list of skills and competencies that can be tested varies
depending on the post that you are applying for. For example, for a
Personal Assistant post, skills and competencies would include
communication skills; ability to organise and prioritise; and ability
to work under pressure. For a senior manager, skills and
competencies may include an ability to influence and negotiate; an
ability to cope with stress and pressure; an ability to lead; and the
capacity to take calculated risks.
Here is a non-exhaustive list of the more common skills and
competencies that you may be asked to demonstrate:
Skills and competencies for competency-based interviews

Adaptability

Delegation

Leadership

Compliance

Communicati
on

External
awareness

Leveraging
diversity

Flexibility

Independence

Organisational
awareness

Influencing

Integrity

Resilience and
tenacity

Conflict
management
Creativity
and
Innovation

Risk taking

Sensitivity to

Decisiveness

others

Team work

What kind of competency-based interview questions can

you be asked?
Although most questions tend to ask for examples of situations
where you have demonstrated specific skills, they can appear in
different formats. Examples include:

How do you ensure that you maintain good working

relationships with your senior colleagues?

Give us an example of a situation where you had to deal with

a conflict with an internal or external client.

How do you influence people in situations where there are

conflicting agendas?

Tell us about a situation where you made a decision and then

changed your mind.

In many cases, the interviewers will start with a general questions,

which they will then follow up with a more specific example-based
questions. So, for example:

How do you manage upwards?

Give us an example of a situation where you had a

fundamental disagreement with one of your superiors.

The key in answering all questions is that you are required to

"demonstrate" that you have the right skills by using examples
based on your prior experience, and not just talk about the topic in a
theoretical and impersonal manner.
Click here for a comprehensive list of competency-based
interview questions.
How competency-based interview questions are marked
Before the interview, the interviewers will have determined which
type of answers would score positive points and which types of
answers would count against the candidates. For example, for
questions such as "Describe a time when you had to deal with
pressure", the positive and negative indicators may be as follows:

Positive indicators
Demonstrates a
positive approach
towards the problem.

Negative indicators
Perceives challenges as
problems
Attempts unsuccessfully

Considers the wider

need of the situation

Recognises his own

limitations

to deal with the situation

alone

Is able to compromise

Is willing to seek help

when necessary

Uses effective
strategies to deal with
pressure/stress

Used inappropriate
strategies to deal with
pressure/stress

In some cases, negative indicators are divided into two further

sections: minor negative indicators, i.e. those which are negative
but which dont matter so much; and decisive negative
indicators i.e. those for which they wont forgive you e.g. not asking
for help when needed.
Marks are then allocated depending on the extent to which the
candidate's answer matches those negative and positive indicators.
Here is an example of a marking schedule for the table above:
0
No evidence
No evidence reported
1

Poor

Little evidence of positive indicators.

Mostly negative indicators, many decisive

Areas for concern

Limited number of positive indicators.

Many negative indicators, one or more decisive.

Satisfactory

Satisfactory display of positive indicators.

Some negative indicators but none decisive.

4
Good to excellent
Strong display of positive indicators
If the interviewers feel that there are areas that you have failed to
address, they may help you along by probing appropriately. For
example, in answering the question above Describe an example of
a time when you had to deal with pressure, if you focussed on how
you dealt with the practical angle of the problem but you forgot to
discuss how you managed your stress during and after the event,
the interviewers may prompt you with a further question such
as How did you handle the stress at the time?. This would give
you an opportunity to present a full picture of your behaviour. This is
where the marking can become subjective. Indeed, if an interviewer
likes you, he may be more tempted to prompt you and push you
along than if he has bad vibes about you.