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Author: Victoria Cohen
Choosing the right interview format provides a comprehensive, fair evaluation of candidates. While interview procedures vary from company to company, determine which interview styles are best suited for your organization, industry, and job opening.
If your organization uses multiple rounds of interviews, using a variety of these 5 main interview styles below will optimize your chances of identifying top-talent candidates to hire for your open role.
Phone and video interviews are the best options for a pre-screen interview. With a 20-30 minute virtual interview, identify any major disqualifiers and create a shortlist of which applicants best fit the qualifications for the role.
Pros: Time-efficient, Easy to schedule, Speeds up recruitment process
Cons: Potential for technical or wifi issues, Difficult to evaluate non-verbals such as body language
Being in person, these are best suited once you have already evaluated that their skills and experiences prove to be fitting for the role. It’s best to keep one-on-ones to under 60-90 minutes maximum – use this time efficiently to learn about them, their professional background, and what interests and excites them about this role at your company. Provide an opportunity at the end to allow the candidate to ask any clarifying questions about the role and your company.
Pros: Opportunity to dig deeper and get to know them, Evaluate non-verbals like body language
Cons: Individual biases could affect the decision, Requires more preparation and a trained interviewer, Potential interview fatigue
This interview takes place between the candidate and 2 or more leaders from the company involved in the hiring decision. This will allow you to make a fair judgement of the candidate by evaluating the candidate from multiple perspectives. Panel interviews also show how they interact with your team members. Make sure to provide a professional summary of the candidate to panelists prior to the interview so that they are prepared to ask the right questions that are relevant to the candidate.
Pros: Interviewers can compare and contrast their impression of the candidate
Saves time and reduces excess interviews by having all decision makers meet at once
Cons: May be overwhelming for candidates, Requires more planning to schedule
This method is best-suited for large-volume roles or entry-level positions and takes place between a group of applicants and the hiring manager at the same time. While this method is time-efficient, it can be nerve-wrecking for candidates and can make it challenging to evaluate them individually.
Pros: Time-efficient, Allows you to see how the candidates interact in a group setting
Cons: Introverted yet qualified candidates may get overlooked or misrepresented
This interview method is a great way to evaluate the skills and creativity of the candidate. Give them a task or project related to the role that they are applying for and evaluate their work ethic and problem-solving abilities.
Pros: Allows you to evaluate their skills, punctuality, and problem-solving skills in real life
Cons: If the task is too-demanding or time-consuming, candidates may lose interest in the job opportunity