This document summarizes different types of employment interviews. It discusses structured vs unstructured interviews, situational vs behavioral interviews, stress vs depth interviews, and sequential vs panel vs group interviews. The key purposes of interviews are to verify application information, assess qualifications and characteristics, provide job information to candidates, establish rapport, and uniquely judge candidates' appearance, interactions, and potential job performance. Interviews remain one of the most widely used selection procedures.

1. INTERVIEW
SHAMIMA AKTER
B. SC IN OT, M. SC IN RS
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR,
DEPARTMENT OF OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY
BANGLADESH HEALTH PROFESSIONS INSTITUTE
CENTRE FOR THE REHABILITATION OF THE PARALYSED
CHAPAIN, SAVAR

2. INTERVIEW
 Employment interview is a selection procedure
designed to predict future job performance on
the basis of applicant’s oral responses to oral
inquiries.

3. In the selection process, interviews
serve the following purposes:
 To cross-check or verify the information obtained
in earlier steps, i.e. application blank and tests.
 To judge the candidate’s qualifications and
characteristics so as to find whether or not to
select him or her.
 To give a candidate essential facts about the
company and the job to enable him or her to
decide intelligently whether he or she should or
should not accept the employment.
 To establish a rapport or mutual understanding
between the company and the candidate and to
promote the company’s goodwill.

4. Continue...
 Finally, interview makes unique contributions to
the selection process in several ways:
 First, it is the only way to judge the candidate in
action-his or her looks, manners and bearing.
 Secondly, it is the only way to judge how the
candidate interacts and responds; and
 Thirdly, it is one of the best ways to predict the
candidate’s job performance.
 Thus, interview is by far the most widely used
personnel selection procedure.

5. TYPES OF INTERVIEW
Interviews can be classified in four ways
according to
(a) the structure of the interview,
(b) the content of the interview,
(c) the purpose of the interview, and
(d) the ways of administering the
interview.

6. Classification of Interviews
according to their Structure:
 Structured interview
 Unstructured interview

7. Unstructured interview
 In an unstructured interview, questions are not
planned in advance.
 There is no set format to follow, and the
interview can take various directions.
 Interviewees for the same job thus may or may
not be asked the same or similar questions,
and
 the interviews unstructured nature allows the
interviewer to asks questions based on the
candidate’s last statements and to pursue
points of interest as they come up in response
to questions.

8. Structured Interview
 In a structured interview, questions are
planned in advance and are asked of each
candidate in the same way.
 The only difference between interviews with
different candidates might be in the probes,
 or follow-up questions, if a candidate has not
answered a question fully.
 Interviews that feature structured questions
usually also provide structured rating scales
on which to evaluate applicants after the
interview.

9. Classification of Interviews
according to their Content:
1. Situational Interview
2. Behavioral interview

10. Situational interview
 A situational interview is one in which a series
of hypothetical job oriented questions focus on
the individual’s ability to project what his or her
behavior would be in a given situation.
 Actually, a committee of persons familiar with
the job develop situational questions based on
the actual job duties.
 They then reach consensus on what are or are
not acceptable answers to these questions.

11. Behavioural Interview
 In a behavioral interview, a situation is
described and interviewees are asked how
they have behaved in the past in such a
situation.
 Thus, while situational interviews ask
interviewers to describe how they would react
to a situation today or tomorrow, the behavioral
interviews ask interviewers to describe how
they did react to the situation in the past.

12. Classification of Interviews
according to their Purpose:
1. Stress interview
2. Depth interview

13. Stress interview
 In a stress interview, the applicant is made
uncomfortable by a series of often-rude
questions.
 Stress in induced by not allowing the candidate
to complete his or her answers or too many
questions are asked in quick succession.
 The interviewers show doubt on the validity of
answers, try to belittle, humiliate, question and
frustrate the applicant.
 The aim of such interview is supposedly to help
identify hypersensitive applicants and those
with low or high stress tolerance.

14. Depth Interview
 In a depth interview, details concerning one key
area are sought.
 It is designed to intensively examine the candidate’s
proficiency in his or her area of special interest.
 The purpose is to get a clear picture of the
candidate through deep probing into his or her
mind.
 Experts in the concerned area of knowledge ask
relevant questions so as to judge the candidate’s
capability in the area.

15. Classification of Interviews based on
how they are administered
1. Sequential Interview
2. Panel interview
3. Group interview

16. Classification of Interviews based on
how they are administered
1. Sequential Interview
2. Panel interview
3. Group interview

17. Sequential Interview
 The sequential interview means the applicant
is interviewed by several persons in sequence
before a selection decision is made.
 In an structured sequential interview, each
interviewer rates the candidate on a standard
evaluation form, and the ratings are compared
before the higher decision is made.

18. Panel Interview
 The panel interview means the candidate is
interviewed simultaneously by a group (panel)
of interviewers (rather than sequentially).
 This type of interview allows each interviewer
to pick up on the candidate’s answers, much
as reporters do in press conference.

19. Group interview
 In this type of interview, groups rather than
individuals are interviewed.
 Generally, a topic for discussion is given to the
group.
 Candidates are carefully observed as to who
will lead the discussion, how well they will
participate in the discussion, how each will
make his or her presentation, and how well
they will react to each other’s views.

20. CONCLUSION