Job Interview

Definition

A job interview is part of the selection process used by potential employers, and sometimes recruiters, to evaluate the suitability of a job applicant to fill an opening in an organization.  The job interview allows the employer's interview team to discuss with the applicant their qualifications for the job opening before making a decision to offer employment.

Explanation

Conducting an in-person job interview is a time-intensive approach to screening applicants.  For this reason, several types of interview techniques have been developed to accommodate both the types of questions that might be asked, and to save time when screening applicants for a particular job opening.

Some of the more common types of job interviews include:

• Screening Interview:  a high-level question and answer session with a recruiter or a member of a company's human resources department.
• Phone Interview:  a type of screening interview held over the telephone.
• Panel Interview:  an in-depth question and answer session conducted with several members of the hiring company at the same time.
• Situational Interview:  an interviewing technique that asks the applicant to explain how they handled certain workplace scenarios in the past.
• Stress Interviews:  a meeting where the job applicant is unknowingly placed in a stressful environment.  The interview team would note how effectively the job applicant dealt with the situation.
• Exit Interview:  unlike the previously mentioned interviews that involve job candidates, this interview is conducted with existing employees that have chosen to leave a company.

Related Terms

screening interview, phone interview, panel interview, situational interview, stress interview, exit interview, case interview, elevator speech, illegal interview questions, open interview