Interviewing is more formal than most other conversations as it has a pre-set purpose and uses a focused structure.
An interview is a purposeful conversation between two or more people that follows a basic question and answer format. Interviewing is more formal than most other conversations as it has a pre-set purpose and uses a focused structure. There are many kinds of interviews. The most common interview that we face is an employment interview.
Format of an Interview
Once the objective of an interview is established, the interviewer prepares an interview format. The basic format regardless of the interview’s purpose is divided in three stages:
Stage 1: Opening of Interview
In this stage, the person who is set to conduct an interview gives time to an interviewee to be comfortable.
Stage 2: Body of an Interview
In this stage, the interviewer asks the questions in an attempt to generate information and data that are required for the purpose.
Stage 3: Closing of an Interview
In this stage, an interviewer concludes the conversation by giving their final decision at the end of an interview.
Types of Questions in an Interview
Direct Question: These are explicit questions that require certain information. For example, Where did an interviewee last work?
Open ended Question: These types of questions are only specified to a particular topic. In such a question, an interviewer can include questions that do require an explanation and are not Yes/No based questions.
Close ended Question: These questions are Yes or No based questions. These do not ask for a long explanation.
Leading Question: It encourages a response in favor of a specific answer. An interviewer asks questions like, are you in favour or not?. Should it be done (specific topic) for or against.
Mirror Question: These questions intend to get a person to reflect on what he or she had said and expand on it.
How to Answer Questions in an Interview?
- In case you do not understand the question or you feel a language barrier, let an interviewer know and ask for clarification.
- Restate the question in your answer. It states that the question that has been asked conveys it once in the question. This helps maintain better communication.
- Answer one question at a time. Even if two questions are asked at the same time, answer it one by one. It will lead to clear communication and no clutter.
- Don’t set your hair or clothes in between. Maintain body language while answering the questions.
- Try to turn the negative questions into positive ones. It doesn’t mean that it is necessary to do so but if possible it should be done to the best extent possible.
