Interview styles : Your preparation guide

Interviews are your key to landing a job, and understanding their varied styles is crucial. Knowing what to expect and how to prepare can significantly boost your confidence and performance.

1. The Behavioural Interview: Past Actions, Future Success

What it is: Questions like "Tell me about a time when..." focus on your past behaviour to predict how you'll perform. 

How to prepare: Master the STAR Method (Situation, Task, Action, Result). Prepare 5-7 strong, quantified examples from your experience for common competencies.

2. The Situational Interview: What Would You Do?

What it is: These present hypothetical scenarios ("What would you do if...?"), testing your problem-solving and decision-making. 

How to prepare: Think logically. Structure your answer by outlining your steps and explaining your reasoning. Show how you'd approach the problem, aligning with company values.

3. The Technical Interview: Proving Your Prowess

What it is: Common in IT, engineering, or science, these assess your specific knowledge. Expect coding challenges, system design, or in-depth project discussions. 

How to prepare: Brush up on fundamentals (algorithms, languages). Practice problem-solving and be ready to talk through your thought process step-by-step.

4. The Panel Interview: Engaging Multiple Stakeholders

What it is: Multiple interviewers assess you simultaneously, often from different departments. 

How to prepare: If possible, research each panellist. Engage everyone by making eye contact and addressing the whole group as you answer. Listen carefully to each question.

5. The Group Interview: Collaborative Dynamics in Action

What it is: You and other candidates are interviewed together, often with discussions or exercises. It assesses teamwork and communication. 

How to prepare: Be a team player: listen actively, contribute thoughtfully, and avoid dominating. Show leadership appropriately, and maintain positive body language.

6. The Virtual/Video Interview: A Digital Edge

What it is: Conducted via video platforms (Zoom, Teams, etc.), either live or pre-recorded. 

How to prepare: Technical check is key: test your internet, mic, and camera. Set up a professional, tidy, and well-lit background. Maintain eye contact with your camera.

7. The Unstructured Interview: Communication skills & adaptability

What it is: A conversational interview, chat, or informal screen is characterized by its unstructured and spontaneous nature and feels more like a natural conversation. The interviewer might jump between topics, follow tangents, or simply let the discussion unfold organically based on your responses.

How to prepare: Know your story: be able to articulate your career choices, your motivation, what drives you and what interests you in the role and company. Let your personality shine.

8. The structured Interview: Precision, relevance & impact

What it is: A standardized and systematic approach to assessing job candidates whereby every aspect of a the interview is consistent across all candidates for a specific role. This is often seen as being fairer, less biased and more efficient.

How to prepare: Deconstruct the job description: articulate how your experience matches the role, prepare examples and impactful stories with quantifiable results, and give concise answers.

Your Golden Rule: Regardless of the style, thorough research into the company and role is non-negotiable. Practice, adapt, and engage authentically. Good luck!