Discover Different Interview Types
Learning Objectives
After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:
- Define different types of interviews.
- Understand how preparation and interaction in these interviews differ from an in-person interview.
Up until now, you’ve learned about preparation and etiquette for in-person interviews. There are many more types of interviews beyond that. In this unit, the Leeds School of Business outlines these and the specific things you can do to approach them.
The Phone Interview
Many organizations conduct a phone interview before inviting a candidate for an in-person interview. The conversation could be used as a screening tool, or it can be the primary interview. Sometimes, you won’t know until the phone call gets started. Surprise!
Not to worry. Phone interviews tend to be shorter versions of the in-person interview. So follow the preparation steps in this module to give yourself ample practice.
Tips & Tricks for Phone Interviews
- Politely decline an unscheduled phone interview.
- You may receive the call as you’re getting ready to attend a meeting or class, or while you’re at a busy store. Politely explain to the interviewer that you won’t be able to give the call the attention it deserves and schedule a time you can talk without distractions. This also gives you extra time to prepare!
- Have the job description, your resume, and your cover letter in front of you for reference.
- You can also make yourself a cheat sheet with information about the organization and questions you’d like to ask.
- At the end of the call, ask for the interviewer’s full name and email address so you can send a thank you note and follow up.
The Video Interview
The video interview is very similar to the in-person interview. There’s just a screen between you and the interviewer. However, there are some reminders and differences to keep in mind.
Tips & Tricks for Video Interviews
- The active engagement principles described in the previous unit are just as important in video interviews.
- Eye contact—try to avoid looking directly at the interviewer(s) on the screen when you are speaking. In the case of a video interview, you are actually looking away from the interviewer. Instead, try to look at the camera lens to mimic the effect of in-person eye contact.
- Technical difficulties happen. Make sure you’re in a well-lit area. Make sure your Internet is connected and working. Test your equipment before the call. Before the interview starts, ask the interviewer for a phone number you can call if you get disconnected.
Case Interviews
Case interviews are common for consulting roles. In a case interview, the interviewer usually presents a scenario or problem—the “case”—and asks specific questions on how you would address its challenge(s).
The interviewer wants to see how you work through a problem from start to finish. Typically, you know in advance if you are participating in a full case interview, but you do not know which questions or scenarios you are working with.
An employer can also ask you a case interview style question in addition to more traditional questions.
Case interviews usually focus on these types of questions.
| Type | Example |
|---|---|
| Market Sizing |
How many square feet of pizza do University of Colorado students eat each year? |
| Profitability |
Your client wants to know why its subsidiary is experiencing a decline in profits even though sales continue to increase. |
| Pricing |
Your objective is to advise the client regarding whether they should attempt to commercialize their new product or not. The client is particularly interested in how you would price the product and what the anticipated profitability in year 1 would be. |
| Investment Decisions |
Your client, a global pharmaceutical company, is thinking of acquiring another pharmaceutical company in another geographic market. Should they? |
| Industry Analysis |
Your client is an operator of 20 restaurants in a midsize city. Currently, it serves only lunch and dinner. It is thinking of expanding its offerings to include breakfast as well. What would you advise your client to do? |
| New Products |
A beverage company is a top three producer of soda beverages. It is thinking of launching a new product (flavored bottled water). What are the key risk factors and should the company launch? |
| Market Expansion |
A small drug manufacturer is considering expanding into Poland, Spain, and France, specifically. Which country should it expand into, and what is the criteria for choosing a country? |
Tips & Tricks for the Case Interview
- Take notes when the case is being presented to you.
- Ask questions. You may not be given all of the relevant facts because the interviewer wants to see if you’ll ask for them.
- Take your time and don't rush to a conclusion. Sometimes, you are not expected to produce the “correct” answer. Instead, the interviewer wants to see how you would reason through the problem in order to come to a conclusion.
- Think out loud. Explain your thought process and how each piece fits into the puzzle.
Recorded Interviews
Recorded, or one-way interviews, sound just like what they are—interviews where you record your response to a question. Rather than speaking to someone face-to-face, over the phone, or through video, you send your recording in to the company for review.
In this type of interview, you log in to a recording platform either at a specific time or before a deadline. The system prompts you with questions that you answer in a recorded video format. Generally, you are given a minute or two to read the question and prepare, then you have a specific amount of time to record your answer.
Preparation is similar to an in-person interview.
Tips & Tricks for the Recorded Interview
- If the platform allows a practice round, take advantage!
- Make sure you know how to start and stop the recording and get familiar with the interface. This is also a great time to get proper lighting and a flattering camera angle.
- Look at your device’s camera when you’re speaking instead of at the screen.
- Cover the video playback of yourself with a piece of paper to remove the distraction.
- All in-person interview etiquette still applies.
- You won’t be interacting with an actual human, but pretend like you are. Pay special attention to your body language, tone, speed, and pitch.
