There are many types of interviews – how to win them all

Interviews are like snowflakes or family pie recipes. No two are exactly alike.

There are various forms of interviews and techniques that an employer can…employ. You can also learn a lot about a culture of a company and your potential managers by how they choose to interview you. It’s important to know and recognize different interviewing techniques so that you can answer and ask the appropriate questions and win the interview.

For purposes of this article, we will focus on face to face / in-person interviews. For more information on phone interviews and screenings, click here.

THE VANILLA INTERVIEW
This interviewing technique is the easiest and the easiest in terms of preparation. Usually the first question is: “Tell me about yourself.” It is then followed with “walk me through your resumé.” At some point you will also get the “strengths and weakness” question. Finally, you will be asked why you left your last job and given some other somewhat superficial or common questions.

The first thing that you can glean from this interview is that it is the first one, and there will be others if you advance. However, be warned that if the interviewer seems disinterested or bored, this might be an indication of an organization with high turnover.

The key to any interview, as I have mentioned before is he or she who asks the most questions wins. This type of an interview could lend itself for interrogation. Even if it just the first of several interviews, you can find out more about how the position came available and even if the job is worth pursuing by asking lots of questions.

I have found that in interviews some interviewers have even given me tips for talking to my subsequent interviewers. If you get a person talking about themselves, they will begin to endear themself to you and may even “root” for you in the hiring process. When you make someone talk about themselves and they feel important, then they want to be your friend. You are trying to get hired. You could use a friend!

THE PUZZLER INTERVIEW

There are several variations of this type of an interview. It can involve a skills assessment. I have even seen some involve solving riddles to test analytical skills. The most common, especially for programmers, is to be given a problem and told to write code to resolve it. Usually, you have some forewarning of this. In this case, the only way to win the interview is to do your best to solve the puzzle before you. This interview will probably not lend itself to asking a lot of questions.

THE LUNCH INTERVIEW
Congrats! You got a free meal out of the deal. If you aren’t serious about getting hired, order the most expensive thing on the menu. If you really want to push it, order a pitcher of beer…with only one glass…for yourself.

In all seriousness, order something simple. Don’t engorge yourself and for God’s sake remember the table manners your momma taught you!

There is an old wives’ tale that everyone’s grandmother told them about a lunch inteview. The story goes an interviewer will determine whether to hire someone based on how they eat their pie. If the interviewee eats the pie crust first, they will get the job because it demonstrates the ability to tackle the hardest and most unpleasant things first. Someone who does not bow down to the challenge of eating pie crusts. Surely, this is the true mark of a champion in all things. Or a load of horseshit. It’s fucking pie!

What if the interviewee likes pie crusts more than canned cherries? What if the interviewee is diabetic, or hates pie? I’m a cake man myself, so I guess I won’t get to work at this mythical pie in the sky company. If the job was at a pie factory, I guess you could tell that the company is really underperforming on their crusts if they consider eating them to be difficult. I would hope crust technology has come a long way since this urban legend came to be.

Bottom line: Any manager who is willing to make a hiring decision based on a piece of pie is batshit bananas crazy!

BEHAVIORAL INTERVIEWS
What would you do if…? In this setup you are going to placed into hypothetical scenarios to see how you would behave. You will be judged on your decision making and reactions. Again, this format may not allow itself so much for you to control the interview, but you can win points by answering thoughtfully and honestly. The biggest mistake people make in this situation is to answer too quickly or talk themselves into a corner. You can ask questions to get more information on whatever scenario is painted for you.

Remember what I said about asking questions? Just take your time and think through your response.

THE FIRING SQUAD INTERVIEW

This is an intimidating format. This usually involves sitting in a a long dark conference room. You are given a glass of water. There are multiple people in the room and they are going to rapid fire questions at you to see how you handle the pressure. You will want to get to a point where you can ask questions, although you may be not have much of an opportunity to do so. This format is much more common in a second interview. The philosophy of the employer is to hire by committee.

In my opinion, this is a little short-sighted. What is an important trait for one interviewer may be irrelevant to the direct manager or the department that the new hire will work in. Also, it is a terribly stressful environment to put someone into that few people can thrive. In a group setting like this with managers present, some interviewers may not be willing to talk as freely. It’s an awkward situation for them too.

There are variations on this of course, and they are often referred to as “stress” interviews. The idea is to push the interviewee to the point of having PTSD, Vietnam War flashbacks (even though they were born in the 90’s), childhood trauma or uncontrolled sobbing. The idea is to see how a person performs in a high stress environment. If that fits your tastes, then you may have found your perfect job. Personally, I prefer less stress in my life, but that’s just how I fly.

Stress interviews I think are the worst. However, the best type of interview is the….

GET PASSED AROUND LIKE A BONG AT A HIPPIE COMMUNE INTERVIEW
You get to talk to multiple people one on one. You have the best chance of finding out anything and everything about the organization. You can compare notes to see if the answers are consistent. “What is the culture here.” One person says “collaborative,” the other says “hand-off” the other says “controlled.” Whoa, which one is it here guys? There is something to hone in on. After all, you are interviewing the company as well!

And that is the key to any interview. Make yourself the interviewer. Pretend like you are a news reporter writing a feature story on the industry, the company, the position, the people, the culture and everyone you talk to. The more questions you are prepared to ask, the better your interview will go.

CONCLUSION

It is always best to ask lots of questions. Be prepared for any interview by being able to answer basic questions. See if you can find out the format of the interview beforehand. You can find out by asking in the original phone screening or communication scheduling the interview. The best interviews are with multiple people in an organization one on one because you can find out if it is a good fit for you and you have the opportunity to make more good impressions.