The dictionary defines an interview as a face-to-face meeting for the purposes of consultation. In other words, it is a discussion between two or more people for one reason or another. Organisations, companies and institutions use this method of meeting and discussion to help them choose the best candidates to employ. By far the biggest cost to an employer is the staff or workforce. Wages and salaries often make up 70 per cent or more of a business’ total costs and the price of advertising for new staff is high.
Apart from being expensive, making mistakes in recruitment can cause major problems. As well as being awful for the person concerned, a worker who is unhappy or unable to do their job properly can be a great burden, and if conflicts develop they could destabilize the whole team and may ultimately jeopardize the output or function of the entire organisation. Obviously decisions about who to employ have to be taken very seriously.
It is therefore not surprising that employers spend a great deal of time and money trying to ensure that they pick the right person for each job. In this context, the right person means the individual who will contribute most to the good of the company or organisation and who will repay the time and money invested in them as an employee by staying with the company and performing well.
Types of interview
Interviews come in many shapes and sizes depending on their function. Most interviews are for the purpose of selecting someone for a job vacancy. The employer, senior managers or human resources (often abbreviated to HR) staff will meet with possible candidates, ask them a series of interview questions and then decide which person to offer the job to. Not all interviews are to do with applying for jobs though. For example, you may be interviewed to become a college student or to secure a place on a training course, to start voluntary work or to join a social club or society.
Starting a new job does not necessarily mean that you have done your last interview for a while either. Many of us will be frequently interviewed once we are in a job, or studying on a course, by our supervisors, managers or tutors. These interviews can have a variety of purposes: to appraise or review our progress; to monitor our performance in the job; to consider specific projects; to help us plan our future development; to resolve work or study problems and sometimes for mediation or disciplinary matters if work difficulties persist. Your ability to perform at these kinds of interviews once in a job can be a significant factor in your future career development.
Your profile with your managers and your reputation in the organisation can be affected by the way you handle all your interview experiences. Every event from regular work or team reviews to personal development planning and performance appraisals is a form of interview and needs your effective participation to make it a success.
What these different types of interview have in common is the need for you to put yourself across clearly, by showing your unique contribution to the team effort as well as your individual skills and strengths. You need to know how to plan ahead for every type of interview, how to prepare adequately for them all and come over at your best from start to finish.
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