Bedfordshire County Workforce Group
Interviews: Types of Interviews
Telephone interviews
Formal
These can often used as part of the selection process for jobs within the
customer service/telesales area. The company will advise you of the time the
interview will take place. You will usually be asked a series of structured
questions and perhaps asked to undertake a role-play situation on the telephone.
Prepare for a telephone interview in exactly the same way as you would for a
face-to-face interview but don’t be tempted to surround yourself with pages of
notes. The interviewer will hear you rustling through the pages and will be able to
tell if you are reading from a script. Make sure you sound interested and
enthusiastic and smile – you’re on the phone!
Informal
These occur when the organisation rings you up unannounced to “have a chat”
or to ask you to clarify something on your application form. You can ask if you
can call them back in a couple of minutes when you have had time to sort
yourself out and do some quick preparation. If a job advertisement invites you to
“ring for further details or for an informal chat” BEWARE, they could be using this
as an opportunity to carry out a screening interview, so be prepared! Have a
copy of your CV at hand and a copy of the job ad. Be ready to explain why the
job interests you and what you can offer in relation to what they are looking for.
One to one interviews
These are more common in smaller organisations. With only one person involved it is
important to try and develop rapport with that person.
A variation is the sequential interview which you could encounter in larger
organisations. This involves a series of 1 to 1 interviews with different interviewers.
Sometimes the interviewers will cover similar ground. Don’t sound bored if you are
asked the same question more than once.
Panel interviews
These interviews are common in larger companies, the public sector, education and
some charities. The panel usually consists of people who have a shared interest in
recruiting a successful candidate. In order to ensure fairness and consistency each
panel member will ask each candidate the same questions in the same order. The
“chair” of the panel will normally introduce and direct the proceedings.
The following considerations apply to a panel interview:
 All candidates are normally interviewed on the same day
 It tends to be a formal occasion
 There is usually a Chairperson
 A decision is normally made on the same day
 Panel members are normally each responsible for one aspect of the
application
Key points are:
Email: careers@beds.ac.uk
Email: careers@herts.ac.uk
Website: www.beds.ac.uk/studentlife/careers
Website: www.go.herts.ac.uk/careers-and-placements
Bedfordshire County Workforce Group
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Make eye contact with all members and give them equal attention – don’t
make assumptions about who is important
Don’t let being outnumbered cause you to rush your answers – don’t panic if
you feel you have not established a level of rapport you are comfortable with
…keep going
Email: careers@beds.ac.uk
Email: careers@herts.ac.uk
Website: www.beds.ac.uk/studentlife/careers
Website: www.go.herts.ac.uk/careers-and-placements