What is an interview?
An interview is an exchange of ideas or opinions through a conversation that takes place between two or more people. All the people present in an interview talk about a certain question.
Within an interview two roles can be distinguished:
Interviewer. It fulfills the function of directing the interview and raises the topic to be discussed by asking questions. At the same time, it begins and closes the interview.
Interviewed. It is someone who voluntarily exposes himself to the questioning of the interviewer.
There are job, journalistic or clinical interviews. They are all reciprocal, that is, in it the interviewer poses a structured questioning or a completely free conversation with the interviewee.
Its purpose is to collect certain information or opinion. As a guide, the interviewer usually uses a form or outline with questions
Types of interviews
Structured interview
A formal and structured interview is characterized by being raised in a standardized way; In it, questions are asked that were previously thought out and that are addressed to a particular interviewee who specifically answers what is being asked.
For this reason, the interviewer has limited freedom when formulating the questions, since these cannot arise from the interview itself, but from a questionnaire carried out beforeh
Its advantages are:
- The information is easy to interpret, which favors comparative analysis.
- The interviewer does not require much experience in the technique, since he follows the schedule of questions.
Its disadvantages can be:
This technique has limitations when it comes to delving into a topic that arises in the interview, since it follows a predetermined questionnaire, which does not allow the dialogue to flow naturally.
Unstructured and free interview
Unlike the structured interview, an unstructured interview is flexible and open since, although there is a research objective that governs the questions, the answers are not expected to have a certain depth or ordered content.
In this type of interview, the interviewer is in charge of formulating questions but (unlike the formal interview) they do not have to follow a schedule on how to take the questions and their formulation.
Many times spontaneity and modern journalism lead to free dialogue generating topics for debate that arise as the talk flows.
Its advantages are:
- Being adaptable and free, a pleasant climate is achieved that enables the deepening of topics of interest.
- It allows the cross-question if the interviewee mentioned any topic of interest.
Its disadvantages are:
As the topics tend to expand, it is more expensive to carry out due to the time spent by the interviewer.
A great technique and information on the subject to be treated is required in order to have arguments and opinions that allow deepening and dialogue.
Within this type of interview we find the following subdivision:
Depth interview
Focused Interview.
job interviews
In many cases, before accessing a job, interviews are usually held to meet the applicant and find out if they have the skills required for the position.
Normally, before agreeing to a job interview, some preliminary steps are requested, such as the delivery of letters of recommendation or the curriculum vitae. In this type of interview, the person requesting the job and a representative of the company or institution to which they wish to access usually intervene.
The job interview can be structured, when a series of questions are asked that must be answered; or unstructured, when it is a dialogue between the interviewer and the interviewee in a more fluid or natural way. However, in general it is usually mixed, that is, the interviewee answers certain predetermined questions, but in turn open questions are asked, without an established order.
Job interviews can be individual or group (when several applicants are interviewed simultaneously). There are also panel-type interviews, in which there are several interviewers for an applicant.
journalistic interviews
Journalistic interviews are used as a testimonial means to give credibility to a certain report or analysis. They are often used as an introduction to a topic or as material for research or a specific analysis.
These interviews can be previously scheduled or can arise unexpectedly (these are widely used in police, political and sports journalism).
There are different types of genres of this kind of interviews:
interpretive interviews. Type of interview in which the interviewer is knowledgeable about the topic of discussion and the interviewer's questions are both informative and interpretive.
clinical interviews
Clinical interviews are those that take place between a professional and a patient. Its objective is to obtain a notion of the problems or pathologies suffered by the patient. In them the doctor or therapist asks certain questions and gives the patient indications or clarifications.
This type of interview attempts to build a certain relationship between the doctor and the patient, always relying on confidence and trust as the basis of this bond.
These interviews are usually short and to the point, but the professional asking the questions must take into account human warmth and sensitivity. In this way, the patient will feel comfortable and continue with their medical visits uninterrupted. Generally, they are usually planned meetings.
What is the importance of communication in an interview: possible scenarios
In these interviews I have found the following scenarios:
The candidate does not let the question finish
The candidate does not listen to the question
If the candidate does not understand the question, he does not ask the interviewer to repeat it.
But what is the result, when this occurs?
The candidate answers what is not
It extends and does not specify
He goes around the bush and does not answer what was asked
Loses attention, is scattered
Normally when this happens, I try to interrupt in a respectful way and focus the candidate, for example, “I am asking you about this particular topic, I would like you to tell me in a timely manner…”. But it has also happened to me, that the person does not follow the instruction, and continues with his extensive narration.
When this occurs in the interview, the following hypotheses can be generated by the evaluator:
If you are not concrete in your communication, you can be scattered in order to achieve the objectives
May have difficulty relating to people who are concrete and result-oriented
If you are not concrete in your communication, you may lack planning and organization (You do not know how to prioritize your ideas)
Importance of the interview: objective and preparation
The main objective of a job interview is to efficiently convey the strengths of the candidate and minimize his weaknesses. This job interview can last a few minutes, time which the candidate must manage very well to get the job. A bad presentation, an inappropriate word, a wrong data in the resume can be determining factors during the interview.
In our culture, people who talk a lot and have that ease of fluency have been considered to have good communication, which is not true. Definitely less is more, in good communication active listening is essential.
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