The Latest Interview Trends

With the job market flooded with contenders, employers are becoming creative in picking the right person out of a sea of applicants. Interviews no longer consist of just sitting and firing off questions about experience and good qualities. Employers are using new tactics to determine the right person for the job. Check out these new trends in the interview arena.

Skype Interviews: Wonder about the person behind the resume? The quickest way to find out is a Skype interview. In today’s economy employers are using these video chats to interview someone without the cost of travel and time to bring them into the office. This is especially helpful if the person is out of town. It is also a useful way to narrow down the applicants without formal interviews.

Behavioral Questions: Gone are the days of asking people to name their best and worst qualities. Employers are asking for proof of how interviewees have conducted themselves in the past. These types of questions ask for examples, such as how they handled a customer complaint about a product or service. It gives the employer a look into the applicant’s thought processes, confidence, and ability to be articulate.

Situational Questions: The interviewer poses a hypothetical situation, and the applicant must describe what they would do. This can be used in almost any field for any job function and can be either specific or broad, depending on what the employer wants to derive from the questions. This tactic shows how quickly a person can think on their feet and how well-spoken they are when the answer is not rehearsed.

Speed interviewing: Lots of people to interview and not much time to do it? Try speed interviewing. Each applicant is given between one minute and fifteen minutes to sell themselves. Some companies do a circuit -- a series of very short interviews with several different people. The employers who use this style feel this is a good way to judge a person’s confidence, communication skills, and personality. It is also a quick way to narrow down the pool of hopefuls.

Project Interviews: Instead of having a possible new hire sit and answer questions, how about having them complete a project? Companies today are going this route to determine if the person is truly qualified to do the job by actually having them do it. It could be creating a marketing campaign, making project boards for a kitchen remodel, writing a mock proposal, or designing a webpage. Having a project to determine an applicant’s abilities is one way to tell if the applicant is really cut out for the job. Do understand that many companies are paying applicants for their time. Even though the pay may be way below market value, this interview method is not the cheapest route to find a new employee.

Keep in mind that many companies have not abandoned the traditional interview format just yet. Also, preparing carefully, looking your best, and giving well thought out and confident answers still go a long way in an interview, no matter what the interview style.