Job Interview - Definition, Importance & Types

Published in Human Resources Terms by MBA Skool Team

What is Job Interview?

Job interview is a face-to-face interaction between a company recruiter & a candidate who is being evaluated for a job. Job interview is a process of asking questions about the candidate's education, work experience, background, skills & knowledge. Such an interaction enables the recruiter to evaluate the candidate & see if he or she is suited for the job.

 

Importance of Job Interview

Whenever companies want to hire new employees, they want to ensure they onboard the best talent. As a part of the recruitment process, a lot of candidates apply for a job & many are shortlisted for a discussion. The discussion between a company recruiter & the candidate is known as a job interview. Through a job interview, a recruiter can get to know the candidate better in terms of his or her personality, knowledge, skills, experiences, skills etc. Post an interview discussion, the recruiter is in a position to take a sound decision about the candidate.

Job Interview

Job Interview Assessments

The basic objective of an interview is to test, evaluate & assess a candidate for a particular job profile. Some of the key traits which interviewers look to evaluate in a candidate are:

1. Personal traits: these general traits include overall personality, mental ability, command over language, confidence etc.

2. Experiential traits: job interview helps understanding the real life experience a candidate has had from his past job & education in terms of decision making, leadership, strengths, weaknesses etc.

3. Core skills: an interviewer seeks to evaluate the core skills, knowledge & abilities which an employee must possess to perform the job.

All these elements or traits are assessed as a part of the job interview process.


Types of Job Interviews

Depending upon the situation, there are different ways in which a job interview can be conducted. Some methods are-

1. Structured

2. Unstructured

3. Competency based

4. Team or Group

5. Stress interview

6. Situational

7. Behavioral interview

8. Observation

These interviews are detailed conversations with the objective of knowing the candidates well & evaluating them for the desired job profile.

Hence, this concludes the definition of Job Interview along with its overview.

This article has been researched & authored by the Business Concepts Team. It has been reviewed & published by the MBA Skool Team. The content on MBA Skool has been created for educational & academic purpose only.

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