Interview Types and Formats
Adapted from: Reile DM and
Nickols JL. Survival
Strategies for Your New Career. 2006; 31-32.
There are a variety of types and formats for interviews.
These vary depending on the position (job or residency) and organization (hospital, university, clinic, etc.).
Most interviews will fit into one of two types: initial
and hiring.
Initial or screening interviews are designed to
reduce the number of applicants for a position to
a few top candidates. The typical format is a one-on-one,
face-to-face interview although the group interview
is not uncommon. It may be as short as 20 minutes
to an hour or as long as a full morning or afternoon
for higher-level positions. The average residency or fellowship interview is about six hours.
Hiring interviews take place after applicants have
passed the initial interview stage. Hiring interviews
may be significantly more in-depth, in terms of both
time and job-related content. They often involve
more than one interviewer and you are likely to be
presented with questions about salary and benefits.
However, if the initial interview was lengthy, selection
may come in the form of an offer letter or a phone
call rather than a face-to-face meeting.
Formats for interviews vary and include not only
the typical individual interview but also telephone
interviews, serial interviews, and group interviews.
- If you expect to receive a phone interview, keep
your application materials and CV near the phone.
This will help you to refer to information quickly
during the interview.
- Serial interviews involve
meeting individually with several different
interviewers. The key here
is to pace yourself. It is understandable that
you will get tired and frustrated with answering
the
same questions over and over. However it is
not uncommon for the director or another senior
person
to be the
final interviewer, so you need to appear fresh
and interested (even when you don’t feel
that way).
- Group interviews can take at least two forms.
In the first format, you are interviewed by
several interviewers at the same time. Make sure
that you
make eye contact with each person during the
interview and pay attention to the group dynamics.
If you are interested in a residency or fellowship program that accepts several residencts, there will probably be other applicants interviewing with you on the same day. Some activities, such as lunch, the tour, and information sessions will be shared with other applicants. During the actual interviewing, you may be alone with one or more interviewers.
If you are interviewed with a group of other applicants,
make sure that you interact with the interviewers.
You don’t have to be aggressive and take control
of the interview, but you must not shrink back and
be quiet. You may not like the other applicants but
try not to let it show. It is quite possible that you will be working with some or all of these people next year. Part of your job may involve
working as a team; so you need to portray that you
can work well with others, even if you are in competition.
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