Individual interview, often referred to as a “personal interview”, this is the most common type of interview and is usually conducted face-to-face in company offices. Increasingly, organizations are using group interviews to quickly find the right candidate. In a group interview, several applicants are interviewed simultaneously. The size of the group will vary, but employers generally limit the number of interviewees to less than ten at a time.
From the employer's perspective, group interviews are a good way to identify team-oriented candidates. They can see how you interact with others, especially in stressful situations. From the job seeker's perspective, group interviews can seem like a call from the cattle: impersonal, superficial, and highly competitive. There's no doubt that it's a challenge to stand out when sharing a room with a handful of other hungry candidates.
Some organizations like to involve multiple staff members in the candidate selection process. To facilitate this, they conduct panel interviews, in which several people question a single candidate at the same time. Panel interviews are often the norm in organizations with rigid and highly structured hiring processes (such as government agencies) and for positions where the employer uses a selection committee to hire. They may ask you questions about the experience in your resume, what you can offer to the company or the position.
Many times the interviewer will ask you questions such as “Why would you be good for this job? or “Tell me about yourself. The individual interview is, by far, one of the most common types of job interviews. Statistically, a job interview with a 10% more challenging and innovative approach will generate 2.6% more employee satisfaction. This is probably the most common type of interview.
It focuses on reassuring the candidate and simply discussing the position with him. Don't hesitate to ask your recruiter what type of job interview will take place, as both you and the interviewer should know.
