Phone/Video & Group Interviews
The traditional interview format is an in-person, one-on-one meeting. However, under certain circumstances, your interviews may take different forms.
1. The Phone (or Video Conference) Interview
The Three Things You Must Communicate
A phone (or video conference) screening interview allows an employer to determine whether you are a potential realistic match for the position before devoting substantial time and resources to the interview process. You should prepare for your phone screen interview as carefully and thoroughly as you would for any face-to-face interview. Phone screen interviews are most common for in-house jobs at large corporations and are often conducted by Human Resources professionals or by hiring managers.
Most phone screen interviews by Human Resource professionals last between 10 and 30 minutes, while those by hiring managers may run a bit longer. The phone screen interviewer will have briefly reviewed your resume and will need to confirm three things on the call before deciding whether to invite you for an in-person interview:
You are articulate and socially skilled. The phone screen interviewer needs to hear that you can carry on a conversation, that you don’t ramble, that you can concisely and directly answer questions and that you are likeable and have an upbeat, pleasant personality. If the phone screen interviewer is the hiring manager, this is a great chance for you to develop rapport.
Your salary requirements align with the budgeted compensation for the position. When you are asked for your salary requirements (or, how much you earned in your last job), the purpose of this question is to ensure that the organization doesn’t waste its time interviewing someone whose salary expectation is beyond the range for the position. This is not a trick question, nor is this the time for you to try to start negotiating a higher salary. In all likelihood, the position’s salary range has been set, and, particularly in large organizations (e.g., government, academia, big corporations), the organization is unlikely to deviate much from that range because it could skew the established compensation scale for all employees. The best response you can give is to ask, “May I ask what the salary range is for the position?” or else to say, “I understand that the salaries for in-house (or government) positions are typically lower than at large firms, and I am prepared to be very flexible.”
You have enough of the skills required for the job to justify bringing you in for an in-person interview. Beware of being too literal, selling yourself short and defining your knowledge base and skill set too narrowly at this stage. If the phone interviewer is a Human Resources professional, that person’s mandate is to check a box to make sure that your skills meet the job’s general requirements. If you think, but are not 100% sure, that your knowledge and skills are sufficient for the job, the phone screen is not the place to explore that. Rather, your goal is to pass the phone screen and then explore the experience issue in more detail with the hiring manager or team leader during an in-person interview.
Preparation
Obviously, schedule the call for a time when you can be alone and in a quiet environment. When scheduling, make sure to give yourself ample time to prepare. During the interview, speak slowly and clearly. Ask the interviewer at the outset if he or she can hear you clearly, and invite that person to let you know if, at any point during the conversation, he or she experiences difficulty. Do more listening than talking, especially because you run the risk of talking over the interviewer when you cannot see when he or she is trying to speak. Finally, it’s a good practice to smile while you talk (even if you are not having a videoconference), as it will help you sound positive and upbeat.
A brief word of caution about video conference (Skype, FaceTime, etc.) interviews: Make sure to practice beforehand with a friend so you can determine the best place to sit and the best distance you should sit from your computer screen. You do not want the interviewer to be looking at an unflattering view of you or, even worse, unable to see you at all. Try to sit opposite a window for the best lighting, and make sure you have a clutter-free backdrop. You should dress for a video conference interview the same way you would for an in-person interview (and this means head-to-toe, in case you need to stand to adjust the camera).
At the end of the interview, ask what the next step is and if there is anything you can do to make the interviewer’s job easier.
2. The Group (or Panel) Interview
The group or panel interview is an efficient interview method for in-house positions at large organizations (e.g., companies, academia, government). This is especially true if a candidate comes to interview from out-of-town, or the organization is flying its own people in from other offices to conduct interviews.
The following tips can help you succeed in a panel interview situation:
Get names. When the interview starts, introduce yourself and shake hands with each interviewer. As soon as you sit down, ask for each interviewer’s business card and line the cards up in front of you, or write down the interviewers’ names according to where they are seated, so you can address them by name during the interview.
Sit in a good spot. Try to sit where you can make eye contact with as many members of the panel as possible.
Include everyone. When you talk, direct the beginning of your response to the person who asked the question, but then, as you continue, include the other panelists as well. Be careful not to ignore any member of the group.
Save one-on-one exchanges for later. Try to avoid having a long conversation with a single interviewer.
Understand everyone’s priorities. Realize that, while all of the interviewers are stakeholders in the same organization, they may well have different agendas, priorities and questions. In a large company, for example, the lawyers might care most about your subject matter expertise (so your hiring would create a balanced workload in their group), while some of the non-lawyers may care more about their ability to work with you, your ability to help their department’s bottom line, etc. Make sure to sell yourself appropriately to each stakeholder.
Don’t take it personally. If you notice panel members whispering, passing notes or signaling to each other, ignore it; these actions are likely business-related and have nothing to do with you. Along the same lines, don’t be surprised if some panel members have to leave the room at some point or are otherwise interrupted.
Answer everyone’s questions. If you are asked multiple questions at the same time, answer one question at a time, and feel free to ask the other questioners to repeat their questions when you are done.
Close any gaps. At the end of the interview, ask each panel member if there is anything else that he or she would like to know, and give each interviewer a chance to answer.
Smile and say thanks. When the interview is over, smile, thank everyone for their time and make sure to express your interest in working with them.