Interviews are one of the most used methods soft collecting data. They are convenient and versatile in many ways. There are many types of interviews; structured face-to-face, behavioral-based, group, telephones, and social interviews.
Structured face-to-face interviews involve the interviewer having a list of questions that he or she asks the correspondent. The interviews questions might be in a form of questionnaire. The interviewer may write down the answer or tape the answers. The interviewer can use the non-verbal cues to gather information. In addition, the interviewer can seek clarification on a real-time basis. However, it can be costly to undertakes and time consuming.
According to the University of Delaware (n.d), behavioral based interviews requires a person been asked to describe how he or she acted on certain situation. It is mostly used for job interviews to determine the capabilities of potential employees. The main assumption is that, one’s experiences ought to show his or her competencies. It is very comprehensive well utilized. However, main disadvantage is that it may not indicate the exact occurrence of the past experiences. It is subjective.
Group interviews involve a group of interviews at a go. In this case, the interviewer ask questions to the group and gives each candidate time to answer with the hope of the best emerging from the group. Its main advantage is that it helps saves time. However, it is not effective since it may disadvantage some of the candidates.
Phone interviews use a phone to undertake the interview. There is not physical contact between the interviewer and the interviewee. It is very convenient. However, it can be challenged by possible distractions, either poor connectivity or unexpected interpretation like other calls.
Social interviews take place in social gatherings. They do not have any formal setting. The interviewee and the interviewer meet in social gathering and interact on social levels. The social interviews may not indicate the real competencies of the person. However, they may show some critical pointers to the person’s personality.
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