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interview types

Arm yourself with answers

Every interviewer is different. Some are as nervous as you are, some are looking to trip you up with a curve ball or two. But for the most part, you can boil down interview types to one of two scenarios. Learn more below.

Informal (Unstructured) interview

In this interview the interviewer just ‘goes with the flow’ and asks whatever they feel like at the time. The interviewer will usually make a decision based on whether they like you and see you fitting in rather than on ability and competencies.
Focus here on building a relationship with the interviewer. Often you’ll get loads of info about the business before they ask a single question. Stay sharp and use this as an opportunity to show your interest by listening actively and thinking of questions you can ask later in the interview.

Questions might be:

So, tell me all about yourself
What do you think of the role on offer?
How much do you know about us?
Didn’t you used to work with Fred Smith? What did you think of him?
What’s been your favourite campaign to work on?
This must have been a nightmare account to work on yeah?
Marathon runner eh? What’s that about?
You worked at XYZ Agency? Might put you out of our league!

The key to dealing with these well is not to be thrown. Just smile, take a deep breath and smooth over any rough edges. With many answers there is an opportunity to take more control of the questions and bat them back to your interviewer – this must always be done with charm however! See some sample Q & As here.

NEXT: Competency-based interviews

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