Types of Interviews: A Complete Guide to Interview Methods, Formats, and Structures

TL;DR

• Type, format, and structure are different choices. Type is what the interview assesses and who attends, format is where and how it happens, and structure is how standardized it is.
• Selection interviews vary by participants and content. Screening, individual, panel, round-robin, and group interviews differ by who attends; situational, behavioral, competency-based, and stress interviews differ by what they measure.
• Not every interview is for hiring. Informational, stay, and exit interviews gather career, retention, and turnover insight across the employee lifecycle.
• Format affects fairness. Keeping the format consistent from candidate to candidate is important for structured, comparable evaluation.
• Structure exists on a spectrum. Structured interviews score highest for reliability and validity; unstructured interviews carry the most risk of bias.
• Probing questions surface genuine answers. Open-ended follow-ups draw out spontaneous detail beyond rehearsed STAR, PAR, BAR, or CAR responses.

There are dozens of types of interviews, and most fall into one of three lenses: the type of interview (who takes part and what it assesses), the format (where and how it happens), and the structure (how standardized it is). VidCruiter builds video interviewing software that helps hiring teams run any of these consistently across every candidate. Choosing the right combination for each stage improves the quality of your hiring decisions and gives candidates a fair, comparable experience. This guide covers the full range, from screening and panel interviews to competency-based, stay, exit, and stress interviews.

What Is a Job Interview?

A job interview is an assessment, usually a series of questions, that helps an employer decide whether an applicant has the skills, competencies, and knowledge a role requires. According to the US Office of Personnel Management, the employment interview is the most widely used method of assessing job applicants.

A recruitment interview collects candidate data to support the hiring decision. During the interview, the interviewer takes notes or rates the candidate using a scorecard or rating guide. A hiring manager, recruiter, or HR professional usually oversees the process, and many organizations manage the workflow inside an applicant tracking system.

Three separate decisions shape every interview:

• Type is what kind of interview it is and who takes part.
• Format is where and when it happens.
• Structure is how standardized the questions and scoring are.

What Are the Main Types of Interviews?

The main types of interviews divide into selection interviews used to hire and lifecycle interviews used to understand employees and careers. A single hiring process often combines several types, which is why two teams in the same organization can interview very differently.

Selection interviews are grouped two ways. Some are defined by who attends, such as screening, individual, panel, round-robin, and group interviews. Others are defined by what they assess, such as situational, behavioral, competency-based, and stress interviews.

Beyond selection, three interview types serve different goals. An informational interview helps a job seeker research a career. A stay interview helps a manager retain a current employee. An exit interview helps an organization learn why someone is leaving. The sections below define each one and explain when to use it.

How Are Interviews Grouped by Who Takes Part?

These interview types are distinguished by the number of interviewers and where they sit in the hiring process. They are the most common structural building blocks of a hiring stage.

What’s a Screening Interview?

A screening interview is a short interview that checks whether an applicant has the basic competencies a role requires. Also called an intake or first-round interview, it is the first filtering step, narrowing the applicant pool so only qualified people advance. Phone screening is common, but live and pre-recorded video screening interviews are increasingly used for hybrid and remote roles. Synchronous screens are usually run one-on-one to save time.

What Is an Individual Interview?

An individual interview, also called a one-on-one interview, takes place between one interviewer and one candidate and usually lasts 30 minutes to an hour. It can happen in person, by video, or by phone, and tends to feel more relaxed than a panel because there are no group dynamics to manage. This format suits entry-level hiring and roles where the candidate would report directly to the interviewer. According to CBS News, one-on-one interviews offer a less intimidating setting and occupy only one interviewer at a time.

What’s a Panel Interview?

A panel interview is when several people interview a single candidate at the same time. Panels bring diverse perspectives into the room, can test any selection criterion, and help mitigate the impact of bias by combining multiple independent assessments. They are also efficient, replacing several one-on-one steps and improving the candidate experience by saving everyone time.

What Is a Round-Robin Interview?

A round-robin interview is when candidates for one role meet several interviewers in sequence on the same day, moving from one interviewer to the next. It assesses many candidates in a compressed window, especially when paired with a structured style and a automated interview guide. The main drawback is a long day for interviewers. It is common at hiring events and in higher-education programs such as medical residency placements.

What is a Group interview?

A group interview brings several candidates into one room, physical or virtual, with one or more interviewers. It is used in high-volume hiring once a pool of qualified candidates is identified. The advantage is seeing how applicants handle themselves interpersonally among potential peers.

How Are Interviews Grouped by What They Assess?

These interview types use specific question styles to reveal how a candidate thinks, behaves, or performs. Most hiring processes mix elements of several to build a fuller picture.

What Is a Situational Interview?

A situational interview asks how a candidate would act in hypothetical future scenarios. The assessment is based on the candidate's described approach rather than past events, which makes it feel similar to a job simulation. A typical question is: "A teammate consistently misses deadlines on your project. How would you address it?"

What Is a Behavioral Interview?

A behavioral interview, or behavior-based interview, asks how a candidate acted in the past to predict future performance. It drills into real examples of when the candidate used specific skills. A typical prompt is: "Describe a time you managed several priorities at once. How did you decide what came first?"

What Are Competency-Based Interviews?

Competency-based interviews ask candidates to share past experiences so interviewers can rate them against the competencies a role requires. Personal competency is the combination of a person's skills, knowledge, attributes, and judgment, and the candidate's answer is scored on the reasoning behind their actions. The method works from the idea that how someone solved a past problem indicates how they will behave in a similar situation again. To stay accurate, the interview should be informed by a job analysis so the competencies assessed correlate with the role.

Competencies hiring managers commonly look for include leadership, teamwork, communication, decision-making, problem-solving, time management, flexibility, and integrity. These interviews are especially useful for spotting leadership potential and assessing soft skills such as critical thinking. Criterion-based interview and behavioral-based interview are often used as synonyms. Sample questions include:

• Describe a time you contributed positively to a team.
• Tell me about a task that seemed nearly impossible to complete.
• Explain how you handled conflict with a coworker.

What Is a Stress Interview?

A stress interview deliberately puts a candidate under tension to see how they respond under pressure in real time. Where a behavioral interview asks about past behavior, this approach observes behavior as it happens. It is unusual for most roles and is typically reserved for high-pressure work such as law enforcement, emergency services, the military, aviation, hospitality, and sales. Common tactics include feigned disinterest, forceful or arbitrary questions ("Why were you let go from your last job?"), and brainteasers with no clear answer. Used carelessly, these tactics risk damaging the candidate experience, so weigh them against the demands of the actual job.

What Are Skill and Task-Based Interviews?

Skill-based interviews evaluate technical ability against the requirements of the role. A job simulation, or working interview, asks candidates to complete tasks they would do on the job, which predicts performance well according to a 1998 article in Psychological Bulletin. A case interview presents a business scenario to solve and is common in consulting and finance. A technical interview, run by a subject-matter expert, assesses depth of industry knowledge and can run 90 minutes or longer (Indeed).

What Is an Informational Interview?

An informational interview is a casual conversation between a job seeker and someone working in a field or organization that interests them. It is not a job interview: the goal is for the job seeker to gather information about a career path, not to sell their qualifications. People often request these with employees, professors, or contacts found through LinkedIn.

The process usually follows six steps:

1. Research career fields online.
2. Identify people who work in the field of interest.
3. Prepare specific questions in advance.
4. Reach out by email or a LinkedIn message.
5. Conduct the interview professionally, respecting the agreed time limit.
6. Follow up with a thank-you note, ideally within two days, and keep notes.

Typical open-ended questions include "How did you get your start in this industry?" and "How would you describe your organization's culture?" An informational interview can also serve as a follow-up conversation with an employer after an offer but before the candidate decides.

What Is a Stay Interview?

A stay interview is a conversation between a manager and a current employee, often a top performer, about why they choose to stay, what growth they want, and what could improve their work experience. Unlike an exit interview, it happens while the employee is still with the organization, so the insight can still change the outcome. As Kevin Kruse, founder of LEADx, puts it, the goal is to understand what it would take to keep existing talent longer.

These conversations tend to be less stressful than anonymous feedback forms and encourage candid responses about team dynamics, management, and culture. To run one well, prepare and set a comfortable tone, open with broad questions, then move to specific ones, listen actively, and ask directly about what keeps the person engaged.

Effective questions to ask include:

• What do you enjoy most about working here?
• What keeps you motivated and engaged in your role?
• What could we do differently to make you want to stay long-term?
• Where do you see your career going in the next one to two years, and how can we support that?

Stay interviews fare best when they are semi-structured, balancing guided questions with open discussion, and they work best when run regularly by a direct manager with strong rapport. The trade-offs are real: they take time, may raise employee expectations, and only help if the organization acts on the feedback received.

What Is an Exit Interview?

An exit interview is a conversation an employer has with an employee after they resign to understand why the person is leaving and how they experienced the organization. It is typically conducted in person or by survey, and the insight it produces can drive meaningful change for the employees who remain. Replacing an employee can cost anywhere from 30% to 200% of their salary, according to Culture Amp research, which is why the feedback is worth collecting carefully.

Done well, an exit interview reveals the real reasons behind turnover, surfaces areas to improve, and helps you enhance the experience for current staff. A few practices keep the conversation useful:

1. Choose the method deliberately. Interviews allow deeper conversation; anonymous surveys often produce more honest answers at scale.
2. Follow a structured format. A structured interview approach lets you identify trends across responses and compare them over time.
3. Protect confidentiality. Departing employees share more when they trust their comments will not reach a former manager or future employer.
4. Act on the data. Analyze responses for common themes, then build and track an action plan.

The three highest-value questions are what prompted the decision to leave, which parts of the job the person enjoyed or found challenging, and what they would suggest improving. To turn responses into change, use quantitative, qualitative, trend, comparative, and benchmarking analysis to find recurring issues.

What Are the Different Interview Formats?

Interview format is where and how an interview takes place, and hiring teams have more options than ever. Whichever format you choose for a stage, two things matter: offer accessibility accommodations on request, and give candidates the details they need to arrive prepared. Keeping the format consistent from candidate to candidate is important for fair, comparable evaluation, because switching formats mid-process can introduce hiring biases.

What Is an In-Person Interview?

An in-person interview is when the candidate meets the interviewer at an agreed location and time. It suits local hiring and roles based in an office, and it lets the candidate judge the commute and workspace for themselves. A 2019 study in the Social Science Computer Review found interviewers were no less likely to rate a remote interview as excellent than an in-person one.

What Is a Digital In-Person Interview?

A digital in-person interview is when the interviewer and candidate are in the same physical location but the paperwork is replaced by a digital workflow. Interviewers follow a structured interview guide on a device to keep questions and scoring consistent. It reduces friction, supports interview compliance, and lets teams share evaluations in real time.

What Is a Live Video Interview?

Live video interviewing happens in real time online through a secure video platform, often recorded with consent. It calls for the same preparation as an in-person interview but lets participants join from anywhere with a stable internet connection. Built-in interview guides, rating tools, and a saved record support consistency and reduce reliance on memory.

What Is a Pre-Recorded Video Interview?

A pre-recorded video interview, also called a one-way or on-demand interview, lets candidates record answers and hiring managers rate them when convenient. Because every applicant answers the same questions with the same time to respond, it delivers a consistent, structured experience and is the most flexible option.

What Is a Hybrid Interview?

A hybrid interview is when some participants attend in person and others join remotely by video during a single interview. It differs from a hybrid hiring process, which mixes in-person and virtual interviews across stages. Hybrid interviewing signals flexibility and previews a hybrid work environment.

What Is a Phone Interview?

A phone interview is when a recruiter calls an applicant, ideally at a pre-scheduled time. It is a useful early assessment tool for gauging suitability and screening out unqualified applicants before investing in longer conversations.

What Is a Chatbot Interview?

A chatbot interview uses a bot to ask predetermined questions in a set cadence as the candidate types answers, delivering a structured experience without a human interviewer. Some are fully automated; others use AI to recommend next steps to a human. The format is new and may suit entry-level screening, though it carries risks around sentiment, language nuance, and security. Pre-recorded interviewing offers similar consistency while keeping the process human-led.

How Structured Should an Interview Be?

Interview structure, sometimes called interview style, dictates how prepared, consistent, and controlled an interview is. Interviews sit on a spectrum from structured to unstructured based on how tightly the questions and scoring criteria are defined. It is worth knowing where your interview lands, because the level of structure changes both the benefits and the risks.

Reliability refers to rating consistency among interviewers; validity refers to how well the method measures what it intends to. Structured interviews score highest on both and produce a more equitable process, which is why they are the most defensible choice for most roles. Learn how a structured interview process improves your quality of hire.

How Do You Get Accurate Interview Responses?

The single most useful tool for drawing out genuine answers is the probing question. Probing questions are open-ended follow-ups that ask candidates to add context, turning a vague answer into a complete one. Unlike spontaneous prompts, they can be written in advance and built into a structured interview guide. The goal is to find the best person for the job, not the person best at memorizing answers.

Candidates often structure answers using one of four methods, and each benefits from a different probe:

• STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) gives detailed answers; probe how their actions changed the result.

• PAR (Problem, Action, Result) can skip the reasoning; probe why they chose that action.
• BAR (Background, Action, Result) explains context first; probe how they decided on that course.
• CAR (Challenge, Action, Result) reads like a story; probe what other options they weighed.

If a candidate leaves out what they specifically contributed or what the result was, a general prompt such as "What was the outcome of your actions?" fills the gap.

How Does VidCruiter Support Structured Interviewing?

VidCruiter helps hiring teams run structured interviews consistently across every format and interview type. Digital interview guides present the same questions and scoring criteria to every interviewer, so a panel, a one-way recording, and a live video interview all stay comparable. That consistency is what supports fair evaluation and helps mitigate the impact of bias across a hiring process.

The platform records and stores interviews for legal defensibility, generates transcripts so raters can revisit detail instead of relying on memory, and supports interview compliance through standardized workflows. AI features assist a human-led process rather than replacing it: AI transcription and AI interview notes free interviewers to focus on the conversation, while final decisions stay with people. VidCruiter is not the right fit for every team. Organizations that prefer fully unstructured, conversational interviews will not use most of these tools. Teams that want consistent, defensible, comparable interviews are the strongest match.

Request a demo to see structured interviewing across formats.