Before you get in front of an interviewer, you’ll want to know the different types of

interviews you may encounter. The type of interview will vary based on the job you’re
applying for, the position’s responsibilities, and the stage of the interviewing process. Here
are some of the most common interview types:

An informational interview is a meeting in which you obtain career, industry, or role-

specific advice. Informational interviews are a terrific way to learn about a field or a specific
role. College alumni databases, LinkedIn connections, and family or friends can all provide
contacts who may offer you an informational interview. For this type of interview, you’ll
need to prepare key questions to ask about the organization and potential opportunities.

A screening interview is a first-level meeting, often with an human resources representative

or other administrator, to determine whether you are a strong candidate to bring back for
further consideration. They will often be more focused on the content of your resume and
what you are currently seeking in the job market. For this type of interview, you’ll need to
prepare key talking points from your resume and additional background information.

A substantive interview happens after the screening process. This interview is about the
substance of the role and how (or whether) your skills are a match. Substantive interviews
often involve a series of one-on-one meetings between the candidate and individual
interviewers. For this type of interview, you’ll need to prepare stories about relevant work
experiences and how those relate to the responsibilities of the role.

Behavioral or test-based interviews are deeper and more challenging experiences.

Behavioral interviews rely on a series of problem-solving questions to examine the
candidate's past decisions and actions with the goal of predicting future behavior or
performance. Test-based interviews ask the candidate to complete an assessment or perform a
piece of work so that the interviewer can gauge the candidate's skills. For this type of
interview, you’ll need to prepare answers that tie experiences, behavior, and skills together.

A practice interview is an informal meeting you schedule with a friend, family member, or
professional colleague to prepare yourself for an actual interview. You can use this time to
refine the questions you ask and answer without being too concerned about the outcome,
making sure the actual interview will go smoothly. You will learn more about practice
interviews later in the course.

Each of these interview types can be conducted in different formats, too. Informational and
screening interviews will typically be done by telephone or video conference. Substantive
interviews can be done in a small-group format where several people from the organization
meet a single candidate at the same time. One-on-one in-person interviews tend to be the
standard format as you go through the interview process, though.