The 6 Stages of a Job Interview

Often interviewees to prepare for a job interview need to know what the stages of a job interview are.

This knowledge can help them prepare for the forthcoming job interview and allows the interviewee during the job interview to know at what stage they are at during the job interview.

The job interview is broken into 6 parts. This can vary slightly with each individual company, but as a rule of thumb, this is the general breakdown of most job interviews.

• The introduction:

1. the employer will introduce themselves, the company and the reason they are currently recruiting new members of staff. Some companies will use the introduction to sell their company, as they have only invited to interview those applicants they know will add value to their company.

• The Opening:

1. the opening of the interview is a few questions to get you talking and to help you relax. The question often include “what do you know about our organisation?” and “tell me a little bit about yourself and your experience” If your a confident interviewee you can use these opening questions to start selling yourself from the off.

• The Skills:

1. as the interview is underway the interviewer will question you on your skills and knowledge to see if your ability matches that required by the company. You may be asked technical questions at this stage.

• The Experience:

1. heading towards the end of the interview, you will be asked a series of questions related to your experience. You have confirmed you have a certain skill, you now need to back this up by giving answers relating to real experiences.

• The Personality:

1. employers understand that employees that work well together offer more output. Most interviewers will ask you a few questions on personality and values to ensure you will fit in well with both the team and the organisation.

• The Sum Up:

1. at the job interview end, the employer will thank you for your time and if needed ask you one or two more questions to finish of the job interview and may summaries the interview and how you preformed. In 9/10 job interviews, the interviewer will ask if you have any questions to ask them; this is your time to ensure that the company meets your values. This is sometimes overlooked by the interviewee but is highly important as you want to pick a company that you will grow in.

Overall the job interview on average will last around 45 minutes with the interviewer asking around 10 questions. Some interviews also ask you to complete the test, physically show a skill or to take part in some type of group exercise.