Interview Questions – Three Different Types

Interviews have been approached with lot of inhibitions and fear by most of us. The reason is the possibility of failure. A person who fails to get selected in an interview loses a portion of his self confidence to succeed. It is to be noted that phantoms are more fearsome than fear itself. This statement is very apt for a person attending an interview. In the interview process, there are only three major interview types questions which an interviewer can ask…

1> Open-ended questions
2> Closed-ended questions
3> Hypothetical questions

1> Open-ended questions are generally asked to know more about you, your flow of thoughts and at the same time to put you at ease. An example of an open-ended question is ” Tell me about yourself ?”. This question is mainly being asked to allow you to set the stage and climb on the podium. If you wrap your answer with a one liner, then you’ve missed the boat. By answering this question crisply, you exhibit your communication skills, clear vision and goal in an excellent way.

2> Closed-Ended questions are mainly asked to find out whether you’re going to say “Yes/No” to a question. An example of a closed-ended question is when someone asks you ” Are you willing to travel more than 25% of your time in the job ?” All that is required is a firm “Yes or No”. The interviewee should not dilly dally with these type of questions. If not, you send a wrong signal that you’re incapable of arriving at a clear decision quickly.

3> Hypothetical questions are asked to measue your analytical capability. There is no right or wrong answer to these types of questions. You’ve got to stick and support with facts on what you believe and why you arrived at this decision. An example of a hypothetical question is ” If you were the Director of the Labor Union, how would you’ve thwarted this crisis ?”.

Last but not the least, interviews are a two way communication street. This means, both the interviewer and interviewee have the right to ask questions. So, in future, approach interviews with an open mind which might be the key to a successful career !

Shantha