Structured interview in the job interview: tips & questions

Strukturiertes Interview im Vorstellungsgespräch

How does a structured interview work? And what questions do recruiters ask? All information and tips on conducting interviews can be found here.

How does a structured interview work? And what questions do recruiters ask? All information and tips on conducting interviews can be found here. 

The most important things about structured interviews at a glance:

  • Structured interviews follow a fixed list of questions and enable a comparable assessment of all applicants.
  • There are also semi-structured interviews that allow a certain amount of freedom for deviations from the questionnaire.
  • In contrast, there are free interviews in which questions are asked spontaneously and the evaluation is more subjective.
  • The process of a structured interview typically includes five phases: greeting, getting to know each other, self-presentation, diagnostics and questions.
  • There are different types of structured interviews, such as the Behavior Description Interview, the Biographical Interview, the Situational Interview and the Multimodal Interview.

Structured interview vs. free interview

Unterschied freies vs strukturiertes Interview
Structured interviews are very different from free interviews. (Photo: https://www.freepik.com/free-photo/business-concept-job-interview-adult-bearded-male-hr-manager-glasses-shirt-sitting-light-office-front-brunette-caucasian-woman-asking-questions-about-previous-work-place_8357814.htm by cookie_studio)

A structured interview, often also called a standardized interview, follows a fixed procedure and is conducted using a previously prepared list of questions. This includes targeted questions that are tailored to the job profile and the required skills. Once the list of questions has been prepared, it is supplemented with, for example, Office applications created digitally and stored so that it is accessible to HR staff in the company. This means that it can be used for all candidates who have applied for the position. The applicants can then be compared with one another.

There are also semi-structured interviews (also semi-structured interviews In these cases, a guide provides a basic framework with pre-formulated questions, but the recruiter can also deviate from them to a certain extent.

In contrast to this approach, there is the free interviewThere is no set, systematic list of questions here, but rather questions are asked spontaneously. This means that each applicant may be asked different questions. Accordingly, the HR staff will evaluate the interviews based on their gut feeling.

Procedure of a standardized interview

A structured or standardized interview can usually be divided into the following five phases:

1.Greetings – The interview usually begins with small talk. Recruiters ask questions like “Did you find our office quickly?” or “Did you have a pleasant journey?”

Ablauf eines standardisierten Interviews
How does a standardized interview work? (Image source: Gutesa – Shutterstock.com)

2.Get to know each other – The HR staff now introduce the company and, if necessary, explain details of the advertised job vacancy.

3.Self-presentation – Now it is the candidate's turn to say something about themselves. This part can also be guided by the questionnaire, for example with biographical questions.

4.Diagnostics – In this phase, questions are asked about the relevant competence areas, e.g. technical competence, social competence, motivation and work behaviour.

5.Questions – The interview is coming to an end, now is the opportunity for the candidate to ask questions.

Finally, the HR staff will often explain how the selection process will continue and when a decision can be expected. They will also be happy to offer the opportunity to contact you if you have any further questions.

Different types of structured interviews

Standardized interviews can have different focuses.

The following forms are particularly common:

Behavior Description Interview (BDI)

This type of interview is biographically oriented. Critical situations in the CV are asked about, which ensures that the candidate does not just recite textbook knowledge or give memorized sample answers. The aim is to compare previous behavior with the Requirement Profile for the position.

Biographical Interview (BI)

This form is similar to the BDI, but is more in-depth and comprehensive. Here, too, the applicant's professional past is examined primarily on the basis of their CV. Their biography is examined in detail, for example through questions such as "What conclusions did you draw from this situation?" or "What would you do differently if you were faced with this challenge again?".

Situational Interview (SI)

In the situational interview, the candidate has to deal with a given, fictitious situation. The aim is to find out how the applicant would behave in this specific problem and how he would solve it. In contrast to BDI and BI, the SI is therefore future-oriented. All candidates are confronted with the same constructed situation.

Multimodal Interview (MMI)

This type of interview combines several approaches and usually takes place in the eight phases

  1. Starting a conversation (small talk, getting to know each other)
  2. Candidate’s self-presentation
  3. Free discussion part (open questions)
  4. Career orientation and choice of organization (questions about applications and career choices)
  5. Querying biography-related data
  6. Information about the activity
  7. Situational questions (situational interview, see above)
  8. Conclusion of conversation

As a rule, all phases except the start of the interview, information about the job and the end of the interview (these three primarily serve to inform the candidate) are evaluated by the HR manager.

Structured questionnaire: Examples of interview questions

Of course, every questionnaire is structured differently. It is determined individually by the HR manager and tailored to the position to be filled. But there are a few typical questions that come up frequently, regardless of the industry and job position.

Resilience

  • How well can you deal with stressful situations?
  • Have you ever failed? If so, how did you deal with it?
  • What do you think about overtime?

Teamwork

  • Do you prefer teamwork or working alone?
  • What role do you usually take on in a team?
  • What type of person do you like/dislike working with?

personality

Fragenkatalog beim Strukturierten Interview
List of questions for the structured interview (Photo: https://www.freepik.com/free-photo/hiring-waitress_5399307.htm by pressfoto)
  • Which three characteristics best describe you?
  • What do your friends say about you?
  • In which area of your personality would you like to develop further?

creativity

  • What do you do when there seems to be no solution?
  • Under what circumstances are you most (un)creative?
  • A key colleague responsible for completing a project is absent due to illness. What do you do to ensure that you still stick to the schedule?

Ability to accept criticism

  • Your team gathers in your office and says that the instructions are unclear and the timelines are unrealistic. How do you react?
  • What did your boss recently criticize about you?
  • How do you react when you have been criticized unjustly?

motivation

  • Why did you apply to us?
  • Why should we give you the job?
  • What do you want to achieve with us?

With these recruiting questions for a structured application interview, you can find out more about Soft skills and learn about the candidates’ acquired skills.

No-Gos During the job interview, questions that violate the candidate's personal rights and have nothing to do with the job, such as questions about political views, religion, ideology, sexual orientation, desire to have children, ethnic origin, etc.

Also interesting: How to recruit without discrimination

Structured selection interview in the public service

Frau beim Interview für einen Job im Öffentlichen Dienst
(Photo: https://de.freepik.com/fotos-kostenlos/maennlicher-journalist-macht-seinen-job_16132774.htm by freepik)

For a structured interview in the public service the questions are similar to the examples mentioned. In addition to standard questions such as "Where do you see yourself in three years?" or "What are your strengths and weaknesses?", a few more specific questions can also be asked here. For example, "Why did you choose a position in the public sector?" or "Why do you want to work for our agency in particular?". Positions in the public sector are often associated with administrative tasks - so questions are often asked that aim to determine how organized the candidate is.

Unlike jobs in the private sector, the salaries here are often already known to the applicant, for example through collective agreements. The topic of salary is therefore rarely brought up in the interview - and questions along the lines of "What are your salary expectations?" are also omitted.

Advantages and disadvantages of standardized interviews

In summary, an interview with a structure and a list of questions offers numerous advantages over free interviews.

Advantages: The questionnaire facilitates a neutral, objective assessment of the candidates and ensures a certain level of equality of opportunity. The recruiter's subjective impressions have less of an impact on the decision, which means that overall it is more fair. In addition, the applicants can be compared more easily because they all answer the same questions. This allows a more accurate selection to be made.

Disadvantages: In structured interviews, there is a risk that the list of questions is processed in a schematic manner. As a result, spontaneous dialogue rarely develops, if at all, and the whole thing has more of an interrogation character. The personal side and individual aspects of the candidate are hardly addressed, which means that neither sympathy nor antipathy can really emerge.

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