Vive La Difference: Interviewer Types - Job Interview Tips

Job interviewers come in many different shapes and sizes – and until you walk into the interview room you probably won’t know what style or approach is likely to confront you. Indeed in many interview situations you may be faced with several different individuals questioning you in different ways for different reasons. Some interviewer behaviours may be a matter of personality and behavioural preference, others might be more as deliberate deployed strategies to test your specific reactions and responses. Either way you will be faced with a situation where you will need to rapidly “size-up” the type of interviewer(s) you are dealing with and adapt your approach accordingly.

Based upon the feedback we at Brosna receive from the individual’s that we regularly coach, please find below a table that summarises some of the predominant interview styles you might face together with some suggested tips on how you might choose to respond. Of course the interviewer types are not exhaustive and you may well find an individual interviewer adopting a combination of approaches and different styles at different phases of the interviewer. 

It would be great to hear back from you as a regular Brosna blog reader on how you see these differences, what other experiences you have had and any valuable advice you might have about dealing with different types of interviewers. Please let us have your feedback in the comments box below.

Many thanks