There are two basic styles, or models, of interviews employers usually use when hiring new employees: structured and unstructured interviews. Just like job candidates, each one has its own strengths and weaknesses. But do the advantages of a structured interview outweigh the advantages of an unstructured interview?
As a hiring manager or business owner, you want to find the model that gets the best results, right? You want the one that helps you find the right candidates as quickly as you can, so you can get the right person on the job to help your company grow.
Fortunately, there’s a way to combine the best of both structured and unstructured interview models – but before we explore that, let’s take a look at the definitions, differences, as well as pros and cons, of both types.
In a structured interview, the person or team doing the interview puts together a list of questions that focus on the candidate’s past experience, strengths and weaknesses, job requirements, and abilities and assets the person can bring to the company.
In a structured interview, vs. an unstructured interview, the employer often begins with some small talk and a brief overview of the position and then goes through the list of questions, writing down the responses for each one.
Each candidate is asked the same questions in the same order, while the interviewer takes notes and tries to get a sense of whether the person has the skills and traits necessary for the job, and whether he or she would be a good fit for the position and company.
Unstructured interviews are a conversational, unrehearsed interview style that does not have a specific list of questions meant to be asked in a particular order. The interviewer may pick and choose things to talk about based on the candidate’s resume or application, while trying to assess how well the person might fit in with the company culture. These interviews are more like a free-flowing discussion mixed in with interview questions.
Conducting structured interviews within your company can yield many benefits.
Unstructured interviews can yield much different positive results than a structured interview, so it’s important to weigh the pros and cons between the two.
Numerous studies have found that structured interviews are superior in hiring, providing better results – however, as noted above, the advantages of structured interviews also come with drawbacks.
But the good news is, a system like Hire Success allows you to reap all the benefits of both structured and unstructured interview models to create a kind of “superstructured” interview. Here’s how:
It’s best to keep in mind your business’s needs and objectives when deciding which type of style is best for your interviewing process. Choosing Hire Success’s interviewing system can help you bridge the gap between the advantages of structured vs. unstructured interviews.
Want to know more about our hiring system? Get a personalized walk-through of Hire Success's interviewing solutions.
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Talent acquisition is more competitive than ever today. Employers face the tightest job market in history: low unemployment rates, high job mobility and a wide skills gap. It's more difficult to fill critical jobs. Companies large and small need to develop an efficient hiring process to attract, identify, and hire people with the right skill sets and attributes to fit your team.
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