The purpose of all interviews is to gather as much relevant information as possible and to establish facts. To do this, an interviewer may adopt the following techniques:

Open ended questions – This is a very popular form of questioning used by interviewers. The most basic form of this kind of question is ‘tell me about…’ These questions are asked to get more detailed information from the candidate. They typically begin with where, who, what, why, when or how.

Probing questions – These are a natural follow up to open ended questions. In its simplest form, ‘tell me more about…’ is used. This technique is often used when the interviewer feels that a candidate has more to offer but has not been able to relate to a particular open ended question. It is also used when the interviewer feels that a candidate is under or over valuing his/her skills and needs more information to establish the facts.

Leading questions – A particular kind of response is expected to a leading question. An example of this kind of question is “Meetings are a complete waste of time, don’t you think?” . This kind of question is often used to assess the candidate’s communication skills.

Summarizing responses – The interviewer may check regularly or rephrase what has just been said. This is a very important part of the interview process and presents an opportunity for the candidate to clarify points that may have been misunderstood and further explain any issues that  they may have been unable to voice during the interview process.

Intervening – Watch for signs of the interviewer trying to intervene. This is used if the candidate is perceived as rambling on due to nervousness or emotion. The interviewer will use this technique to regain the thread of what the candidate is trying to convey. They may use verbal or non-verbal cues such as dropping eye contact, or leaning forward to retrieve focus.

Note taking – This provides a record of what was discussed during the interview. The interviewer may in some cases arrange for another person to take notes while the interview is conducted.