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Other Questioning Styles
Directed interviews tend to be very structured and the interviewer follows a set pattern of questions, looking for specific information. Questions may be open, closed or a combination of both but there appears to be little opportunity to elaborate.

Non-directed interviews feel loose and far more relaxed; the interviewer seems to be giving the interviewee an open floor from which to talk! But beware of the fluid nature of this interview as you may reveal more information than is necessary, to the detriment. Sometimes a well-conducted competency interview may feel more like a non-directed one but the interviewer is likely to know exactly what sort of detail they are looking for.

A Chronological interview will simply follow your career path, usually in reverse, looking for key skills and achievements along the way. This may be done using competency questions though an inexperienced interviewer may just be following the path of your CV so as to give the interview some structure.

The Stress interview is hardly fair game but is still used by many and not just at an executive level. Designed to put candidates under extreme pressure and test their reaction, there are two approaches. On the one hand a seemingly innocuous [closed] question is followed with a series of open questions that probe deeper and deeper into your response. This funnelling technique is often used during a competency based interview and incorporates ‘what/why/when/who/where/how’, aptly known as interrogative pronouns!

The second approach uses less conventional methods to put the interviewee on the spot e.g. ‘You have two minutes to sell me this wooden spoon’ or ‘What’s the biggest mistake you have ever made’. Sometimes the questioning might be bordering on the offensive but essentially the interviewer is trying to assess how you think on your feet and deal with pressure. The way to deflect this line of questioning is with confidence. Pre-empt, prepare and practise!

Examples of competency based questions:

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Can you give an example of something you achieved as a leader. How did you organise your team and how do you think they felt about what was achieved.

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Can you give an example of something you achieved as part of a team, where another person was the project leader How did you feel about working with another key decision-maker. Was there anything you might have done differently were you the leader.

Examples of competency questions to identify communication ability:

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Can you describe a recent meeting – what was your role, what new ideas did you generate and how were they received. How did you persuade others to come round to your way of thinking?

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What sort of experience do you have in writing letters and documents – which part do you find most difficult and how do you overcome it.

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