Hi, MIchelle:)

Fascinating article and I can tell you I have experienced all five types (more or less) over my work career.

While all are somewhat stressful (since they are job interviews, after all), I found the panel interviews (me with several internal folks) to be the most difficult to experience.    In one memorable experience, I had a group interview with the president, vice president to whom I would report, and several other key staff with whom I would interact.

Of the six people, I had only met the person to whom I would be directly reporting in an earlier interview, which had gone well.   I was challenged to create a presentation that aligned with the organization's activities, which is usually challenging for an outsider.  While I am quite comfortable presenting, I am most comfortable when either I have complete control of the content or am following very clear directions with  interaction through the development and design phase.  That was not part of this deal.

I did my presentation and got no response from anyone in the room.  During the presentation and relatively short discussion which followed, I noticed that the president was definitely not engaged with the process, as were two others on this panel.

They did not appear to have prepared for the interview - the questions felt very spur-of-the-moment and in some cases, were repetitive.   Energy in the interactions with me and with each other was definitely less than I expected for a social services agency.  They did not seem interested in being there.

Bottom Line:  By the end of this experience, I was not very sure that I wanted to work for the organization or with these folks, so the phone call ending that possibility later in the week was received pleasantly, professionally, and with an inner sense of relief by me:).

For me, this was a good reminder that interviews should always be two-way activities.   You learn valuable infromation about the organization and leadership, while they learn about you and what you offer.

Thanks for a useful post:)

John