I have been through a fair amount of interviews since I was in high school for various positions. I would say that the overwhelming majority of the ones that I experienced were highly structured and followed set interview questions. For an internship that I had before job that I have now, it was one of the only ones that did not follow a typical set of interview questions. It was also the first phone interview that I had done. Much of the questions seemed to be centered around getting to know me as a person and my previous experience. Although I did prefer this method as an interviewee, I don’t think that it was the most effective way to see if I was a fit. I think that using a structured approach may have been a better idea, in case the conversation had not progressed as naturally as it did. I think that structured interviews give more people a chance at being considered, as each question is the same and candidates can be compared easier. Each question and answer can be compared side by side with each candidate. In terms of reliability, validity, and utility, I would say that unstructured interviews can make it difficult to compare applicants and may not be as reliable or fair. Especially in a virtual or phone interview, the conversation may not progress very naturally as it would in an in-person interview, this could lead to companies missing out on talent, due to the lack of formality in interviews.
