WHO PARTICIPATES IN AN INTERVIEW? - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2024

Two main subjects participate in an interview: the interviewer, who asks the questions; and the interviewee, who answers them. The interview is a dialogue between two people that takes place under the question-answer scheme.

There are many types of interviews. Regardless of the type of encounter, in an interview there will always be the roles of interviewer and interviewee.

Basic roles in an interview

The interviewer

He is the one who sets the tone for the interview, asks the questions and takes note of the answers. You should prepare in advance the questions to be asked during the dialogue, so that the answers meet the stated objective and the interview is not derailed.

The interviewer is responsible for controlling the interview, granting the rights to speak, ensuring that the interviewee responds according to the context of the topic to be discussed and for defining the time of the intervention.

The interviewer is also in charge of closing the interview and firing the interviewee.

Due to the wide variety of areas in which the interview can be put into practice, the person in charge of asking the questions will not necessarily have to possess outstanding interpersonal skills, but, preferably, sufficient knowledge on the subject to be covered.

However, in the case of interviews in the journalistic field, although the person conducting the interview may be framed in a common theme, they will not always have sufficient knowledge about the subject that concerns the interviewee, which is why their journalistic skills will be of great importance to the success of the interview.

For example, the Spanish journalist and interviewer Joaquin Soler Serrano, who, among others, directed and presented the program A fondo, interviewed personalities from letters, culture and science.

The interviewee

It is the one who answers the questions asked by the interviewer. He is usually an expert on a specific topic and must have credibility.

The person being interviewed is, naturally, the person who will answer the questions asked by the interviewer. In addition, on many occasions, who will directly or indirectly establish the topic of the interview, according to the context of this.

That is, in the context of a journalistic interview, the work or area that is the responsibility of the person interviewed will generally dictate the course of the interview, since the questions will cover topics related to that area.

For example, in an interview with the president of a nation, the questions most likely relate to the politics of that country, or to international politics. Similarly, if a footballer is interviewed, football will be a crucial topic in the interview.

However, the interviewer can also dictate the course of the interview according to the interest of this (a). Being able to be more interested in the personal life of the person interviewed, who can generally decide whether or not to answer the questions.

Three types of interview

Generally the interview is carried out with two people whose functions are those described in the previous paragraphs. However, in some situations there may be slight changes.

1- Job interview

Job interviews can be classified in different ways. Taking into account the number of participants, the interview can be individual or group.

The individual interview is the most frequent of all. An interviewer, who is usually a worker in the company's human resources department, questions a candidate. Based on their answers, they evaluate whether or not they enter the company.

The group interview, as its name implies, is not limited to a single interviewer and a single interviewee. Several interviewers and several interviewees can easily coexist. Other modalities appear in this section:

- The panel interview, which is carried out in a very similar way to the individual interview, with the difference that there are several interviewers who question the interviewee alternately.

- The online interview, in which the interviewee is questioned successively by more than one interviewer.

- The group dynamics interview, which consists of conducting dynamics, games, debates, tests and simulated situations in which more than one interviewee and more than one interviewer participate.

2- Journalistic interview

The journalistic interview does not differ from an ordinary interview. An interviewer and an interviewee also participate in it. The latter is usually an expert on a topic of collective interest.

There are several schemes under which this type of interview can be governed. It can be opinion, in which the interviewee expresses his personal perspective of the subject that is being approached.

It can also be informative, because the interviewee presents facts and ideas in an impersonal way; or personality, whose purpose is to show the interviewee in all her essence through her responses and gestures.

3- Clinical interview

This interview occurs only between a doctor and a patient. The doctor plays the role of the interviewer and is the expert on the subject. The patient is the interviewee.

The main objective of this interview is to write the medical history of a patient to facilitate a diagnosis of the ailment that he suffers.

References

1. Interviews according to the number of participants and according to the medium. (March 20, 2014). Obtained from All about work: all about work.wordpress.com
2. Amori Corvalán. (sf). Interview (roles of the participants). Retrieved on October 9, 2017, from Scribd: es.scribd.com
3. Angel Muñoz. (2015, October 25). The journalistic interview. Obtained from journalistic awareness: conscienceperiodistica.wordpress.com

4. Caroline Banton. (sf). Roles of Interviewers. Retrieved from Chron: work.chron.com
5. Clinical interview (nd). Retrieved on October 9, 2017, from Wikipedia: es.wikipedia.org