presentation of structured and unstructured interview

• Structured vs Unstructured Interviews: 13 Key Differences

Structured and unstructured interviews are common methods of gathering data in research . While structured interviews are mostly used in quantitative observation, an unstructured interview is usually applied to qualitative data collection because it pays attention to describing the research subjects. 

Apart from the key difference highlighted above, there are other things a researcher must know about the natures of structured and unstructured interviews. Hence, it is important for the interviewer to understand the many differences between a structured interview and an unstructured interview. 

What is a Structured Interview?

A structured interview is a type of interview in which the researcher asks a set of premeditated questions in order to gather information about the research subjects. It is also known as a standardized interview or a researcher-administered interview, and it aims at investigating research variables using the same set of questions. 

Typically, structured interviews are used to collect information with regards to the quantity or numerical value of the research subjects. It outlines events, behaviors, procedures, and guidelines for conducting the interview and recording the information collected to serve as the research data. 

Characteristics of a Structured Interview

• A structured interview utilizes a standardized process of inquiry. 
• It is a quantitative method of observation.
• A structured interview is easy to replicate.
• This type of interview is sequential in nature. 

What is an Unstructured Interview?  

An unstructured interview is a type of interview that does not make use of a set of standardized questions. Here, the interviewer does not generate any specific set of standardized questions for research, rather he or she asks different questions in line with the context and purpose of the systematic investigation.

Typically, an unstructured interview relies on spontaneity and follow-up questioning in order to gather detailed information from the research subject. In many ways, this type of interview can be viewed as an informal, everyday conversation because of its extremely colloquial style. 

Characteristics of an Unstructured Interview

• An unstructured interview is flexible in nature.
• It relies on spontaneity in its method of inquiry.
• An unstructured interview is a method of qualitative observation. 
• It is descriptive in nature. 

Differences Between Structured and Unstructured Interview

• Definition  

A structured interview is a type of interview that relies on a set of standardized and premeditated questions in order to gather information. On the other hand, an unstructured interview is a type of interview that does not rely on a set of premeditated questions in its data-gathering process. 

In an unstructured interview, the researcher does not prepare a set of pre-planned interview questions while in a structured interview, the researcher depends on an interview sequence. A structured interview is a directive in nature while an unstructured interview is non-directive in nature. 

In a structured interview, the researcher follows an interview sequence comprising standardized questions while in an unstructured interview, the researcher does not create any interview sequence. An interview sequence consists of standardized questions for conducting an interview arranged in the order of use.

The interviewer in a structured interview follows the sequence as he or she makes inquiries about the research subject. In an unstructured interview, the researcher does not follow any sequence but relies on spontaneity to direct the course of the conversation. 

• Question Types

A structured interview makes use of close-ended questions, predominantly while an unstructured interview makes use of open-ended questions, predominantly. Close-ended questions allow the interviewer to limit the interviewee to a range of possible responses in line with the research context. 

On the other hand, open-ended questions do not restrict the respondent to pre-conceived options. Rather, it gives the respondent the opportunity to explore the questions from multiple perspectives and this allows the interviewer to gather a variety of information about the research subject. 

• Question Samples

Examples of questions asked in an unstructured interview include the following:

• What do you enjoy most about our product?
• What do you not like about our service delivery?
• How do you think we can improve our service delivery?
• Why do you use our product? 
• What specific needs does our product meet for you? 

Examples of questions asked in a structured interview include:

• How often do you use our product?
• Do you enjoy using our product?
• How likely are you to recommend our services?
• Very likely
• Somewhat likely
• Highly Unlikely

An unstructured interview is mostly used to collect data in qualitative research while a structured interview is mostly used to collect data in quantitative research . Qualitative observation is used to gather descriptive and in-depth information about a research subject while quantitative observation is used to collect measurable data. 

In other words, an unstructured interview is more suitable for a research process that aims at gathering descriptive data. On the other hand, a structured interview is more suitable for gathering data that can be quantified in terms of numerical values. 

• Advantages of Structured Interview

Data gathered through a structured interview is more objective and easier to analyze unlike the data gathered via an unstructured interview. This is because a structured interview requires the respondents to provide brief and relevant answers to the questions, unlike an unstructured interview. 

Also, a structured interview can be used to gather information from a large data sample of the target population, unlike an unstructured interview. Because of the standardization of a structured interview, the interview process is easier unlike that of an unstructured interview. 

• Disadvantages of Structured Interview

The data gathered via a structured interview lacks depth and detail unlike the information gathered through an unstructured interview. This is because a structured interview restricts the interviewee to a set of questions and this prevents him or her from providing additional information that would prove useful in the research. 

A structured interview is a less valid means of data collection while an unstructured interview is a more valid means of data collection. In a structured interview, the researcher is not allowed to deviate from the line of questioning regardless of any developments but this is allowed in an unstructured interview. 

• Advantages of Unstructured Interviews

An unstructured interview can be used to gather information on complex issues, unlike a structured interview. This is because an unstructured interview adopts a conversational approach that creates a rapport between the researcher and the interviewee which allows the later to reveal important information. 

An unstructured interview is also more flexible and more comfortable than a structured interview. In an unstructured interview, the researcher has the opportunity to formulate new questions and research hypotheses based on new information provided, unlike a structured interview that follows a strict sequence. 

• Disadvantages of Unstructured Interviews 

An unstructured interview is more time-consuming when compared to a structured interview. Since it is not limited to particular questions or a sequence, conducting an unstructured interview takes up more time and more resources than a structured interview that follows a sequence. 

An unstructured interview generates large amounts of data which is difficult to categorize and analyse, unlike a structured interview that collects the most relevant responses. Since it is not standardized, an unstructured interview is considered non-reliable and highly subjective, unlike a structured interview. 

Audio recorders, telephones, and camcorders are tools used for conducting an unstructured interview while surveys and questionnaires are tools used for conducting a structured interview. In a structured interview, the interviewer can create a survey using the interview sequence and administer this survey to research groups in order to gather information. 

Because an unstructured interview is flexible, it usually involves having a one-on-one conversation with the research groups in order to gather valid information from them. However, a structured interview can be conducted either physically or through other methods as highlighted above.

• Subjectivity

An unstructured is highly subjective in nature while a structured interview is objective in nature. In an unstructured interview, different parameters are used to evaluate research subjects and this affects the objectivity of the data gathered and research findings in the end.

In a structured interview, the research subjects are evaluated using the same set of standardized questions in the same sequence. This makes it a more objective data collection more than a structured interview, and it is extremely useful for gathering large amounts of data from a research group.  

• Data Samples

Structured interviews examine large data samples while unstructured interviews examine limited data samples. As a result of its quantitative nature and use of an interview sequence, structured interviews can carry out systematic investigations into the nature of large sets of data. 

On the other hand, an unstructured interview works with small data samples because of its in-depth and detailed approach to systematic inquiry. An unstructured interview makes use of open-ended questions, predominantly, and this gives respondents the opportunity to fully communicate their thoughts and ideas on the research questions. 

• Comparability

Structured interviews allow for data comparability while unstructured interviews do not allow for data comparability. This means that while it is easy for researchers to compare the data samples gathered from a structured interview, it is extremely difficult to do this with the information collected via an unstructured interview. 

This is because structured interview subjects the data set to the same parameters of inquiry, unlike an unstructured interview that develops research questions uniquely for each participant. This is why it is adopted for quantitative observation and analysis. 

Similarities Between Structured and Unstructured Interviews? 

Although there are a number of differences between structured and unstructured interviews, these two also have meeting points. Here are a few similarities between structured and unstructured interviews: 

• Data collection

Both structured and unstructured interviews are methods of data collection and they are used by researchers to gather a variety of information about research groups and different research contexts. The ultimate aim of both structured and unstructured interviews is to gather relevant information that can help researchers arrive at objective outcomes. 

• Participants

Both structured and unstructured interviews involve interacting with research subjects in order to gather information about a research context. However, structured and unstructured interviews adopt different tools and methods of inquiry into the nature and behaviors of research variables. 

• Structured and unstructured interviews are both diagnostic in nature.

Structured and unstructured interviews are both susceptible to research bias . In structured interviews, bias results from restricting interviewees to options which forces them to choose an answer that may not represent his or her views

Bias can also result from the relationship between the interviewer and the interviewee in unstructured interviews. 

How to Conduct an Unstructured Interview

• Avoid leading questions

The aim of an unstructured interview is to allow respondents to freely communicate their thoughts and opinions. This is why it is important for every interviewer to avoid asking leading questions that direct the research towards premeditated responses. 

The best way to ask the questions in an unstructured interview is to phrase your inquiries in a way that allows interviewees to communicate their feelings and views, freely. Leading questions often communicate implied meanings that can lead to survey response bias . 

Examples of leading questions include the following: 

• How useful has our product been to you?
• How impactful was the seminar on drug abuse? 

Examples of non-leading questions include:

• What do you feel about our product?
• What are your observations with regards to the drug abuse seminar? 
• Probe beyond the surface

In order to gather insightful and in-depth information about a research subject, it is important for the interviewee to prove beyond the surface. This means asking a range of follow-up questions that reveal more information about an interviewee’s thoughts and experiences. 

• Explore inconsistencies

Sometimes, an interviewee’s statements contradict their previous assertions or explanations. In such a situation, it is important for the interviewer to explore these apparent inconsistencies by asking follow-up questions that clarify a misunderstanding or provide new information.

• Record your data

When taking and rewriting notes, ensure that you document the respondent’s views and thoughts as accurately as possible. Focus on new words or pieces of information and, pay attention to subjects that seem unclear or confusing as very often, these phases provide valuable insights to understanding the thoughts of the interviewee.

How to Conduct Structured/Semi-Structured Interview with Formplus

You can use Formplus to conduct a structured or semi-structured interview. Formplus enables you to create online surveys and questionnaires which can be administered to interviewees in the form of a structured interview. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to conduct a structured interview using Formplus: 

Sign into Formplus

In the Formplus builder, you can easily create an online questionnaire for your structured interview by dragging and dropping preferred fields into your form. To access the Formplus builder, you will need to create an account on Formplus . 

Once you do this, sign in to your account and click on “Create Form ” to begin. 

Edit Form Title

• Click on the field provided to input your form title, for example, “ABC Structured Interview Questionnaire”.

Edit Form  

• Click on the edit button to edit the form.
• Add Fields: Drag and drop preferred form fields into your form in the Formplus builder inputs column. There are several field input options for survey forms in the Formplus builder. 
• Edit fields
• Click on “Save”
• Preview form. 

Customize Form

Formplus allows you to add unique features to your structured interview questionnaire. You can personalize your questionnaire using various customization options in the builder. Here, you can add background images, your organization’s logo, and other features. You can also change the display theme of your form. 

Share your Form Link with Respondents

Formplus offers multiple form sharing options which enables you to conduct your structured interview online by sharing your form link with interviewees. You can use the direct social media sharing buttons to share your form link to your organization’s social media pages. 

You can also embed your questionnaire into your website so that form respondents can easily fill it out when they visit your webpage. Formplus allows you to send out email invitations to interviewees and to also share your form link as a QR code.  

Both unstructured and structured interviews are used independently in research. While an unstructured interview allows you to collect descriptive information about a research subject, a structured interview allows you to collect quantitative research data, and this serves as the basis of further research. 

Structured interviews are easy to replicate because they make use of standardized questions arranged in a fixed interview sequence. On the other hand, unstructured interviews are spontaneous in nature and generate interview questions based on the responses provided by the research subjects. 

One-on-one conversations are the most common means of conducting an unstructured interview because of its reliance on spontaneous inquiry. On the other hand, a structured interview can be conducted through one-on-one interviews or through other methods like surveys and questionnaires. 

You can use Formplus to create and administer online surveys and questionnaires as part of a structured interview. Formplus offers multiple sharing options so that you can conveniently share your questionnaire with interviewees using different methods including email invitations and QR codes. Sign up for a free trial today

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What’s the difference between structured and unstructured interviews?

Last updated

11 March 2023

Reviewed by

Miroslav Damyanov

There are two distinct interview styles: structured and unstructured. Both have their place but serve different purposes. Depending on the data you want, one type may be more suitable than the other, or you may find a combination of the two works best.

Analyze all kinds of interviews

Bring all your interviews into one place to analyze and understand

• What is a structured interview?

It is sometimes called a standardized interview because it uses the same set of questions for each person and gathers information using the same set of variables. Answers are assigned a numerical value, making it simple to run data analysis.

Characteristics of a structured interview

Structured interviews make it easy for an interviewer since all the questions are the same with the same choices of responses. It allows for consistency and diminishes redundancy. Other characteristics include:

Mainly quantitative data is gathered

Easy to compile and replicate

Sequential, asking the same questions in the same order each time

Close-ended questions, such as multiple choice, point scale, sliding scale, or true/false

Standardized, unbiased data

Advantages of a structured interview

Structured interviews are an easy way to gather data from standardized questions. Advantages include:

Data collection and comparison are easy since all responses are quantitative. This allows you to compare all answers from the same set of possible responses throughout multiple interviews.

Minimized the risk of leaving out important questions as the questionnaire is structured and uniform.

Less opportunity for bias or favoritism.

The interviewer can focus on the data instead of the interviewee or their personality.

Less time is needed than for unstructured interviews, since the answers are close-ended and responses are readily available from a list of options, helping most respondents give a quick answer.

Disadvantages of a structured interview

Structured interviews have downsides too, including:

More preparation time is needed. To make sure your questions are comprehensive and nothing is left out from the interview that will be used for all respondents, additional time may be needed to be sure that it is inclusive and that the results will yield the data that you need.

Rating answers or simply answering with yes or no limits the respondent, who doesn’t have the opportunity to answer in depth. If more information is needed after the initial response, you may need to arrange an additional interview.

Can be seen as impersonal.

Respondents may feel their opinions are not valued.

Example of a structured interview

Structured interviews can be conducted over the phone, via a video call, or face to face.

You can use structured interviews to gather information on job applicants, product reviews, or during a marketing campaign. The applications for structured interviews are endless, but the most important thing to remember is that it is used to gather standardized, structured data.

Structured interview questions for a job applicant might be:

What do people admire about you most?

Your honesty

The fact you’re hard-working

Your loyalty

Your personality

A question in a structured interview for a marketing campaign could be:

How often do you purchase nutritional supplements?

• What is an unstructured interview?

While structured interviews rely on standardized questions, unstructured interviews are quite the opposite. The interviewer may rely on spontaneity and ask questions about the topic being researched. It is more conversational, less formal, and usually more relaxed.

Questions are unprepared, but the interviewer must know the subject to present relevant questions. Interviewees are often less prepared for unstructured interviews since answers require thought and often opinion.

Unstructured interviews ask open-ended questions and feel more friendly than structured interviews.

Characteristics of an unstructured interview

Unstructured interviews rely on questions asked at the discretion of the interviewer. They are not standardized so can be very different across respondents. Other characteristics include:

Informal approach

Flexibility, because the interviewer can adapt and change the follow-up questions, depending on the interviewee’s responses

Answers to unstructured interview questions are usually open-ended and based on personal preference or opinion

Questions asked in an unstructured interview require spontaneity and thoughtful responses

Descriptive in nature and a method of qualitative observation

Disadvantages of unstructured interviews

While unstructured interviews allow more flexibility than a more structured approach, there are some disadvantages to this approach. These include:

Issues can arise when questions are not prepared in advance. You may forget to ask a question, get distracted, or let your bias stand in the way of gathering your data.

Some interview respondents are not comfortable with open-ended questions and may struggle with accuracy or ease of response.

Though time is saved during preparation, the interview itself can be more time-consuming.

The questions are not standardized and the order they are asked may be out of sequence which can lead to confusion.

They can generate large amounts of data that is not standard, making it hard to analyze the information gathered and use it effectively.

Example of an unstructured interview

Like structured interviews, unstructured interviews can be conducted over the phone, via a video call, or face to face. They can be used to gather the same general information about prospective employees, for marketing research , or other applications.

Unstructured interviews, however, are more relaxed and the questions allow the respondent to "fill in the blanks." Most unstructured interviews contain open-ended questions, allowing the respondent to voice an opinion, elaborate on an answer, or go into more detail. It is a friendlier, more personable approach.

An unstructured interview question for a job applicant might be:

Tell me about the time you made a mistake at work but found a way to fix the problem.

A question in an unstructured interview for a marketing campaign could be:

What do you like best about XYZ brand of nutritional supplements?

• What are the differences between structured and unstructured interviews?

There are many differences between structured and unstructured interviews, including the tools used, the way data is compiled, and the kind of data collected. Some of the major differences are:

Collecting data during the interview process usually differs. Both styles can be done in person or over the phone, but answers in a structured interview can be gathered via questionnaires and surveys , whereas an unstructured interview may rely on recorders, video equipment, or the interviewer's notes to record responses.

In a structured interview, the data is mainly quantitative and objective. In an unstructured interview, the information is qualitative and more subjective .

The amount of data samples, or respondents, involved can vary greatly between structured and unstructured interviews. Structured interviews can examine a large amount of data samples, while unstructured interviews usually involved a limited quantity.

Structured interviews offer the same questions and the same blueprint for responses for all interviewees. Unstructured interviews allow respondents to go into detail.

It is easier to compare data collected during a structured interview because it uses standardized questions and responses. Data from unstructured interviews is more time-consuming to analyze.

• What are the similarities between structured and unstructured interviews?

Although the processes are different, there are some similarities between the two kinds of interviews.

They share the same goal of collecting relevant data.

Both use respondents to gather the information needed.

Both use the information to make comparisons, with the intent of minimizing bias.

• Structured versus unstructured interviews: Which should you choose?

Which interview style you use depends on the data you want to collect, how you will analyze it, and if you intend on doing additional research. If quantitative data collection is your goal, then structured interviews may be right for you. If you want more detail, to follow up on prior research, or if you are looking for qualitative data , unstructured interviews may be the best format.

How the research interview is conducted is also key. If you want to do the interview quickly with the use of standardized questions on a questionnaire, choose structured interviews. Unstructured interviews, however, allow you to be flexible, delve deeper into the interview, and spend time with the respondents.

In many cases, a blend of structured and unstructured approaches may be best. Some structured interviews may contain open-ended and close-ended questions, allowing some standardization along with the opportunity to elaborate on some of the structured answers.

Why is an unstructured interview used?

Unstructured interviews are used to gather qualitative data in a flexible, less formal setting.

What are unstructured interviews best for?

Unstructured interviews are best for getting detailed, qualitative data. They allow the respondent to give detailed, more spontaneous responses.

Why would a researcher use unstructured interviews rather than structured interviews?

Unstructured interviews tend to be used by researchers who are familiar with the subject and want to gather in-depth information about it.

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Unstructured vs. structured interviews: Which to use and why?

We all like to think that we’re unbiased when it comes to hiring. 

But when you break it down, a lot of hiring decisions are actually based on criteria that aren’t at all related to how well a candidate will do in the job.

In fact, studies show that 39% of interviewees get rejected based on their confidence level, their tone, or whether they smiled in their interview.

You might not even realize you’re being biased – but short of committing to blind hiring , how can you solve this issue?

Changing the way you interview can help.

In this article, we’ll compare unstructured and structured interviews.

We’ll also explain how switching to a structured approach can help eliminate bias and make your hiring process quicker and easier.

Table of contents

What are unstructured interviews, what are structured interviews, what’s the difference, unstructured vs. structured interviews: which is better, so should we bid farewell to unstructured interviews, where next.

Unstructured interviews are pretty much what they say on the tin. 

You let the interview unfold like a conversation, and though you might have general topics you want to cover, you don’t have a specific set of questions written down or any agreed order in which to ask them.

This means that candidates are most likely to be asked questions that:

Are different every time

Are in a different order each time

Are not necessarily related to the core competencies of the role

Are not judged with a standardized assessment

Don’t have clear benchmarks for good answers 

Imagine you’re interviewing someone for a social media manager role. You spend a bit of time talking about their past experience, go on a tangent about Facebook ads and the algorithm, then forget to ask them what experience they have with influencer marketing (which is the very thing you want them to pioneer). 

This would be a typical unstructured interview – there’s a little hit and miss in the earlier stages, but there are scenarios in which it might be useful.

For example, if you have an experienced HR rep who can keep the interview on track, an unstructured approach might be okay. 

One of the advantages of unstructured interviews comes up in the later stages of the hiring process.

By this point, you usually have a good idea of whether the candidate could perform the job at hand. You’re mostly looking for rich qualitative data that can only be gleaned through natural conversation: how they come across in discussion and gel with your senior leadership.

In structured interviews, on the other hand, interviewers have a set of questions that have been designed in advance and focus on the core competencies of the role you’re hiring for.

You know what you’re looking for from each question, and you ask each one in the same order each time. You can go off-script if you want to, but you will always return to it. 

Let’s take the social-media manager example. Here are some questions you can use to help you find what you’re looking for in a social-media manager : 

Are you comfortable with Facebook Business Manager? 

What’s your experience with influencer marketing strategies? 

How would you best leverage Instagram to connect with customers? 

How do you feel about Instagram sponsored posts versus organic posts? 

You can also ask follow-up questions when appropriate, such as if they have a particularly interesting idea. However, you can trust that the questions on your list will lead you to the right conclusion.

There are two main types of questions in structured interviews: behavioral and situational.  

Let’s dig into them for a moment.

Behavioral interviews

Behavioral interviews, as you might guess from their name, focus on past behavior. 

However, they involve more than just recapping what a candidate has written on their CV: They’re an opportunity to dig into how the candidate has responded to challenges in their working life.

In the social media manager example we gave earlier, your list of questions might include:

Tell us about a time when you failed to reach a target. How did you handle it?

Can you give us an example of a campaign that wasn’t working? What did you do to rectify it?

Tell us about a time when you misunderstood an important task. How did you handle that situation?

The candidate’s answers will give you a deep insight into their capabilities based on real situations.

The other type of structured interview is the situational type.

Situational interviews

Whereas behavioral questions ask candidates how they have reacted to past work dilemmas, situational interview questions propose hypothetical scenarios and ask your candidate to describe how they would react if they were to happen.

Think of it as the difference between asking an interviewee to describe a time they had to fix a mistake they made at work and giving them an example of a mistake they might make on the job at your company and asking them how they’d react.

The advantage of including situational questions in structured interviews is that you can discuss the optimal answers with your team in advance and use their answers as a benchmark.

Here is a sample list of questions you might use in a situational interview:

What would you do if you made a mistake in your work but no one else on your team noticed?

How would you respond if a client asked you to allocate extra time to their project without speaking to your supervisor first?

How would you go about measuring the performance of our company?

In this case, the candidates’ responses will give you an idea of how they react under pressure, their creativity, and their ability to think on their feet.

Example of a structured interview in action

Here is an example video interview to give you a better idea of what a structured interview looks like – start with the section between 1:06 and 2:16. 

The difference between these two styles is pretty obvious if you’ve been paying attention, namely, whether or not you have prepared a list of questions in advance and stick to an exact order.

However, there is slightly more to it than that. Here’s a breakdown of the key differences between structured interviews and unstructured interviews and the benefits of each.

Now that we’re clear on what the two types are and their differences, the natural question that comes to mind is…

Let’s cut to the chase: We believe that structured interviews are less of a hassle for your hiring team and more effective overall.

This is because unstructured interviews are not a good predictor of job performance – in fact, they’re worse than flipping a coin. That’s why Google did away with them completely because they found that they predicted just 14% of job performance.

That doesn’t sound so bad, right? 

It does when you consider that reference checks are 7% effective at predicting candidates’ job performance, and looking at their years of work experience is 3% effective.

Structured interviews, on the other hand, performed much better. They predicted 26% of job performance, a number that could easily be supplemented with additional skills tests and sample work.

Finally, it turns out that work sample tests (skills testing) are the best predictors of job performance which is 29 percent effective. Meanwhile, cognitive ability testing is tied with structured interviews as the second-best predictor of job performance (also at 26 percent).

Here are some of the benefits of structured interviews and the reasons why we think you should use them in your business. 

1. They reduce your overall cost per hire

We all know that the hiring process can be expensive. An SHRM study showed that the average cost per hire is slightly more than $4,000 , thanks to spending on:

Fees for job boards and marketing for your job listing

Costs for running pre-interview assessments (though there are free options for candidate screening tests out there)

Any brand-building outreach your company does, for example, at college recruitment fairs

Internal costs

That last one is a big one. 

Internal costs include your salary and any costs you incur in-house during the recruitment process (for instance, hiring a meeting room for interviews if you’re in a communal office building). 

The more time you spend on hiring one candidate, the less value it brings to your business.

We know what you’re thinking: Surely, these costs are an argument in favor of unstructured interviews. You save time on interview prep, and all you need is the HR rep you’ve already hired.

That sounds right, but it’s not quite how that works.

Although unstructured interviews seem like less hassle up front because you don’t need to do as much prep for them, the initial preparation of a structured interview gives you the ability to make decisions much more quickly and easily once the interviews are over.

All of this means that structured interviews are much more effective than unstructured interviews. They’re easier for you when it comes to making a decision in the short term, and in the long term, there’s less chance that you’ll have to repeat the same process in six months.

You’ll avoid incurring the huge cost that comes with a bad hire , and your supervisors will thank you.

2. They’re more objective

When it comes to reducing bias in your selection of candidates for an interview, pre-interview testing is the way forward.

Once they’re in front of you, it’s time for structured interviews to take over. If you don’t believe us, ask the Harvard Business Review: They found that structured interviews were effective in removing bias from job interviews.

This is because all candidates are being asked the same questions in the same order, which gives them equal opportunity to show their skills and experience – not to mention the fact that it ensures your process is fully compliant with labor laws.

Structured interviewing techniques don’t just mitigate unconscious bias when it comes to factors such as gender. 

Yep. Did you know that one Yale study found that even after completing a training course on how to hire objectively, male and female scientists still preferred to hire men ?

They also help you stay on track no matter what mood you’re in or the pressure you’re under.

Imagine Candidate A comes in on a morning when you have an open schedule, and you’re feeling refreshed and energized. In an unstructured interview, you could chat with them for ages and have a lovely time, but you would not be able to dig deep into the core competency questions.

Candidate B, on the other hand, comes in on a Friday afternoon. You’re stressed because you have to finish a presentation for your boss before closing time. You’re not in the mood to goof around, so you have less fun but focus more on the key questions.

How on earth are you going to compare these two candidates? 

Well, that’s where our next benefit comes in.

3. They make it easier to analyze and compare results

By asking all of your candidates the same set of questions in the same order, you can gauge their performance much more quickly and easily through direct comparison.

This is especially true when you implement a rating scale for certain answers based on the key criteria you used to write the questions. 

This means no more “Oh, he was a really nice guy, but I spoke to her more about time management…”

Instead, you will be able to see at a glance that although Candidate A scored highly on having clear long-term goals and good communication skills, Candidate B had higher scores in the more critical areas for the job at hand. This will make data collection a breeze.

Congratulations, your decision just got much easier to make.

4. They reduce your time to hire

When combined with skills testing, structured interviews can be a highly effective tool in reducing your overall time to hire .

According to an interview conducted by Yello, 35% of recruiters said that evaluating candidates was the most time-consuming part of the hiring process, while 28% said it was making a final decision. However, with a structured interview and skills tests, you don’t have to spend loads of time reading CVs or picking over interview notes.

You can make quick, data-informed decisions with a high likelihood of success. Not only will this make scaling hiring easier, but if you’re in charge of hiring for a role alongside your main job, it enables you to get back to your key focus area as soon as possible.

5. They’re based on present skills, not past experience

Finally, structured interviews enable your candidates to show you what they can actually do – not just tell you what they’ve already done. 

By the end of your interview process, you can be totally sure that your candidates are qualified, particularly if you already filtered them using optimized skills testing .

This leaves you free to use your expertise to find the right fit. 

This isn’t just guesswork: Research shows that job experience is a poor predictor of job performance .

Instead, researchers recommend that you shift your focus to better predictors, like cognitive-ability tests, structured interviews, situational-judgment tests, and college grade point average.

In most scenarios, yes – the benefits we’ve covered above are overwhelming…

However, you can still rely on unstructured interviews if you:

Require qualitative data (likely in a final interview after giving a structured interview)

Want to offer a “relaxed” interview environment

Have highly experienced HR staff who know how to minimize biases

Combine it with reliable skills tests, like TestGorilla’s skills tests

Another option is to go for semi-structured interviews in place of unstructured interviews. These bridge the gap between structured and unstructured interviews – take a look:

Now that you know the differences between structured and unstructured interviews and the benefits of structured interviews for your company, there’s one logical next step: Creating an unbiased structured interview process for your organization.

But do you need to go at it alone?

No, we’re here to help with our article on how to conduct a structured interview , in which we give you:

Best practices for creating structured interview questions

Top tips to use before a structured interview with candidates

An interview guide template for a structured interview

An overview of how skills tests can make the process even more efficient and effective

Go on, click that link and keep learning!

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Structured Interview vs. Unstructured Interview: What’s the Difference?

Settling the debate of which is better, structured interview vs. unstructured interview, is pretty easy — it depends . 😉

Seriously, though, conducting job interviews is tough for any hiring manager. While you want to learn as much useful information about a candidate as possible to determine if they’re a good fit for the role, it’s also important to make the candidate feel comfortable opening up during the process.

So which type of interview is best? Again, it depends. As you prepare for your next round of interviews, it’s worth understanding the key differences between these approaches so you can determine which method might work best, given the role you’re hiring for, your company culture, and your candidate pool.

TL;DR — Key Takeaways

• Think of structured interviews like a quiz, where everyone gets the same questions . This makes it easier to compare apples to apples. Unstructured interviews are more like a casual chat over coffee — the conversation can go anywhere based on the candidate’s responses.
• Structured interviews are your go-to when you’ve got lots of applicants or need to measure specific skills . On the flip side, unstructured interviews are great for getting a feel for someone’s personality or problem-solving style . These are often used for senior roles or when you’ve narrowed down your list to a few top candidates.
• When should you use an unstructured interview vs. a structured interview? It all depends on what you’re looking for . If you need to compare lots of people or test certain abilities, go for a structured interview. But if you want to dive deeper into a person’s character or thought process, an unstructured interview is usually best.
• There are hiring tools out there that can help with both types of interviews. Toggl Hire, for example, has features like skills tests and candidate ranking for structured interviews and flexible question design for unstructured ones.

What is a structured interview?

Structured interviews consist of a pre-defined set of questions that are prepared in advance and asked of every candidate.

The hiring manager or HR department can use the answers and qualitative data to score the candidates and assess whether they will be a good fit for the role and if they should move up in the interview process.

“In a structured interview, well-trained interviewers ask a set of planned, rigorous, and relevant interview questions and use a scoring guide to make sure their interview ratings are accurate. Structured interviews are one of the best tools we have to identify the strongest job candidates (i.e., predictive validity). Not only that, they avoid the pitfalls of some of the other common methods.” Dr. Melissa Harrell , a hiring effectiveness expert on the Google People Analytics team

The structured interview style is commonplace in corporate environments as a part of introduction calls from job recruiters and at the beginning of the hiring pipeline.

By implementing structured interviews, it’s easier to turn the interviewee’s answers into a binary assessment of their strengths and weaknesses.

Examples of a structured interview

It’s ultimately best to create your own structured interview questions. However, regardless of which questions you choose to ask in a structured interview, the goal is to ensure they provide you (or your hiring team) with insight into a candidate’s skills, experience, and suitability for the role.

Here are a few examples.

General Job Applicant Questions . These typically focus on skills and experience. For example:

• “Describe a time when you used your communication skills to resolve a conflict at work.”
• “Can you provide an example of a project where you had to use your problem-solving skills?”

Manager Level Questions. For managerial roles, questions often probe leadership style and handling team dynamics. A sample question might be:

• “Tell me about a time when you had to manage a team through a challenging situation. How did you handle it, and what was the outcome?”

What is an unstructured interview?

An unstructured interview is usually conducted in a more casual setting.

Unlike a structured interview, the unstructured interview doesn’t necessarily have a pre-defined list of questions. The interviewer has an idea of the type of candidate they need for the role and asks more open-ended, free-flowing questions.

This makes collecting unbiased data significantly more difficult. It also makes it much harder to compare candidates .

The types of questions in an unstructured interview can vary greatly, from asking candidates about their past employment to how they tackle complex situations.

The ‘bias’ issue with unstructured interviews

The open nature of an unstructured interview means that the hiring manager might immediately make the wrong decisions. After all, we make snap decisions and have an unconscious bias when meeting a new person.

This can greatly weigh against finding the perfect future employee and cost the company a fantastic new hire. Humans, after all, aren’t objective.

Examples of an unstructured interview

Remember, the goal of an unstructured interview is to let the conversation flow naturally, providing a comprehensive understanding of the candidate’s capabilities and fit for the role.

These questions do not follow a predefined pattern and are often more open-ended, allowing the interviewee to express their personality and soft skills more freely.

General Questions . Unstructured interviews often start with broad, open-ended questions such as:

• “Tell me about yourself.”
• “What led you to apply for this role?”

Experience-Based Questions. These might be more specific to the individual’s experiences, like:

• “Can you share a project that you’re particularly proud of?”
• “Describe a challenging work situation and how you handled it.”

Clarification Questions. These allow the interviewer to gain further insight and clarification based on the interviewee’s responses. For example:

• “You mentioned that you led a team in your previous role. Can you tell us more about how you motivated your team during challenging periods?”

When should you use a structured interview?

As mentioned earlier, the structured interview is more commonly adopted by growing organizations and established corporate entities.

For example, Google has an entire guide on how it uses structured interviews during its hiring process. It’s a great starting point when researching structured interview questions.

This type of interview is perfect when filling a role that has specific or technical requirements. For example, if you needed to find the exact piece of machinery to fit a highly sophisticated assembly line, you’d use a structured interview model.

You’d be better off opting for structured interviews when:

• You have a well-defined job description and know exactly what skills and competencies are needed on the job
• You need to fill the role promptly and want a fast, efficient hiring process
• You want to eliminate any type of bias from the hiring process
• More people are involved in the hiring process, and you know you’ll be comparing notes on candidates to make the final hiring decision

When should you use an unstructured interview?

The smaller your organization, the easier it is to utilize the unstructured interview format. For example, startups consisting of five or so people will waste time trying to put together a rigid interview process for a new hire.

By using an unstructured interview, it’s easier to fill jack-of-all-trades roles or add additional skills and knowledge to your growing business.

Unstructured interviews also make it easier for every person in the organization to ask their own interview questions without everyone being on the same page. It’s more time-consuming than structured interviews, but it’s also far less set in stone .

But…relying on unstructured interviews alone might lead to a bad hire . Remember, interviews are not great job performance predictors. We highly recommend combining them with structured skills assessments .

Unstructured questions in the late-stage interview

Unfortunately, an unstructured interview is not a good representation of a candidate’s future job performance (interviews, in general, when conducted without skills assessments or homework assignments, are rarely a good measure of job performance, honestly).

This is why the unstructured interview method is best left for the later stages of the hiring process. Once you’ve gathered enough data on the candidate, you can ask the interviewee a list of questions to better showcase their personality.

Interviewers will also have an easier time understanding the differences between various candidates after the initial round of structured questions.

Interviewing candidates through a conversation is an excellent way to explore their particular personal skills. Stakeholders and hiring managers generally handle this approach to confirm cultural alignment .

However, it isn’t easy to compare candidates when they answer unstructured questions. Candidate A might use examples of their previous work as an answer, while Candidate B answers with anecdotal or hypothetical responses.

And then we find ourselves right back to bias.

A hiring manager may already have a favorable opinion of the candidate and ignore how they answer the questions asked of them.

You’d be better off opting for unstructured interviews when:

• The position you’re hiring for is not clearly defined and can be shaped by the successful candidate
• You have a top-class HR leadership on board who knows how to control and minimize biases
• You’re using skills assessments to predict job performance and unstructured interviews to assess interpersonal skills
• You’re ‘following up’ on a structured interview to collect more qualitative insights

The pros and cons of structured vs. unstructured interviews

As you can see, each of these interview types has its pros and cons. It’s important to understand the best situations for implementing a structured and unstructured interview.

The benefits of structured vs. unstructured interviews

The structured interview method holds several advantages when it comes to assessing candidates, namely…

The drawbacks of structured vs. unstructured interviews

However, structured interviews aren’t without their limitations, either.

Creating a structured, data-driven hiring process with Toggl Hire

Whether you’re a multimillion-dollar corporation or a small startup, when hiring, using data is the best way to find the perfect candidate for the job.

If you’re finding it tough to accurately assess candidates without introducing bias into the process, it’s high time you look for a tool that can help you create a completely structured recruitment funnel to make the process as easy as possible for your company.

Toggl Hire is built around making the hiring process as easy and data-driven for you as possible. You can pick structured assessment tests for any skill or role from our test library , for example, or create bespoke ones yourself.

Regardless of how you choose to use it, here are three tips for getting the most out of our recruiting tool to help you create fair interview processes that yield the results you’re looking for — a great candidate experience, faster time to hire, and the right employees on your team.

Tip #1. Clearly explain the interview process

Be transparent with the candidates and clear about the various stages of the hiring process you’ll put them through. This allows candidates to prepare for every stage of the interview process and know what to expect.

You don’t have to struggle with this alone, though. If you’re using Toggl Hire, we already have role-specific hiring flows that you can access.

Say you’re hiring a JavaScript developer. When you create a Job for a JavaScript developer, we will automatically generate a pipeline stage for a video test, homework assignment , and interview. You can then adjust those stages by attaching relevant tests or simply tracking the progress of your pipeline.

Tip #2. Use qualitative questions in the interview

Asking the interviewee brainteaser questions might make you, the hiring manager, feel smarter and self-satisfied during the interview, but it’s bad practice.

After all, there’s no correlation between general cognitive ability and insight problems like brainteasers.

Instead, we use data, research, and expert insights to create questions that assess the technical skills required on the job. These standardized questions greatly increase the results, whether they’re positive or negative, of a structured hiring process.

The goal? To help you find the most qualified candidate, not the best interviewer.

Tip #3. Conduct multiple structured interviews at once

Setting up and conducting an intro interview is a time-consuming process. But with asynchronous video intros , you can conduct multiple structured interviews with candidates simultaneously.

The nature of a structured pre-recorded interview allows for all candidates to receive the same questions. And the best part is that we have a pool of 500+ skill-relevant interview questions at the ready!

Unlike unstructured interviews, asynchronous video interviews will follow a set formula and don’t require face-to-face conversations in real time that consume the interviewer or interviewee’s time.

Once an interviewee has finished answering their questions, you can review pre-recorded video answers , add notes and share them with the rest of the hiring team. This way, it’s easy to go back and compare shortlisted candidates later in the process or have less biased internal discussions.

The verdict on structured interview vs. unstructured interview

Now that you know the difference between structured and unstructured interviews, the conclusion is obvious — they both have a place in the recruitment process when combined with skills assessments.

• Interviews can’t predict future job performance. Combining practical skills tests with structured interviewing techniques yields the best results in shortlisting the right candidates.
• The advantages of structured interviews include: more predictive validity, interviewers are happier and saving time, and candidates report having a better overall experience.
• The pitfalls of unstructured interviews: more informal by nature and, therefore, more prone to bias. Often tend to be less effective in comparably assessing candidates’ capabilities. Work well as a form of qualitative data collection after a structured interview has taken place.

Don’t leave your hiring success to chance. Get started with a standardized recruitment flow by leveraging pre-built skills assessments. Create your free account now.

Juste loves investigating through writing. A copywriter by trade, she spent the last ten years in startups, telling stories and building marketing teams. She works at Toggl Hire and writes about how businesses can recruit really great people.

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What Is a Structured Interview? Definition and Examples.

A structured interview is when an interviewer uses the same predetermined list of questions with all job candidates. Having questions already laid out in advance can help hiring managers and HR professionals feel prepared as they head into an interview , and it can make the interview process more straightforward, mitigating bias both in the interview room and while evaluating applicants’ answers after the interview.

Different from unstructured interviews, which are more like free-flowing conversations that take different directions based on the candidate and their responses, the structured interview approach can be customized to suit the hiring strategy for a variety of positions. 

And when given an overview of what the structure will look like, applicants may feel more relaxed and better prepared for the interview, which allows them to comfortably demonstrate and explain the qualities that make them a good fit for the job. That makes it easier for recruiters and hiring managers to identify and connect with some of the highest quality candidates in their talent pool .

What Is a Structured Interview?

A structured interview is one where the interviewer uses a standard set of questions that they ask each job candidate who’s vying for the position. Meaning, they don’t really improvise or go “off script” based on how the conversation is going.

James Durago, director of people operations at database platform company Molecula, told Built In in 2022 that he swears by the structured interview process. A tight labor market can make finding the right candidates for open positions particularly difficult. That’s why it’s even more important now to have well-thought-out plans for the interview process, Durago explained. By planning, hiring managers can tailor interviews to the roles they are hiring for and find the best candidates for them.

Structured interviews can be easier on interviewers, Durago said. It’s common for companies to have several different internal employees involved in the hiring process, and not all of them will have the same level of interviewing experience and preparation. Setting a well-defined interview structure helps make the experience better for candidates and ensures the costly hiring process is worthwhile for the company.

“You don’t just want to just throw it into the wind and hope and pray that it sticks. That’s not a good use of your money or your time.”

“Maybe you go through 10 candidates — that’s 10 hours of just your own personal time, and then you’ve got to ask other people to interview that person,” Durago said. “You don’t just want to just throw it into the wind and hope and pray that it sticks. That’s not a good use of your money or your time.”

Access ready-to-use resources to successfully plan, conduct and evaluate candidate interviews remotely.

Structured Vs. Unstructured Interviews 

Both structured and unstructured interviews have their advantages and disadvantages during the hiring process . For example, a structured interview provides the person asking the questions with a written checklist so they can get their bearings at the start of each interview and be sure they don’t miss anything important. Unstructured interviews, on the other hand, can help interviewers evaluate a candidate’s approach to problem-solving and understand how they make decisions. 

Deciding on the right interview format to fill your vacant roles can depend on the type of position you’re hiring for and what skills you need to evaluate.

Structured Interviews Vs. Unstructured Interviews

• Structured interviews are characterized by a predetermined list of questions that interviewers ask all candidates. Giving an overarching structure to the interview provides a consistent experience for all candidates. Structured interviews also help interviewers avoid asking redundant questions.
• Unstructured interviews are more like free-flowing conversations. Unstructured portions of interviews allow interviewers to understand candidates on a deeper level. Unstructured interviews help in assessing behavioral portions of the interview process.

Structured Interview Advantages

Having a predetermined interview structure can give each interviewer a better understanding of their role and the purpose of the interview, which in turn can help them evaluate candidates. It gives them the ability to piece together a clearer picture of each applicant’s strengths and weaknesses.

Job interviews are already stressful for candidates, and having completely unstructured interviews can make the experience even more nerve-wracking. Giving candidates an outline of what to expect, like who they will speak to and what skills they will be tested for can take away much of the anxiety caused by uncertainty.

“For example, if I know this interview is going to be focusing on interpersonal skills or teamwork, then I can at least put myself in that frame of thought and put my best foot forward,” Durago said.

MORE ON HIRING The Ideal Interview Template for Software Engineers

STRUCTURED INTERVIEW DISADVANTAGES

The structured interview process also has its downsides. For example, the seemingly formal nature of ticking off questions has the potential to make an interviewer — and by association, their organization — come off as disconnected, cold or even intimidating. This can make it difficult to build a rapport or relationship with applicants, as well as get an accurate read on their temperament and communication skills .

And because a structured interview is supposed to stick mostly to a fixed set of questions, interviewers aren’t able to ask follow-ups that take more of a deep dive. They’re certainly able to prompt candidates to provide clarity or expand on something they said, but the structured interview process doesn’t necessarily allow them to stray into a more complex discussion.

Unstructured Interview Advantages

For Ani Khachatoorian, VP of people at e-commerce natural food company Thrive Market , unstructured interviews come in handy when hiring for higher leadership positions. She’ll ask them standard questions about how many people they’ve managed and their department’s org chart, but also open-ended questions about their experiences and career journey.

“It’s not just the results — how you break down a complicated project is equally important,” she said. “Because we also want diversity of thought and diversity of experiences. And if we don’t ask for your experiences, and we just ask for that end result, we’re not going to have a team that could approach really big, hard problems in a multifaceted way.”

Even interviews for technical positions shouldn’t stick to a strictly structured format. Interviews for senior technical positions, especially, move away from curated coding questions and focus more on conversations about process and software design, said Sonali Moholkar, engineering manager at blockchain analysis company Chainalysis.

“When you have system design and behavioral rounds , they naturally tend to be a little more semi-structured,” Moholkar said. “Because there is no one way to design a system. Depending on the [candidate’s] experience, the conversations can go in completely different directions.”

Unstructured Interview Disadvantages

With a totally unstructured interview, there’s always the danger that an interviewer might try to fill up 60 minutes of time with random questions, or that different interviewers might ask  one candidate the same questions. 

As a candidate, Durago has been on the receiving side of poorly conducted unstructured interviews and has seen firsthand how disorganized they can be.

A sloppy interview process is not only a waste of the candidate’s time, but can also be harmful for the company in the long run. Job candidates are also consumers and can share their bad interview experiences with other consumers, which can have a negative effect on a company’s reputation.

“Those candidates, whether we hire them or not, have a platform, and that platform is powerful,” Durago said. “If you don’t have an [established] brand that can carry weight, then you’re making your job of growing your business exponentially harder.”

How to Conduct a Structured Interview 

All interviewers should be trained on basic interviewing skills , such as understanding what’s appropriate and relevant to ask during the interview process. If the hiring process consists of several interviews with different people, make sure they are not interviewing the candidates for redundant skills.

Agree on Questions Before Starting Interviews

For structured interviews, Durago recommends writing down a list of interview questions and reviewing them with all interviewers before any candidates are involved.

Questions should be based on the company’s hiring philosophy and values, he said. Interviewers can reflect whatever is most important to the company by compiling questions that map back to those core values . Questions can then be tweaked for different positions in ways that still address those same values.

Tailor Questions to Find the Right Employee for the Job

Hiring managers should also think about what types of employees thrive at the company, Durago said. All companies are different, with different corporate environments, so hiring managers should tailor interview questions to the types of candidates that would do well in their particular environment. If employees are expected to work on tight-knit teams, for example, the interview should include questions about their teamwork experience and communication skills . If employees are expected to be self-directed, interviewers should ask about their time-management strategies and methods for prioritizing tasks.

“If it’s a teamwork question, I can ask a software engineer, ‘Tell me about a time when you had a disagreement with one of your peers — how did you work it out?’” Durago said. “In sales, you can say something along the lines of, ‘Tell me about a time when you had a particularly challenging relationship with one of your existing clients — how were you able to salvage that relationship and turn it into a fruitful one?’”

Give Candidates Insight About the Interview Structure

It may also be helpful to let candidates know the overall structure of the interview process ahead of time. Companies shouldn’t share exact questions, but telling candidates how many sets of interviews there are, who they will talk to and the general types of questions to expect can help candidates prepare.

“Just letting them know that, for example, we use graphs a lot via the company so just be aware of traversing a graph,” Moholkar said. “It’s a huge domain to be aware of, because you don’t necessarily write algorithms on a day-to-day basis at work. So having the interviewers prep the candidates a little bit just helps.”

Decide on Criteria to Objectively Evaluate Candidates

As hiring teams decide on the questions and overall structure that will dictate the interview process, they should arrange a system for evaluating candidates’ responses as well. Those criteria should be adapted to the specific position and necessary qualifications, such as focusing on interpersonal skills for someone who will have to work within a team. With the structured interview format, being prepared to ask a predetermined list of questions in a fixed order can make it easier for interviewers to follow criteria for grading applicants. 

Creating a scoring system sets a more even playing field for assessing applicants’ skills, work style and overall suitability for the role and job environment. It also ensures that if multiple interviewers need to be involved in conducting interviews for a single position, they all have a clear and unified strategy for comparing applicants and determining who should move onto the next stage.

MORE ON HIRING How to Source Diverse Talent

Examples of Structured Interview Questions

These 10 examples of structured interview questions can be tailored to cover assessing a candidate’s interpersonal and technical skills, whether they’d be a good fit for the team, how they approach solving internal and external challenges and their career trajectory.

• What are your biggest strengths and weaknesses?
• Describe how you give feedback to others and the most effective way for you to receive feedback.
• Think about a really effective manager you worked under. What made them so successful in that position and did they demonstrate any skills or attributes you try to emulate?
• What do you find most challenging about this kind of job? What skills, experience or knowledge do you bring that would help you overcome those challenges?
• Tell me about a successful project you worked on. Why was it memorable to you and what was your role or contribution?
• Tell me about a time when a project you worked on didn’t go as planned. What did you learn from that experience?
• Tell me about a time when you disagreed with a colleague or manager. How did you communicate your difference of opinion and resolve the disagreement?
• Tell me about a challenging relationship or interaction you had with a client. How did you work through that situation and turn the relationship or interaction into a fruitful one?
• If you’re faced with (pose a common problem or task they’re likely to encounter in the job), briefly walk me through the steps you’d take to tackle that situation.
• What are your career goals for the next five years and what experience or professional development opportunities do you think this company can provide to help you get there?

We analyzed more than half a million applications to uncover what the candidate journey in the tech industry looks like.

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Structured vs. Unstructured Interviews: The Key Differences

October 9, 2023 | Interviewing

We focus a lot on interview questions and how they play a role in identifying the best candidate for a given job, but the interview format you choose can also influence your hiring success. From the level of preparation to the candidate experience, the type of interview you use can impact the efficiency and effectiveness of your hiring. We’ll explain the difference between structured vs. unstructured interviews and share some things to consider when choosing the best interview style for you.

What is a Structured Interview?

In a structured interview, an interviewer asks a series of predetermined questions that have been selected to assess specific traits and skills. Interviewers ask every candidate the same questions in the same order and use a structured rating system to score participants. 

In a structured interview, you’ll hear questions like:

• What skills make you a strong fit for this job?
• What is your preferred communication style?
• How do you manage your time?

What is an Unstructured Interview?

In an unstructured interview, an interviewer goes into it with a loose plan but lets the conversation happen naturally. They review the available information about a candidate and ask questions on topics they’re interested in learning more about or that organically come up. Each candidate may be asked different questions in a different order.

An unstructured interview may include questions like:

• Tell me a little about yourself. 
• I see that you worked as a [previous role]. What was that like?
• What are your goals?

Key Differences Between Structured and Unstructured Interviews

Where a structured interview is very well defined, an unstructured interview is more fluid. A structured interview “feels” like an interview, with the interviewer spending most of the time asking the questions and the candidate answering them. An unstructured interview flows more like an everyday conversation, with both parties speaking or listening according to how the conversation unfolds. 

Structured interviews are conducted within a fixed window, with the same amount of time allocated to each candidate. Unstructured interviews often go ‘as long as it takes,’ with some candidate conversations lasting longer than others. 

The rigid design of a structured interview can make it feel more formal than an unstructured interview, which can feel more casual. 

Flexibility

Structured interviews require interviewers to adhere to a fixed list of questions, with no flexibility to deviate from the script. Unstructured interviews offer much more wiggle room, allowing interviewers to meander from one topic to the next.

Benefits of Structured Interviews

Provides a level playing field.

Because all candidates are being asked the same set of questions, it’s more likely that they’ll be evaluated on the same criteria. No single candidate receives an advantage because of an arbitrary detail like where they grew up or what hobbies they enjoy.

Facilitates time management

Structured interviews occur within a set time frame, like 9 to 9:30 a.m. This makes it an ideal format when you have many candidates to speak to and must manage your time effectively. 

Simplifies candidate comparison

When all candidates speak on the same prompts, it’s easier to identify when one of them outperforms the rest. Structured interviews lend themselves to objective scoring, which is helpful if you use an assessment system like interview score sheets . 

Protects against discrimination complaints

Structured interviews force interviewers to stay within carefully constructed bounds. This format makes it much more unlikely the conversation will veer into dangerous territory that could give a candidate grounds for a discrimination complaint. 

Aids less experienced interviewers

It’s hard for a newbie to screw up an unstructured interview; they must read what’s on the paper. This is helpful for novice recruiting teams that are still honing their interview skills. 

Downsides of Structured Interviews

Requires lots of advance planning.

Though structured interviews are easier to conduct now, they require more planning upfront. Teams must carefully identify the most important characteristics for success in the role, then strategize interview questions that will help them discern the candidate’s aptitude in those areas. 

Doesn’t allow For deep dives

The “stick to the script” nature of structured interviews means there’s no room to deviate from the plan, even if a topic of particular interest warrants further discussion. This can cause frustration for both interviewers and interviewees. 

Can feel overly formal

It’s tricky for a candidate to understand a company’s culture when they’re facing one question after another. This inflexibility can make it hard to build rapport. 

Benefits of Unstructured Interviews

Offers greater flexibility.

Unstructured interviews allow interviewers to explore topics that pique their interest and seem most engaging to the candidate. This can be useful in drawing out a candidate’s unique personality and allowing them to express their enthusiasm. 

Can help convey your culture

The interview is one of the only chances a candidate has to get a face-to-face impression of your company. If your workplace is more casual, unstructured interviews may feel more closely aligned with your culture, giving the candidate a more accurate representation. 

Some candidates will thrive

Some types of candidates excel within the conversational style of an unstructured interview. It can be a good format if you’re looking for an extroverted candidate or who thrives in uncertain situations. 

Downsides of Unstructured Interviews

Important topics can go undiscussed.

Unstructured interviews are more susceptible to people going off on tangents. This means you might not get to cover everything you wanted, including important topics to make an accurate judgment. 

Makes side-by-side comparisons difficult

Think about any hometown bake-off. The contest requires ambitious chefs to enter their best apple pie or bowl of chili because it’s easy to taste one after the other and decide which you like best. It wouldn’t be so easy to name the “best” if you were tasting an apple pie, a pumpkin pie, and a blueberry pie. They’re different, so it’s tougher to compare them. 

Unstructured interviews mean you’re having a completely different conversation with each candidate, so it’s more challenging to weigh them equally against one another and declare a winner.

Related: How to Evaluate Candidates in a Job Interview

Greater risk of mistakes

When interview questions aren’t tied to specific skills, interviewers must rely on subjective judgment to identify the top candidate. However, having a great conversation with someone doesn’t qualify them to perform specific job duties. This can result in hiring under-qualified or misaligned candidates. 

Invites bias

The subjectivity involved in unstructured interviews can introduce unwanted bias, which reduces hiring accuracy and poses a compliance threat. For example, if you discover through the course of a conversation that a candidate attends the same church as you and they’re ultimately hired, you could find yourself in the tough spot of being forced to prove religion didn’t factor into your hiring decision. 

Tough to do well

It requires a very specific type of interviewer to conduct unstructured interviews successfully. It can take years to perfect the skill, which isn’t ideal when replicating the process across teams and experience levels. 

Should I Use Structured or Unstructured Interviews?

Most companies find that an interview process combining a blend of structured and unstructured styles works well. 

For example, suppose you have a multi-round interview process. In that case, you might use a structured format for the first conversation and an unstructured format in the later hiring stages when you’ve narrowed the pool down to only one or two candidates. 

The best type of interview for your organization will depend on your goals–how fast you need to hire, how many candidates you’re considering, the level of technical experience you need, and so on. Carefully weighing these goals against the pros and cons of each style will help you choose an interview format that not only leads you to the best candidate but also provides an experience that accurately represents your culture.

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About Pete Newsome

Pete Newsome is the President of 4 Corner Resources, the staffing and recruiting firm he founded in 2005. 4 Corner is a member of the American Staffing Association and TechServe Alliance, and the top-rated staffing company in Central Florida. Recent awards and recognition include being named to Forbes’ Best Recruiting Firms in America, The Seminole 100, and The Golden 100. Pete also founded ze ngig , to offer comprehensive career advice, tools, and resources for students and professionals. He hosts two podcasts, Hire Calling and Finding Career Zen, and is blazing new trails in recruitment marketing with the latest artificial intelligence (AI) technology. C onnect with Pete on LinkedIn

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More From Forbes

Structured versus unstructured interviews.

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Interviewing job candidates is a critical skill for business owners, and it’s not as easy as it may sound. Getting it right – meaning, to get the information you need in order to make the most informed choice about your next hire, and to do it without accidentally infringing on any legal protections -- takes preparation and focus.

How much preparation and focus depends on your interview method, though any approach requires some type of formal process. For instance, you’ll be building a detailed candidate profile and using it to guide your questioning before beginning the process.

Beyond that, the more structure you apply and the more planning and discipline involved, generally speaking, the easier the evaluation process.

The Structured Interview Approach

You usually see interview styles broken down into two types: structured and unstructured. The structured interview is the kind most people are familiar with -- formal atmosphere, prepared questions, lots of talk about the skills required for the job and how the candidate plans to meet your company’s needs and expectations. Structured-interview questions are typically open-ended, including the likes of:

• What’s your greatest strength? Greatest weakness?

• Why are you interested in this position?

• Tell me about a work experience in which you experienced a conflict. How did you solve it?

There’s a lot of forethought involved in conducting structured interviews. The process is essentially set in stone before the first candidate walks through the door: After analyzing your needs, you develop a set of questions and a rating scale to match it; you go into each interview with the questions in hand, ask them in the order in which they appear on the paper/screen, take notes on each response and resist the urge to stray into other territory. (It can take some discipline.) Then you compare candidates objectively using the rating scale you developed. You do not stray from the script, and you do not stray from the rating scale.

It may seem a little confining, but there are great benefits to the structured approach. A standardized interview process levels the playing field so you can evaluate each candidate on exactly the same traits, increasing the odds you’ll pick the closest match to your ideal-candidate profile. A fully preset interview also keeps you on-task, focusing on the details you need to know in order to make your best decision.

The Unstructured Interview Approach

At the other end of the spectrum, you have completely unstructured interviews. Here, you go in with the knowledge you gained from the candidate profile and a general idea of what you want to know, and you let the rest unfold naturally. It’s a conversation, not a question-and-answer session; you start out with something like, “Tell me a little about yourself,” and just see where it goes from there. You have no prepared questions or order you’re trying to follow; you may try to guide the conversation toward certain topics, but there’s no detailed plan.

I think the main benefit of the unstructured approach is the freedom to roam. You start with a loose plan and just go where the conversation takes you. It can be valuable to follow an interesting lead that happens to come up in a candidate’s answer, rather than sticking to a script. The freestyle approach is probably appealing to certain personalities, too; some people thrive in chaos.

But when it comes to interviewing, chaos can have real drawbacks. Following an interesting lead can be risky on several fronts. For one thing, since you’re not asking every candidate the same questions, in the same order, your evaluations can be skewed -- you’re comparing apples to oranges. It’s difficult to know whether your decisions are based in fact, feeling or misinterpretation.

Perhaps graver, you could end up in regulatory hot water. In any hiring situation, you have to be prepared to legally defend your decisions. Without a structured interview plan, you can end up straying into dangerous territory when it comes to compliance issues.

Government regulations say you can’t base hiring decisions on information related to legally protected traits like race, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin or religion. And if you get to talking about what the candidate likes to do on the weekends, and the candidate mentions he spends every Sunday at church, you might be hard-pressed to prove you didn’t factor religion into your hiring decision.

It’s best not to know. And the best way not to know is to stick to a list of questions you prepared beforehand.

Finding Your Interview Sweet Spot

A fully structured interview is your best protection against accidental compliance problems, and it’s the surest way to an objective hiring decision; however, it doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing decision. You can go with an overall structured approach -- predesigned questions, order and ranking scale -- and inject however much risk you’re comfortable with. You might allow for some free-form conversation at the beginning or end of the interview or allow yourself one or two follow-up questions that aren’t entirely on task.

The idea is to gather the information you need to make the best hiring decision while sticking to the law; not every business owner gets there in the exact same way and it can take some practice to develop your most effective interviewing style. Whatever your end goal, consider starting with a structured approach. Especially when you’re starting out, it’s the safest, simplest way to go.

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Unstructured Interviews: When and How to Use Them

Introduction

Structured and unstructured interviews, the pros and cons of unstructured interviews, when would you use unstructured interviews, the unstructured interview process.

Of the three types of interviews in qualitative research , the unstructured interview is the most free-flowing. It provides the greatest flexibility in gathering participants' answers in a social interaction that resembles a natural conversation. While all interviews involve collecting data in the form of the respondents' own words as they answer the interviewer's questions, the unstructured interview offers researchers the most freedom to explore participants' responses as deeply as they need to meet their research objectives.

In this article, we will look at what researchers do to plan , conduct, and analyze unstructured interviews in qualitative studies.

An unstructured interview (sometimes known as a non-directive interview) stands in contrast to a structured interview . Structured interviews have a rigid protocol that includes a set of predetermined questions. The interviewer asks the same questions to all participants so they can have neatly organized and comparable data across participants.

Structured interviews are ideal when researchers have a clear notion of which questions should be asked and there is no need to stay open to exploring other potential directions which participants might bring up. Unstructured interviews, on the other hand, permit researchers to ask spontaneous probing questions to gain deeper understanding of unexpected things that could emerge during the interview.

Unstructured interview definition

An unstructured interview is a free-flowing conversation between a researcher and participant. The interviewer has a broad research question that guides their interest in conducting the interview , but the interview questions are not decided beforehand. Rather, the researcher poses questions to the participant in the moment, depending on the flow of the conversation.

Researchers who employ unstructured interviews acknowledge that each respondent will have different insights that can only be uncovered by asking questions tailored to each individual they interview. Unstructured interview questions are then determined over the course of the interview as researcher and respondent interact with each other. This allows the researcher to collect open-ended data and take advantage of opportunities that arise to probe further into respondents' perspectives or experiences about key topics or phenomena.

Keep in mind that a semi-structured interview can be a good compromise between structured and unstructured interviews. If you need the flexibility of a natural conversation setting and the structure provided by a set of predetermined questions, then semi-structured interviews might be the best option for your research.

The strategy that you adopt for conducting interviews is going to depend on the research questions in your study as well as the particular circumstances of the research context and interview respondents. Let's look at some of the key advantages and disadvantages of unstructured interviews.

Advantages of unstructured interviews

In a nutshell, an unstructured interview is an open-ended interaction that can move in any direction that arises as the researcher and participant engage in the conversation. To be sure, the interviewer has a set research objective in mind when conducting the interview. However, unstructured interviews have a natural flow and give interview respondents agency over the interaction. In situations where respondents feel they can control the interaction, they may be more open to providing more in-depth answers to interview questions.

As a result, the data collected from an unstructured interview can allow the researcher to dig deeper into the perspectives of respondents. The depth of the knowledge gained from unstructured interviews can prove valuable in gaining an insider perspective of social customs and cultural practices, especially when there is limited current understanding or theory that could meaningfully inform what kinds of questions are worth asking.

Disadvantages of unstructured interviews

Unstructured interviews flow in different and, oftentimes, unanticipated directions, which can pose challenges when it comes to analyzing all the data and making comparisons across participants. For example, each participant you interview may focus on different aspects of the phenomenon you are studying. While each of these aspects can contribute meaningful understanding to your phenomenon, integrating all these different perspectives into a coherent theory or story might be difficult.

On the other hand, since unstructured interviews can move in unexpected directions, there is also the risk that the interviewer loses the thread of an important research topic or the conversation explores unrelated tangents. Researchers should take care to balance the need for the interview to flow naturally and the objective of gathering valuable information from respondents.

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It is important to conduct interviews that are more suitable to your particular study and research objectives. This section looks at some of the considerations that you should keep in mind when deciding if an unstructured interview is best for your research.

Thick description through interviews

Unstructured interviews are best suited for exploratory research that adopts an inductive approach to developing theory. If the goal of your research is to establish a deep understanding of a culture or custom where there is insufficient theoretical development , then your study can engage in a concept known as thick description, which involves exploring the respondent's answers to grasp the nuances and interpretations of a particular social concept.

Matching research question to interview type

The influence of the interviewer plays a major role in using unstructured interviews. Think about an interview study that explores sensitive topics like hospice care or migrant work. A structured interview or even a semi-structured interview might not be the most appropriate form of interview when you are trying to gain the respondent's trust. After all, direct questions on controversial issues can make people hesitant to provide open, detailed answers.

If a prerequisite to collecting a respondent's answers is to establish rapport, then you could consider using interviews that don't rely on standardized questions to collect data . The flow of an unstructured interview has the potential to make the interview respondent comfortable with the interviewer, who can then judge in the moment of data collection when to ask probing questions or focus on building rapport.

When to consider other interview types

Structured interviews and semi-structured interviews offer more rigidity in terms of asking a set of predetermined questions. In cases where you have a collection of questions you want to ask, semi-structured interviews can be used to ask these same questions to all participants while remaining open to asking additional questions if the need arises. If you already know exactly which questions you want to ask and it is important to gather consistent data from all participants to aid subsequent comparisons, structured interviews can be the most appropriate approach.

Although unstructured interviews do not follow a predetermined flow, they also do not consist of simply talking with a respondent. In other words, unstructured interviews also depend on a clear research methodology . Indeed, as unrehearsed as they may seem, unstructured interviews are still an intentional research tool designed to collect data in a deliberate and rigorous manner. In this section, we'll look at the various stages of an unstructured interview study from design to research reporting .

Interview study design

As mentioned previously, the manner in which you conduct unstructured interviews depends on your research questions and interview respondents. If you are looking to explore a particular topic, it's important to define the object of inquiry as clearly as possible. What does existing scholarship say about the cultural practice you are looking to study? What is it about your given social phenomenon that you are trying to understand? Should your study look at the decisions people make about that phenomenon, the thinking behind it, or something else?

While an unstructured interview does not necessarily have a standardized set of questions to ask respondents, an interviewer should always have a set of topics in mind that are worth exploring. While there shouldn't be a set order to interview questions in an unstructured format, it benefits the interviewer to have a defined set of objectives to meet over the course of an interview.

The affective dimensions of an unstructured interview study are also important when considering how to conduct interviews . The unstructured format allows the researcher to decide when to be more direct or conservative in their questioning, depending on how open they think the respondent is in answering questions. When establishing who your respondents are and how they are likely to interact with you, you can make intentional and informed decisions about how to make the best of the conversational nature of unstructured interviews.

Conducting unstructured interviews

The data collection stage of an unstructured interview study can be the most fraught (and most interesting!) part of the research process. Without set questions in mind, the interview can explore any part of the respondent's experience or perspective that emerges. In an interaction that resembles an everyday conversation, it is up to the interviewer to successfully navigate a dynamic and fluid social situation to elicit valuable information from the respondent.

The general goal when conducting unstructured interviews is to encourage the respondent to craft as detailed a narrative as possible on the topic of interest. The interviewer's rapport with the respondent and the comfort level respondents have when the interviewer asks questions are crucial to eliciting relevant information in comprehensive detail. Direct questions have the potential to gather the more pertinent details, but it is also important to avoid leading questions that encourage socially desirable responses (e.g., "You've never shoplifted before, right?"). It is also helpful to begin with simpler questions to build rapport before moving on to potentially more sensitive questions. The interviewer should take care to balance the questions they ask to respondents depending on their relationship with them.

Reflecting on unstructured interviews

Because of the unrestricted nature of unstructured interviews, you have a lot of space to reflect on and make changes to your interview strategy as you interview further respondents. Perhaps you discovered there is a particular form of questioning that is more conducive to collecting rich answers from your respondents. Or maybe there is a certain topic that turned out to be more controversial or taboo than you first thought.

Because you are not bound to ask a predetermined set of questions in an unstructured interview format, you can benefit from reflecting on past data collection to inform future data collection as your study progresses. Utilize this opportunity to maximize the interview strategies that worked best and reconsider those that didn't work out. Ultimately, the goal of this reflection is to capture the richest data possible to generate a meaningful analysis.

How to analyze unstructured interviews

As you conduct interviews, you can simultaneously engage in data analysis . Your reflections of ongoing data collection will bring to mind key themes and preliminary insights that can inform subsequent data collection and analysis. Your notes during and after interviews can form the basis of a set of themes and topics that you can use to code your interview data. You can thus create a list of preliminary codes to guide your initial analysis, but you can still remain open to creating additional codes as you delve deeper into your analysis process.

Typically, interview data is transcribed so the researcher can comfortably search and segment the text for important phrases and meaningful insights. Working with interview transcriptions also makes it easier to manage all your data and draw connections across your different participants. That being said, with qualitative data analysis software such as ATLAS.ti, you can analyze both multimedia recordings and transcripts, and you can even sync the two together so you can fluidly move between the raw recording and the transcribed text.

The objective of data analysis is usually to explore and understand patterns across interview respondents. You might identify an interesting anecdote from one respondent or observe commonalities that are shared across multiple respondents.

You can choose the coding strategy that best suits your research question as you look at your interviews. For example, a thematic analysis can be followed to explore shared perspectives or experiences across respondents. Or, if you want to understand and compare how participants talk about the phenomenon you are studying, you can employ discursive coding to analyze how participants build their stories.

There are many coding approaches you can choose from, but it is always important to be systematic and transparent to persuade your research audience of the key insights in your interview data. As the name suggests, unstructured interviews are among the least predictable and most dynamic methods of qualitative research , so it is up to the researcher to develop a carefully crafted research study to identify key insights in an empirical manner.

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What Are Structured Interviews (and Why Use Them)?

Interviews are a necessary part of your hiring process. And yet, determining whether a candidate is right for a role can be challenging. Can a one-hour interview truly tell you everything you need to know before hiring a new team member?

Which questions hiring team members ask and how they assess whether a candidate is the right fit ultimately informs who gets passed on and who gets an offer. But the structure of this process matters just as much as the Qs asked and post-interview evaluation.

Ensuring everyone involved in the hiring process is aligned is critical to running successful interview processes and, at the end of the day, employing the right individuals and providing a stellar experience to each candidate engaged.

This is where structured interviews can help.

What is a structured interview?

A structured interview is a method of assessment that measures how competent a candidate is for a role by asking each prospect one interviews the same set of questions and comparing them against the same criteria.

• This approach require a hiring team to develop a clearly defined purpose for each interview, along with a specific set of structured interview questions for each interviewer to ask.

Moreover, it includes a rubric or scorecard of some kind that helps interview panelists assess answers to each question. This means all candidates are asked the same predetermined questions (and in the same order) and their responses are evaluated using the same scale.

Why are structured interviews better?

Conducting job interviews can seem pretty straightforward:

• Candidates come into your talent pipeline.
• You choose the ones you’d like to interview.
• You ask them a series of relevant questions.
• Based on their responses and your hiring team’s collective feedback, you move forward with the candidate you think is the best fit for the role.

Upon second glance, however, you’ll find that a brief interview and a “gut feeling” aren’t enough to make the most effective hiring decisions — especially when other stakeholders or influencers are involved.

Rather, you need an organized approach to speaking with prospective hires. Fail yo implement such a process, and you could very well end up employing the wrong person.

Hiring the wrong candidate can be costly. Studies have shown that, on average, a bad hire can cost a company upwards of $15,000 . Meanwhile, 74% of managers say they’ve hired the wrong person for a position at one time or another.

This makes having a structured interview process crucial.

The advantages of using structured interviews

Many recruiters consider structured interviews to be more effective, as they’re based on a clearly defined role and its core objectives: a hiring team uses a rubric and deliberate set of questions that foster data-driven hiring decisions.

Let’s dive deeper into the specific, key advantages of structured interviews :

• Better predict job performance : As we mentioned above, studies have shown that structured interviews can help you better predict a candidate’s job performance.
• Eliminate confirmation bias : All candidates are asked the same open-ended questions and assessed with the same rubric. This ensures your hiring is equitable and fair.
• Data-driven vs. emotional hiring : As candidates are assessed based on standardized criteria rather than ‘feeling’, hiring teams can make more data-driven hiring decisions.
• Optimize interview time : Having a structured interview framework in place can help managers and stakeholders optimize the time they have with each candidate.
• Understanding of interpersonal skills : A bonus benefit is recruiters, hiring managers, and prospective peers of a candidate can gauge their personality and behavior.

Benefits of leveraging structured interviews for both candidates and employers

The intention of structured interviews is to help hiring teams make objective, intelligent hiring decisions, which ultimately benefits both the candidate who gets hired and the org.

In other words? It ensures they don’t have semi -structured interview processes (or, worse, unstructured interview processes) that prevent panelists from comparing candidates and discerning the strongest-fit individuals.

The structured interview is ultimately a type of interview approach that ensures :

• Candidates are assessed based on skills and qualities as they relate to the core objectives of the role (versus personal preference)
• All candidates are asked the same questions and assessed using the same criteria, making the hiring process more intentional and fair
• Interviews are more deliberate and outcome-oriented , which maximizes the time a candidate has with a hiring manager

There aren’t just pros for prospects, though. Structured interviews help employers :

• Reduce unconscious bias and/or confirmation bias in interviews
• Create a more deliberate, intentional, and standardized process for interviews that helps hiring teams choose the right candidates
• Leverage their time with candidates more productively by asking the right questions

Why you should use a structured interview framework

If structured interviews are more effective, why don’t all hiring teams use them when recruiting and nurturing candidates? Well, it could have a lot to do with comfort.

• Research has shown that, in general, interviewers tend to think they’re great at interviewing , so few will update their skills or practice new ways of conducting interviews.

But interviewing can quickly become an informal, almost casual process if you’re tasked with interviewing candidates often or at scale. This can lead to ineffective interviews that hinder hiring teams from properly assessing candidates — and can lead to the ‘interview effect.’

In short, the “interview effect” occurs when an interviewer unintentionally influences the interviewee . For example, an interviewer’s body language and responses can influence how a candidate answers questions.

• Given interviews — structured and unstructured — are social interactions, a casual or unstructured approach can bias people’s responses or behaviors in an interview.

In this sense, having a structured interview framework enables your hiring team to conduct more productive, unbiased interviews — and help employers like yours extend offers to and hire top talent more efficiently and effectively.

Download our Structured Hiring 101 guide to learn how your talent acquisition team can implement a highly structured interview process that leads to smarter hiring.

Further reading

How to modernize your full-cycle recruiting approach, creating a highly effective employee referral program, improving the candidate journey with an ats: a guide.

What Is the Difference Between a Structured and an Unstructured Interview?

Final thoughts, unstructured interviews.

Updated January 15, 2024

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An unstructured interview is a flexible method of interviewing that uses a conversational approach rather than pre-planned interview questions.

The conversation is led by the interviewer, but can change direction as the interview progresses – depending on where the conversation goes or how the interviewer decides to steer it.

Also referred to as an ‘ informal interview ’ or a ‘discovery interview’, this method helps the interviewer to find out more about the candidate as a person. The interviewer’s role is to guide the candidate through the interview via a conversation, asking questions to extract the information needed to make a well informed assessment.

This technique was first used as a qualitative research method by sociologists looking for a deep understanding of their subjects or, sometimes, by psychologists assessing child patients.

Recognised as a way of exploring the subject’s personality and attitudes, job recruiters have since adopted the unstructured interview as a viable alternative to the restrictions of the traditional structured method of interviewing.

As this approach allows for a deeper understanding of the interviewee, it is particularly beneficial when competing candidates are equally qualified for a job role but their soft skills and personality also need to be considered.

A formal structured interview is commonly used by employees during the application process for jobs. It has several distinct characteristics:

It is always planned in advance, with a standardised and rigid format so that each interviewee answers the same questions.

In some structured interviews, questions represent points . Every time a candidate answers with a required phrase or fulfils the answering criteria, they are awarded a set number of points. At the end of the interview, it is as simple as adding up the points of every candidate to see who has the most.

The interviewer will rarely deviate from the set questions, nor add or change any questions themselves. In theory, this can help reduce interviewer bias and keep candidates on an even footing. It also makes it easy to compare candidates after the interviews, which in turn helps to streamline the selection process.

In contrast, an unstructured interview is defined by the following key features:

Almost entirely composed of  open-ended questions .

There is more interviewer autonomy in deciding how to lead the interview, to get the required information from their candidate.

An unstructured interview may follow a loose plan but will allow time and space for the process to develop naturally. Sometimes, a pre-planned schedule will not be used at all, although interviewers will have an idea of their desired outcome and will steer the discussion to extract the appropriate information from their candidate.

Unstructured interviews can often prove to be more time-consuming , due to their fluid nature, so they may be held over several hours. This allows the interviewer to get a true feel for how the candidate thinks and responds in various scenarios.

As there is no rigid plan to follow, unstructured interviews may also place the candidate into various situations such as participating in group work , leading a team or presenting .

Unstructured Interview Pros and Cons

An unstructured interview can be an effective way to encourage job candidates to perform at their best, but there are pros and cons to consider before deciding if this is the right interview technique for you.

Personality Traits are Revealed . One of the most important factors in successful recruitment is appointing a candidate that will fit in with an existing team. A potential employee may tick all the boxes on paper and impress in a formal interview, but if they are difficult to work with, they may cause disruption. An unstructured interview allows the recruiter to get a feel for how the candidate may fit into their organisation.

Validity . Unstructured interviews are a truer representation of a candidate’s capabilities, as they have been given the time and opportunity to explain their thought processes and demonstrate their ability. The interviewer has also had the opportunity to go deeper with questioning to clarify points, if necessary. The limited data obtained from a structured interview, on the other hand, may answer specific questions but gives little insight into the understanding and reasoning used to get there.

Useful for Final Stages of the Selection Process . This type of qualitative data collection can be especially beneficial in the final stages of the recruitment process. By this point, the remaining candidates are often equally well qualified on paper; the unstructured interview allows for the opportunity to take personality and soft skills into consideration before making a final decision.

Time Constraints . As an unstructured interview does not follow a rigid plan, the course of the conversation is naturally more time-consuming than that of a structured interview. Extracting important information from the qualitative data produced from the interview can also be a slow and involved process that happens after the interview itself.

Interviewer Bias . Without standardised questions, an interviewer may unintentionally influence a candidate’s responses as a result of the phrasing of a question, or even the tone of voice used to ask it. This can jeopardise the validity of the interview and should be taken into account when training and selecting the interviewer. The act of analysing the interview afterwards, including selecting and highlighting key points, is also open to subjectivity.

Interviewer Skill Level . For an unstructured interview to be effective, the interviewer must possess the skills and experience to objectively guide the candidate through the process. The difficulty lies in purposefully using the lack of structure to ensure that the required information is taken from the exercise. This is very different from a structured interview that follows a rigid set of predetermined questions.

Difficulty Comparing Candidates . Without a standardised set of questions and corresponding answers to work with, it can be difficult to compare candidates. The qualitative data extracted from the interviews must be analysed to draw out key points before being evaluated.

Unstructured Interview Examples

There are various ways an unstructured interview can be undertaken, and these are often influenced by how far along the recruitment process they come. Each method has its pros and cons, and should be led by experienced and skilled interviewers.

Telephone Interviews

Once applications have been received and a shortlist drawn, a telephone interview may be the next step. Recruiters often use this stage to determine which candidates are suitable to move on to a face-to-face interview.

A telephone interview tends to be conversational by nature. A candidate might be asked to “ Tell me about yourself ” to open the conversation. The chat might then be steered to cover any important issues that will determine whether or not they will move forward in the process.

Panel Interviews

Panel interviews can follow the unstructured format, with a team of interviewers working together to question individual candidates. Often, one interviewer will ask an initial question, with another following up on the answer with further probing.

The interviewers may have agreed on a plan beforehand and will have the same outcome goals. They may even allocate certain roles to each other – for example, one to make introductions and put the candidate at ease, one to focus on a particular area of questioning, and so on.

Once all the interviews are complete, the interviewers will decide as a group which candidates they think should move forward in the selection process. This method of interviewing can help create an interesting dynamic and can reduce the risk of interviewer bias.

Group Interviews

Another way of performing an unstructured interview can be in a group situation . This is where several hopeful candidates come together in an interview process led by the interviewer(s).

The group works together on various tasks, giving each member the chance to demonstrate their leadership qualities , confidence and ability to get on with others, in a more natural social environment.

A group interview may take place over several hours, or even days, to allow each candidate the opportunity to be heard and get involved.

Face-to-Face Interviews

A face-to-face interview will take place as you would expect: the interviewer and interviewee seated at a desk or table, or even in a less formal, low-key environment.

The tone will be conversational to follow the unstructured format and to allow the conversation to develop naturally, with some guidance from the interviewer.

Unlike traditional formal interview methods, the relaxed feel of this type of interview means that the candidate is more likely to be themselves and give an accurate impression of who they are.

An unstructured interview is an approach that allows recruiters to get to know their candidates better.

Without the restrictions of pre-planned questions, the interviewer can adapt and steer the interview to obtain specific information. This can be particularly useful in the final stages of recruitment if the remaining candidates have similar qualifications and experience.

An unstructured interview allows the interviewee to demonstrate their personality and soft skills, whilst allowing the interviewer to gain clarification and a deeper understanding of the candidate as a person.

You might also be interested in these other Wikijob articles:

Or explore the Interview Advice / Interview Types sections.

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Note on Structured Interviewing

By: Ethan S. Bernstein, Amy Ross

Making good hiring decisions is a critical management activity, yet many leaders just "wing it" when interviewing candidates to fill openings by having an organic conversation to assess the…

• Length: 17 page(s)
• Publication Date: Aug 20, 2019
• Discipline: Human Resource Management
• Product #: 420032-PDF-ENG

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Making good hiring decisions is a critical management activity, yet many leaders just "wing it" when interviewing candidates to fill openings by having an organic conversation to assess the candidate's fit, unknowingly subjecting the process to unconscious bias. Instead, organizations should employ structured interviewing techniques to carefully assess the skills needed for a given opening, to determine a consistent approach for fairly evaluating candidates' skills, and ultimately to make the best possible hiring decision. This note aims to help the reader acquire the skills necessary to be an effective interviewer and to champion best-practice interviewing within his or her organization. Beginning by briefly summarizing the pitfalls of unstructured interviewing, the note proceeds to explain three types of structured interviewing techniques, the steps hiring managers should undertake to prepare for and conduct interviews, and tips for making evidence-based assessments.

Learning Objectives

This note aims to help the reader acquire the skills necessary to be an effective interviewer and to champion best-practice interviewing within his or her organization. Beginning by mentioning the pitfalls of unstructured interviewing, the note proceeds to explain three types of structured interviewing techniques, the steps hiring managers must undertake to prepare for and conduct interviews, and tips for making evidence-based assessments.

Aug 20, 2019 (Revised: Mar 6, 2020)

Discipline:

Human Resource Management

Industries:

Human resource services

Harvard Business School

420032-PDF-ENG

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Doing Research in the Business World

Student resources, structured and unstructured interviews.

• Key Differences

Know the Differences & Comparisons

Difference Between Structured and Unstructured Interview

Interview is described as an in-depth conversation between two or more persons, in a formal way, so as to figure out candidate’s acceptability for the job. It is one of the most effective tools for data collection and selection. It is one to one communication between the interviewer and interviewee; wherein both the parties get a chance to learn about each other. Interviews can be structured interview or unstructured interview.

Take a look at the given article to know the difference between structured and unstructured interview.

Content: Structured Interview Vs Unstructured Interview

Comparison chart, definition of structured interview.

Structured Interview is a type of personal interview, in which the interviewer uses a fixed format, wherein the questions are prepared in advance. It uses highly systematised techniques of recording. It is a method of quantitative research used for the purpose of the survey, which aims at presenting the preset questions, in every interview, which the same sequence. It is also known as a patterned or planned interview.

Definition of Unstructured Interview

Unstructured Interview is one, that does not use any fixed format, however, the interviewer may have a few planned questions prepared beforehand. It is a qualitative research method, in which the questions are prepared during the interview. As the interview is unplanned, it has an informal approach where a friendly conversation takes place between the interviewer and interviewee.

The interviewer has the freedom to ask any questions and can also change the sequence or skip some questions that are planned in advance, however, it lacks uniformity. Further, the interviewer should possess deep knowledge and skill on the subject.

Key Differences Between Structured and Unstructured Interview

The difference between structured and unstructured interview can be drawn clearly on the following grounds:

• Structured Interview refers to an interview, in which questions to be asked to the candidates are fixed in advance. An interview in which the questions to be asked to the candidates is rare and not prepared beforehand.
• As the structured interview is a pre-planned and same set of questions are put to all the candidates, so the data collected is quantitative in nature. As opposed to an unstructured interview, wherein different questions are put to different candidates, and so qualitative data is collected.
• In descriptive research, the structured interview is used to collect information, because it is relatively economical and the inferences can be drawn easily. On the contrary, in exploratory research unstructured interview is used as the basic tool for collecting information.
• In a structured interview, the questions put before the candidate are close-ended, that demands a certain piece of information from the applicants, or in fact, he/she has to make a choice among various options provided. As against this, unstructured interview, the questions are open-ended, that can be answered in multiple ways, i.e. the candidate is free to give thoughtful answers and thus influence the interviewer.
• Structured interviews are used by positivists whereas unstructured interview is used by interpretivists.
• The structured interview is used for validating results when the number of candidates is quite large. Unlike unstructured interview, which is used to probe personal details of the candidate, so as to judge if he is the right person for the job.
• In a structured interview, the characteristics evaluated are explicit which on the other side are implicit in an unstructured interview.

Therefore, when the interview is structured, same questions, are put before the candidates, which are job-related. On the contrary, when the interview is unstructured, questions may differ from interviewee to interviewee, for the same job, which may or may not be related to the job.

Moreover, in a structured interview, there is a pre-developed system or guide to check the results. As against this, there is no such pre-developed system or guide for checking interview results.

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Abed Habboub says

April 4, 2018 at 2:53 pm

Thank you. It is very informative.

sisuboy says

April 15, 2018 at 6:18 am

You have spelled out the difference, brilliantly. Thanks!

May 29, 2018 at 4:30 pm

Thank you very much

jayesh says

June 20, 2022 at 12:33 pm

thanks a lot its my exam time and you guys have did a good job

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Qualitative research method-interviewing and observation

Shazia jamshed.

Department of Pharmacy Practice, Kulliyyah of Pharmacy, International Islamic University Malaysia, Kuantan Campus, Pahang, Malaysia

Buckley and Chiang define research methodology as “a strategy or architectural design by which the researcher maps out an approach to problem-finding or problem-solving.”[ 1 ] According to Crotty, research methodology is a comprehensive strategy ‘that silhouettes our choice and use of specific methods relating them to the anticipated outcomes,[ 2 ] but the choice of research methodology is based upon the type and features of the research problem.[ 3 ] According to Johnson et al . mixed method research is “a class of research where the researcher mixes or combines quantitative and qualitative research techniques, methods, approaches, theories and or language into a single study.[ 4 ] In order to have diverse opinions and views, qualitative findings need to be supplemented with quantitative results.[ 5 ] Therefore, these research methodologies are considered to be complementary to each other rather than incompatible to each other.[ 6 ]

Qualitative research methodology is considered to be suitable when the researcher or the investigator either investigates new field of study or intends to ascertain and theorize prominent issues.[ 6 , 7 ] There are many qualitative methods which are developed to have an in depth and extensive understanding of the issues by means of their textual interpretation and the most common types are interviewing and observation.[ 7 ]

Interviewing

This is the most common format of data collection in qualitative research. According to Oakley, qualitative interview is a type of framework in which the practices and standards be not only recorded, but also achieved, challenged and as well as reinforced.[ 8 ] As no research interview lacks structure[ 9 ] most of the qualitative research interviews are either semi-structured, lightly structured or in-depth.[ 9 ] Unstructured interviews are generally suggested in conducting long-term field work and allow respondents to let them express in their own ways and pace, with minimal hold on respondents’ responses.[ 10 ]

Pioneers of ethnography developed the use of unstructured interviews with local key informants that is., by collecting the data through observation and record field notes as well as to involve themselves with study participants. To be precise, unstructured interview resembles a conversation more than an interview and is always thought to be a “controlled conversation,” which is skewed towards the interests of the interviewer.[ 11 ] Non-directive interviews, form of unstructured interviews are aimed to gather in-depth information and usually do not have pre-planned set of questions.[ 11 ] Another type of the unstructured interview is the focused interview in which the interviewer is well aware of the respondent and in times of deviating away from the main issue the interviewer generally refocuses the respondent towards key subject.[ 11 ] Another type of the unstructured interview is an informal, conversational interview, based on unplanned set of questions that are generated instantaneously during the interview.[ 11 ]

In contrast, semi-structured interviews are those in-depth interviews where the respondents have to answer preset open-ended questions and thus are widely employed by different healthcare professionals in their research. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews are utilized extensively as interviewing format possibly with an individual or sometimes even with a group.[ 6 ] These types of interviews are conducted once only, with an individual or with a group and generally cover the duration of 30 min to more than an hour.[ 12 ] Semi-structured interviews are based on semi-structured interview guide, which is a schematic presentation of questions or topics and need to be explored by the interviewer.[ 12 ] To achieve optimum use of interview time, interview guides serve the useful purpose of exploring many respondents more systematically and comprehensively as well as to keep the interview focused on the desired line of action.[ 12 ] The questions in the interview guide comprise of the core question and many associated questions related to the central question, which in turn, improve further through pilot testing of the interview guide.[ 7 ] In order to have the interview data captured more effectively, recording of the interviews is considered an appropriate choice but sometimes a matter of controversy among the researcher and the respondent. Hand written notes during the interview are relatively unreliable, and the researcher might miss some key points. The recording of the interview makes it easier for the researcher to focus on the interview content and the verbal prompts and thus enables the transcriptionist to generate “verbatim transcript” of the interview.

Similarly, in focus groups, invited groups of people are interviewed in a discussion setting in the presence of the session moderator and generally these discussions last for 90 min.[ 7 ] Like every research technique having its own merits and demerits, group discussions have some intrinsic worth of expressing the opinions openly by the participants. On the contrary in these types of discussion settings, limited issues can be focused, and this may lead to the generation of fewer initiatives and suggestions about research topic.

Observation

Observation is a type of qualitative research method which not only included participant's observation, but also covered ethnography and research work in the field. In the observational research design, multiple study sites are involved. Observational data can be integrated as auxiliary or confirmatory research.[ 11 ]

Research can be visualized and perceived as painstaking methodical efforts to examine, investigate as well as restructure the realities, theories and applications. Research methods reflect the approach to tackling the research problem. Depending upon the need, research method could be either an amalgam of both qualitative and quantitative or qualitative or quantitative independently. By adopting qualitative methodology, a prospective researcher is going to fine-tune the pre-conceived notions as well as extrapolate the thought process, analyzing and estimating the issues from an in-depth perspective. This could be carried out by one-to-one interviews or as issue-directed discussions. Observational methods are, sometimes, supplemental means for corroborating research findings.

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SnapLogic and Syngenta at Gartner D&A London 2024

Table of Contents

Key takeaways

• AI is everywhere, but with a high risk of failure
• Easy access to data is key to success with AI
• Data integration must be aligned to business goals

Setting the stage

The SnapLogic team was out in force for the Gartner Data & Analytics Summit in London. This is one of the best events of the year for high-value conversations, where the attendees tend to be people with specific goals and problems, as well as the willingness and resources to address them.

We saw this need for concrete solutions right from the opening keynote, when Adam Ronthal and Alys Woodward shared their finding that data & analytics maturity positively impacts financial performance by 30%. Governance and management, however, still tend to be undervalued relative to more technical metrics. 

Successful companies, though, are overhauling their approach to data storytelling and D&A metrics, in order to be more business-oriented. This increased engagement with the business would be a recurring topic over the three days of the conference — and is, of course, something that we at SnapLogic have long advocated, with our low-code/no-code approach to integration.

Another topic that (unsurprisingly) was everywhere during the conference was AI — and again, the recommendation was to evaluate projects both for feasibility and for business value. Technical experimentation around the feasibility of AI is well underway in our industry. 

Gartner reports that 75% of CEOs have already tried GenAI according to the “ 2023 CEO Survey Research Collection and Midyear Update AI Findings ” — but 53% believe they would not be able to handle the risks of AI. High-profile examples of failure included Microsoft’s Tay and Air Canada’s travel-advice chatbot .

The conclusion is that the lack of AI-ready data is a top challenge to the success of GenAI implementations. This is of course the exact problem that SnapLogic addresses, with a powerful and omnivorous data integration platform to ensure the data is available, and the GenAI Builder toolkit to make it easily accessible to end users.

Data fabric

This technological underpinning falls under the umbrella of “ data fabric ,” which was discussed in an interesting presentation by Michele Launi. He made it clear that data fabric is not a single tool or product that can be procured and deployed in one step — but data integration is a key component, and that is where SnapLogic can help. Our low-code/no-code development model also addresses one of the key challenges to the adoption of data fabric, namely a lack of specialised talent.

Making data available as part of a data fabric approach means ensuring that the platform can support a variety of data styles, from traditional ETL to reverse ETL and ELT , as well as streaming, across structured and unstructured data types. All of these and more came up in conversations with attendees at the SnapLogic booth and throughout the show.

Michele also mentioned that many IT leaders in particular expect that automation will reduce the effort involved in sharing data. The savings here are real and borne out by the experience of SnapLogic customers around the world, but we also agree with Michele that real value comes when that data is placed in context — meaning the context of the business.

This self-service approach does require some attention to operationalization and governance — something that my Enterprise Architect team at SnapLogic is focused on helping our customers to implement through our Sigma Framework for Operational Excellence . 

The topic of organisational maturity came up again later in the show during a conversation between Mark Beyer and Robert Thanaraj about the sometimes confusing overlaps between the related concepts of “data fabric” and “ data mesh .” In particular, they shared their finding that organisations spend up to 94% of their time preparing data, and therefore only between 6% and 17% of their time actually making use of the laboriously gathered data for their business purposes.

To minimise this friction, they recommend adopting a more iterative approach to planning, enabling greater flexibility in the face of inevitable change. This flexibility means that ownership and governance must rest with the business, as IT is too far downstream; technical specialists deliver the enabling platform, but business owners are responsible for the actual result.

Gartner estimates that few organizations have the maturity to make these cultural shifts — but SnapLogic’s model enables the rapid iteration which is key to success, and puts it in the hands of domain experts directly, reducing the need for IT specialists and bringing the benefits of this approach to organisations lower down Gartner’s maturity curve.

AI — but how? And why?

I have managed not to talk about AI too much yet, but as mentioned, the topic was omnipresent during the conference, and explicitly described as the goal for much of the data-gathering and integration activity. However, the big problem is that less than half of Al projects ever go into production — and that ratio is even worse for Generative AI, where according to Gartner, fewer than 10% make it all the way.

This is why Sumit Agarwal stated bluntly that Generative AI will descend from its current Peak of Inflated Expectations into the Trough of Disillusionment.

I agree with Sumit that the only way out of the Trough is to demonstrate value from AI projects and to do so at scale. This is why SnapLogic offers the GenAI Builder toolkit. By minimising the distance between the data and the business need, SnapLogic’s GenAI Builder enables users to rapidly prototype and deploy services that take advantage of the power of GenAI, using the organisation’s own valuable data, and to do so securely and at scale.

The value of this approach was reinforced by Gareth Herschel in the closing keynote of the second day: “Al is built on the bedrock of the data architecture that is already in place.” The solidity of the foundations is especially important because AI is a “bet the business” moment, where success or failure will have enormous implications for the future.

SnapLogic and Syngenta

So much for the general themes — but analyst projections and quadrants only carry so much weight. The true proof is in the real, practical customer stories. This was why I was very happy to have the opportunity to interview Maks Shah, Head of R&D Data Platforms at Syngenta, on stage in a thousand-person auditorium.

Business goals don’t get much more concrete than Syngenta’s: nothing less than feeding the planet. However, they had a problem: long times to insight, determined by an unsustainable operational model and issues of data quality. The external constraints on Syngenta are significant: if something goes wrong with a crop or with gathering the results of a test, you might have to wait a year before the growing season for that crop comes around again and you can rerun the experiment.

Thanks to SnapLogic, Syngenta users now have full access to 300+ internal data sources, as well as 100+ external ones. They are ingesting both structured and unstructured data, in batch and streaming modes, depending on the precise requirements of each source. This seamless integration is already bearing fruit, with projects including:

• Legacy to modern application integration to simplify the data integration landscape
• Decoupling the existing event-driven architecture and transitioning to a more flexible and future-proof microservices architecture
• API Management to enable self-service integration

We look forward to working further with Syngenta, with our other customers in life sciences and many other industries, and with all of the new friends that we made at Gartner D&A. If you visited our booth at the show, thanks, and we’ll be in touch soon. And if you missed it, but are interested in finding out more about what you just read, we’d be happy to have a conversation about how SnapLogic can help you dismantle data silos and bring connectivity to the enterprise.

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