An interviewing style that asks lots of questions about your past behavior, because of the belief that past actions are the best predictors of your future actions in similar situations.

A positive type of criticism that points out what you did wrong and what you need to do to improve without attacking you personally.

The style of doing things and values held important by a specific organization, often driven by the CEO and his or her personality.

A drug test that mistakenly shows a positive result for drug use. Testing positive can often be caused by a harmless prescription or over-the-counter drug, or a food substance that cross-reacts with the drug test.

An interview in which several people question the job-hunter at the same time; these people may be from the department the job is in or from different departments the new employee will work with closely. A group interview can be disconcerting if questions are being fired from all directions, so it’s best to answer each one fully and calmly, look directly at the questioner, and speak loud enough to be heard by everyone.

A meeting in which a job-hunter asks an employee questions in order to gain information about the employer and field. It’s a common networking technique, though job-hunters may hope it will result in a lead to a job.

An interview whose goal is to screen people out, passing on only the most qualified job-hunters to the next interviewer. A screening interview is generally done by someone in human resources (personnel), who checks facts against your resumé and matches up your qualifications with the number of years experience, skills, and education the job requires.

An interview whose goal is getting a sense of what you are really like and how you are to work with. Generally done by the hiring manager, to whom the new employee will report, a selection interview isn’t conducted to get a letter-of-the-law assessment of your experience and skills, but more to get to know your personality and “fit” with the job.

An interviewing style that poses hypothetical questions like “what if” or “let’s say” to see how you’d behave in theoretical situations.

An interview in which the same questions are asked of all job-hunters, a fairly standard list covering experiences, strengths, weaknesses, education, and career goals. Screening interviews are usually structured interviews.

Skills you have that you can apply, or transfer, to other similar jobs. You can take them with you from one job to another because they stick to you, not to the job where you used them.

An interview with a looser approach in which questions are seemingly asked at random, some provoked by your answers. Selection interviews are often unstructured interviews.

An interview by video camera, in which the interviewer is in another city or even country. Transmission delays and glare can make some job-hunters anxious.