Interview glossary

An AI interview copilot is software that listens to interview questions and suggests how to answer them on your screen, or that runs practice interviews beforehand.

An AI interviewer is software that asks interview questions, listens to or reads the candidate's answers, and sometimes asks follow-ups or scores the responses.

An applicant tracking system is software employers use to collect, organize and review job applications, including parsing resumes into structured fields.

A bar raiser is an Amazon interviewer from outside the hiring team who is trained to assess whether a candidate would raise the overall standard of the team they would join.

A behavioral interview asks about specific past situations ("tell me about a time you...") on the idea that how you acted before predicts how you will act in the job.

A case interview gives the candidate a business problem, common in consulting, and evaluates how they structure it, analyze data, and reach a recommendation in conversation with the interviewer.

A competency-based interview asks questions designed to test specific skills and behaviors, such as leadership or problem solving, by asking for evidence from past experience.

A group interview assesses several candidates at the same time, often through discussion or an exercise, to see how they communicate and collaborate.

A hiring committee is a group that reviews interview feedback and makes or recommends the hiring decision, rather than leaving it to a single manager.

An HR screen is an early conversation with a recruiter or HR representative that checks your background, motivation, availability and compensation expectations.

A LeetCode-style question is an algorithm or data-structure problem with a defined input and output, like those on the LeetCode practice site, commonly used in technical interviews.

A live coding interview is one in which a candidate writes code in real time while the interviewer watches and discusses, usually in a shared editor such as CoderPad.

A mock interview is a practice interview that imitates a real one, run with a person, a recorded session, or an AI interviewer, so you can rehearse answers and get feedback before the real interview.

A one-way video interview is a recorded interview in which the candidate answers pre-set questions on camera on their own schedule, with no interviewer present, and the recordings are reviewed later by the employer.

An online assessment is a timed, usually automated test sent to candidates, often with coding problems, multiple-choice questions or situational judgement items, used to screen before interviews.

An onsite interview is the final round, a series of back-to-back interviews with several people, held at the employer's office or, more often now, as a virtual loop.

A panel interview is one in which a candidate is interviewed by several people at the same time, often from different teams.

A phone screen is a short first-round call, usually with a recruiter, that checks basic fit, interest, salary expectations and logistics before further interviews.

A proctored assessment is a test monitored by a person or software, using the camera, microphone, screen or browser, to enforce the rules against outside help.

A reference check is a conversation with people who have worked with a candidate, held late in the process, to confirm their experience and working style.

Salary negotiation is the discussion, usually after a job offer, in which a candidate asks for a different salary or benefits than first offered.

A situational interview presents a hypothetical scenario ("what would you do if...") and asks how you would handle it, testing judgement rather than past experience.

The STAR method is a way to structure a behavioral answer in four parts: Situation, Task, Action, Result.

A stress interview deliberately uses pressure, such as rapid questions, interruptions or silence, to see how a candidate behaves under strain.

A structured interview asks every candidate the same questions in the same order and scores answers against a set rubric, to make comparisons fair and consistent.

A system design interview asks the candidate to design a large software system, such as a URL shortener or news feed, and evaluates requirements gathering, architecture, and trade-off reasoning rather than a single correct answer.

A take-home assignment is a work sample that a candidate completes on their own time and submits for review, such as a small coding project, analysis, or written exercise.

A technical screen is an early interview that tests the core skills of a technical role, typically a short coding problem, technical questions, or a discussion of past projects.

A whiteboard interview is one in which a candidate solves a problem by writing or drawing on a whiteboard or digital equivalent, common for algorithms and system design.