Traditional interviews are still common in small to medium-sized companies. Much of the interview success will depend on your ability to establish rapport with the interviewer, since many of their questions are hypothetical or theoretical. You will quickly know that you are in a traditional interview if the interviewer doesn't have a list of questions to ask you, or the questions are vague, unfocused or theoretical. Many interviewers using traditional interview techniques will ask questions like: "What would you do in a situation where...?" "How would you …?" "Why do you feel you…?" "Why did you…?" Interviewers asking these types of questions have no way of ascertaining whether or not you're telling the truth or would actually do what you say

you would. At best, they have to make a "gut instinct" decision about your candidacy based on "their" interpretation about what you said and what they wanted to hear. The sad part is that if you're shy or less outgoing you may not be adequatly evaluated and the job may go to the applicant who comes across as the most polished, regardless whether or not they can or can't do the job. I've heard numerous interviewers tell me that they were impressed by an articulate applicant only to find out that they were fooled in their judgment. Another clue that you're in a traditional interview is that the interviewer will do most of the talking. The problem with this approach is that the interviewer rarely gets to know you and what you can or can't do for them. This usually means that the interviewer is pressed to fill a position and is doing his or her best to sell you on the job after pre-qualifying you solely on the content of your resume.