how to prepare and face an interview

8/6/2019 How to Prepare and Face an Interview

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How to Prepare and Face an Interview

chillibreeze writer Sanjeevni Gangwani

An interview can be defined as a face to face oral communication between the interviewer and the

interviewee in order to assess the views, attitudes and ideas of the interviewee. However the interview

process also enables the interviewee and observers to assess the skill and ability of the interviewer.

Thus, an interview is a test of both the communicants and parties engaged in the interaction.

Intelligence, knowledge, personal qualities and character are revealed and both parties are required to

be well prepared. The process allows everyone involved to make some important decisions. The

candidate decides whether he should accept the position and the interviewer decides whether the

candidate should be appointed; this decision may affect the organizational interests.

The following suggestions are advisable when faced with an interview:

1) Dress appropriately A well dressed and groomed appearance can do wonders for that first

impression. Now is not exactly the time to make a fashion statement so a tastefully chosenprofessional outfit, with suitable accessories like a hand-bag or brief case should be fine.

2) Posture and Carriage - The way in which the candidate carries himself while walking and sitting

tells the interviewer about your confidence. Good carriage and posture have to be developed over a

period of time and are essential in distinguishing a shoddy and careless attitude from a sharp and alert

one.

3) Be confident - Self confidence, or the lack of it, is observed through your behavior, right from the

way you sit to how you speak. Good manners and proper behavior are obviously necessary. Suitable

greetings for the time of the day and other formalities must be known to the interviewee; for

example, sit down only after being told to; elbows must not be put on the table; the brief case or bagshould be kept on the floor beside the chair and do not play with any of your accessories or clothes.

Nervous movements betray show a lack of confidence and concentration.

4) Mental Preparation - The candidate should be well informed about current events, domestic and

international, and topics of general interest. Regular reading of newspapers, listening to radio and TV

discussions, participating in group discussions and general reading habits are helpful activities in

developing the required mental status for an interview.

Information about the organization, its directors, turnover, share capital and other relevant

information which are available in its annual report, is expected of candidates by public limited

companies. A candidate must know as much as possible about the prospective employer company.

5) Go back to the books - The candidate should also possess adequate knowledge in the subjects

studied during graduation and professional examinations. A reasonable revision of the subjects can

solve the purpose. Several general questions and biographical questions are usually asked by the

interviewers and candidates should be well prepared to answer them.


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6) No guessing games - In situations where the candidate does not know the answer to a question it

is always better to state ones inability to answer than to make a guess. No one is expected to know

everything; admitting that one does not know the answer reflects honesty.

7) Be clear - A candidate must have clarity of purpose and determination enough to want to know his

prospects in the organization. He/she must be able to ask questions about the nature of duties,employee benefits, future prospects and other things which he may want to know about the

organization before taking any decision.

8) Know your own worth - It is advisable to talk about salary without appearing to be bargaining

and without being driven or defeated. This requires careful prior thinking; if possible this topic should

be discussed with the family and with experienced elders or friends. It is useful to assess ones

training, experience, proved ability, as well as needs, in order to quantify ones worth. It is, of course,

necessary to know the payments made for similar positions or work in other companies.

9) At the end, candidates are usually not sure when to leave. If the interviewers indicate that the

interview is over, collect your bag, wish them and thank them for their friendly attitude and leave.

Some candidates, due to nervousness, seem to be in a hurry to leave and forget to wish or thank the

interviewers. Always remember that your parting movements are also closely observed so hurried and

frantic movements may betray an earlier composed attitude.

In order to succeed in an interview each individual must make an honest self-assessment and find out

ones areas of strength and weakness. Knowledge of ones deficiencies is useful in overcoming

weaknesses and unconscious bad habits of posture or speech can be improved by effort. Shortcomings

which cannot be overcome can be accepted and acknowledged so that they do not lead to depression

and embarrassment when others notice them. Therefore, coming to terms with oneself and knowing

how to deal with ones faults, and how to make the best use of ones knowledge and skills, is another

vital element in preparing for an interview.

Tips For Facing a Job Interview

y Posted by Raj in Career Guidance

y 2 Comment

We might have seen our friends struggling with job interviews even though they are the most

experienced or best qualified candidate for that particular job. To motivate and alleviate the fear of a

job interview, lets discuss in this post on how to prepare for a job interview and how to perform at

the time of interview etc., in brief.

What is an interview?

In an interview for a job, an employer evaluates a potential candidate to establish how suitable he/she

is to serve the organization. Such an interview always takes place in some form or the other beforethe employer makes a decision to hire. Before an interview, the employer scans the resumes sent by

various aspirants to shortlist the candidates whose aptitude matches the requirements. So when an

aspirant is invited to an interview, it means that the hiring manager believes the candidate might be a

good match for the job opening, and he wants to confirm that. The interview is used to determine

whether the candidate is qualified for the position. An aspirant who can answer questions in a way it is

acceptable, but not necessarily right, to the interviewer, someone who knows well about the potential

employers business and the post they hope to fill, easily cakewalks through the interview. These are


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essentially the basics to be a successful candidate though there are other aspects that employers may

look for in relation to specific posts with their own ideas, ideologies and aspects related to the job and

to the companys preference with respect to the employees. Interviewing as a method for selecting an

ideal candidate is itself an inherently flawed process. This is because it is almost impossible to judge a

candidates true aptitude and experience in an interview spanning just a few minutes. A well-

structured interview process takes place at multiple levels. A telephonic screening round will usuallyprecede an actual face-to-face interview. This allows the hiring manager to assess the candidates

overall capabilities and motivation. If a candidate passes this round, he/she may attend a personal

interview with the hiring manager. The candidate may face a single interviewer/HR person or an

interviewing board comprising multiple representatives. They will question the candidate on various

different aspects of his/her professional life, aspiration and overall skills/ability.

The gravity, complexity and difficulty of a job interview depend largely on the job for which the

candidate has applied. Blue collar or functional job interviews are generally less demanding than

white collar or executive job interviews. Accordingly, everything from dress code and the

candidates overall presentation have different bearings on the interviews outcome. For certain

professions like medical transcription, interviews can also include a form of audition/listening

comprehension skill test. The candidate is required to display physically his/her skills in that particular

profession. Apart from that, the candidate will also have to prove sufficient professional training in

the field.

The behavioral aspects of a job interview seek to establish the candidates ability to tackle difficult

situations. They also focus on the candidates ability to make personal decisions, shoulder

responsibility, handle or interact with a team and effectively represent the employers company.

Often, parts of the interview may seem to have little or no bearing on the job in question.

Nowadays, there is increased emphasis on pre-interview preparation. This is especially true in the

case of selection procedures in business schools and high-end business jobs. By studying the

requirements of such interviews beforehand, a candidate can greatly increase his/her chances of

selection. To perform a good show in your next interview, find below a few tips aimed to give you

some information in general on preparing and facing a job interview.

Preparation Tips For Facing Job InterviewEvaluate yourself

Review your skills and character traits that could help the organizations bottom line. Think in terms of

the value that you can add to the position and the company you intend to join.

Analyze the organization

Prior to attending the interview, do some research about the company that you have applied. Surf the

web/companys website for their annual reports and brochures. Also, study about the company on job

boards or recruiting sites.

Evaluate your job history

Review your past achievements mentally and be prepared to describe your work experience in detail.

Put together samples of your achievements and some reference letters to be presented to the

interviewer as a proof of your past achievements. Gather some good words to describe your

experience in terms of responsibilities and achievements at each job.

Expect questions

Try to anticipate the general questions that will be asked. One general question that you will surely be

asked is Tell us about yourself. If posed with this question, focus your answers on your background

and a few professional and personal accomplishments. Stress on your achievements. For example:

Your sales records, the processes you have developed or systems installed, projects that you initiated,

etc. Medical transcriptionists, your overall accuracy, speed, proficiency in English, productivity etc.


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Think of the worst questions you could be asked about your experience and abilities, then prepare

positive responses.

y As well, anticipate the following set of questions:

y Tell us about your background and accomplishments.

y What are your strengths and weaknesses?

y

How would you describe your most recent job performance?y What interests you about our company?

y Why do you want to leave the current job/company?

Prepare your own questions

Employers are as much interested in your questions as they are in your answers. Intelligent questions

about the position, company and the industry will have a favorable reaction. (For eg, what would I be

expected to accomplish in this position? What are the greatest challenges in this position? How do you

think I fit the position?)

Visualize your interview

Get a bigger picture of the interview. Imagine yourself performing. A major share of your success in

the interview depends on the impression you make in the first few minutes. To succeed, you must

project a professional, competent and enthusiastic image. Your aim is to convince the interviewer thatyou would be an asset to the company.

Miscellaneous

To avoid unnecessary stress, choose your interview attire the night before. Your clothing should be

appropriate for the position youre seeking. Attire must fit well within the office and be immaculate. If

you dont know what the typical attire at the company is, call and ask! Shoes should be polished;

pant/skirt, shirt, hanky and tie pressed. Clean hair and fingernails are essential. Hair should be styled

conservatively. Confirm the time, date and location of the interview and the name of the interviewee.

Gather and file those certificates, references, interview letter and other necessary materials that are

to be taken along to the interview. Take an extra photo and resume with you. It may happen that the

interviewer may need an additional set of your CV and photo.

Acts To Do On The Day of Interview

Be punctual

It is always better to arrive an hour early than arriving a few minutes late that leaves a bad

impression. This will give you ample time to catch your breath, gather your thoughts and make a

quick trip to the washroom to give your appearance one final check. Report your arrival to the

receptionist.

Body language

The key to success is to work your body in tune with your mouth; positive movements should support

positive comments. Raise your eyebrows slightly upon meeting to draw attention. Your facial

expressions can tell many stories. Enter the room with a relaxed smile, this will give a perception of

openness and a friendly attitude, and will put both the parties at ease. A tight face or a tensed smile

will indicate the inability to handle stress.Greetings

When you first step into the interview room, all the attention will be naturally on your face and it is

the key point when the interviewer forms an impression about you. So give positive expressions.

Greet the interviewer by his/her last name. If you are unsure of the pronunciation, better check it with

the front desk personnel before walking into the interview room.


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Handshake

A firm, upright handshake is appropriate and projects confidence. Make eye contact when you

shake. A limp handshake portrays weakness and lack of confidence, at the same time crushing the

interviewers hands portrays dominance. The handshake is to last not more than 3-5 seconds, with a

maximum of6 pumps. Check out the Art of shaking hands and The worst way to shake hands.

Eye contactTry to establish an eye contact as early as possible. If you try to avoid eye contact, the interviewer

may perceive that you are hiding some thing or are an element of untrustworthiness.

Seating

Always wait for the interviewer to offer you a seat, if not offered ask. Sitting before the interviewer

offers you the seat can give very bad impression like overconfidence/arrogance or nervousness.

Be brief

During the initial phase of the interview, the interviewer does the majority of the talking, explaining

about the position, the company and other general information. At this stage positive body language

works to your advantage. Be cautious about transmitting any negative non-verbal messages. The

interviewer will catch them from your eyes, face and upper body. The best interviews have a give and

take atmosphere. To do this, you need to ask questions and try to draw out your interviewer ratherthan talking about yourself nonstop. A general rule is you should speak one-third of the time and

definitely no more than half of the time.

Parting

If you get the impression that the interview is not going well and that you have already been rejected,

do not let your discouragement show. Once in a while an interviewer who is genuinely interested in

you may seem to discourage you as a way of testing your reaction.

Remember to thank the interviewer for his/her time and end the session with a confident and firm

handshake. On the completion of the interview, rising before you are invited to do so, forms an

impression of being impatient and not interested in the interview. Shake hands upright in the same

manner as you did when you arrived. This displays friendliness and acceptance of the interview, and

also leaves a positive impression on the interviewer. Finally, walk away with energy.Follow up

This is a crucial and often overlooked final step in the interviewing process. It is essential that you

write a thank-you note to every person you met at the company. Your most important letter should go

to the interviewer(s). In your letter, be sure to summarize your conversation and reemphasize the

skills you would bring to the position. Thank them for their time and ask if it is all right to call later to

see how their search for a candidate is going. That candidate may well be you!

Hope these interview tips and techniques place you in good job. Good luck.

Facing an interview

There are different kinds of interviews.

Patterned Interviews: Highly structured, systematic. Same questions asked to each candidate in order to

compare. Often used for initial screening of applicants. Frequently used during on-campus interviews.

Non-Directive Interviews: Interviewer asks open-ended questions to allow applicant to express

himself/herself in a unique way. Tell me something about yourself.

Stress Interviews: Used to analyze the candidates ability to handle stressful situations. Used to weed out


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people who react defensively or are easily injured.

Group or Panel Interviews: Instead of one individual, a committee comprised of managers, co-workers or

people from other departments examine a candidate.

Behavioral interviews: An interviewer asks you to describe situations such as Tell me about a situation

where you had a conflict with your family member. How did you handle it? The recruiter will use the rule-

past performance predicts future behavior. If you acted irrationally in the past, the recruiter will assume that

you will elicit that behavior in the future. The recruiter will not move to the next question until you have

specifically described a situation.

In order to understand better, let us divide the total aspect of facing an interview into: before, during and

after the interview.

Tips to crack tricky questionsDo you wonder that despite a good resume why you haven't landed a good job?

Most likely the problem lies with you and not with your resume. It's not always that your resume gets you the dream

job. It also depends how well youmanage the interview part, especially the 'tough and tricky' questions.y Don't blame others

There aremany tough questions that put pressure on youor create stress. What if you are asked: "Why did you leaveyour last job?", or "Why have you had somany jobs?" If you say your last boss was an idiot, or all your jobs havebeen terrible, you'll be seen as someone whoblames others and fails to take responsibility for yourown actions anddecision.

Moreover why would employers want to employ someone who doesn't take responsibility and come up with answers,not problems? Employers don't want to employ people whoblame others.

"Always express positive reasons and answers when given an opportunity to express the negative. Neverblameanyone or anything else," says Amy Lightfoot who teaches 'Interview skills' as part of Spoken English at BritishCouncil India, Delhi.

"I was ready formore challenge", or "Each joboffered a betteropportunity, which I took...," such responses are

better.y Sell yourself

Remember, the job interview is a platform tomarket yourself. It is a strategic conversation with a purpose. Your goalis to persuade the employer that you have the skills, background and ability to do the job and that you cancomfortably fit into the organisation and its culture.

y Keep your praise & observations credible & realistic"The best technique to handle such question is to praise your past employers. However, keep your praise andobservations credible, realistic and relevant. Try tomention attributes that your interviewer and prospective newemployer will identify and agree with. This will build association and commonality between you and the interviewer,which is normally vital for successful interview outcomes," explains Lightfoot.

However, there can be real tough ones: "Why should we appoint you?" or "What can you do forus that other peoplecannot?"

Nevertheless, Shiv Khera authorofbestseller "You Can Win" explains, "Candidate has a choice here as to how toplay this: he can either go for it strongly, re-stating his relevant strengths -- behaviour, experience and skills, or hecan quietly confidently suggest: I don't know the other applicants, so it would be wrong forme to dismiss their claims.However, I am sure that I have all themain attributes the role requires, which, combined with determination andpositive approach, should ensure that I'd be a very good choice."

y Be positiveHe further says that the candidate should be positive in saying, "I don't know the other applicants, but generally Iexcel at..." and pick up strengths that most fit with what they're seeking.

y Maintain calmnessMost of the candidates fail due to fear and tension. Rajeev Vaid, CEO, Smart Hiring, Delhi says, "A candidate's


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resumemay be good, hemay have good IQ but a successful interview depends alsoon emotional quotient. How wellhe handles the pressure questions. However, one should maintain calmness even if the interviewer howls."

y Do yourhomework wellThe only way to handle such situation is tobe confident, credible and constructive (accentuate the positive) in youranswers. And more important is 'preparation for the interview'. Plan and rehearse your 'verbal resume'. You willalmost always be asked, "Please tell us about yourself," sobe prepared with a good response, tailored to the job athand. Prepare a written list of likely interview questions and job requirements. Prepare key points you need tomake

to demonstrate your specific accomplishments in each area.Why did you leave your last job?Why have you had somany jobs?Why do you want this job?What qualities do you think are required for this job?Why should we appoint you? 6. What can you do forus that other people cannot?What can we offer you that your previous company cannot?What are your greatest achievements within and outside the workplace?What are your great strengths and weaknesses?How has your experience prepared you for this position?If you are asked what questions you have, and you don't have any, the interviewermay get the impression youhaven't done your homework, or aren't seriously interested in the position. Prepare your questions in advance andphrase them to demonstrate your insight and ability to handle the position. "Often, the most successful applicants arethose who simply out-work their competition," points out Khera.

y Communication is the key skillDevelop your verbal communications skills. Having great management or technical skills and a strong record ofaccomplishment is not helpful if you can't verbally convey you successes.

y Answer questions directlyThen elaborate with examples. Choose examples that highlight past successes and relate it to the projects or issuesthat interviewer is facing, but avoid excessively lengthy responses. The purpose of tough interview questions is toencourage interviewees to think about themselves and to give the interviewer clear and revealing information as tothe interviewee's suitability for the job. One key to success is touse every means at your disposal to develop effectiveinterviewing skills, including selective presentation of yourbackground, thoughtful answers to typical interviewquestions, well-researched questions about the organisation, and an effective strategy tomarket yourself. There is nomagic to interviewing. It is a skill that can be learned and developed with practice.

how to prepare and face an interview

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