General Tips To Overcome An Interview

Top 10 Interview Tips

Great interviews arise from careful groundwork. You can ace your next

interview if you:

1.   Enter into a state of relaxed concentration. This is the state from which

great basketball players or Olympic skaters operate. You’ll need to quiet

the negative self chatter in your head through meditation or visualization

prior to sitting down in the meeting. You’ll focus on the present moment and

will be less apt to experience lapses in concentration, nervousness,

self-doubt and self-condemnation. 

2.   Act spontaneous, but be well prepared. Be your authentic self,

professional yet real. Engage in true conversation with your interviewer,

resting on the preparation you did prior to coming to the meeting. Conduct

several trial runs with another person simulating the interview before it

actually occurs. It’s the same as anticipating the questions you’ll be asked

on a final exam. 

3.   Set goals for the interview. It is your job to leave the meeting feeling

secure that the interviewer knows as much as he or she possibly can about

your skills, abilities, experience and achievements. If you sense there are

misconceptions, clear them up before leaving. If the interviewer doesn’t get

around to asking you important questions, pose them yourself

(diplomatically) and answer them. Don’t leave the meeting without getting

your own questions answered so that you have a clear idea of what you would

be getting yourself into. If possible, try to get further interviews,

especially with other key players. 

4.   Know the question behind the question. Ultimately, every question boils

down to, “Why should we hire you?” Be sure you answer that completely. If

there is a question about your meeting deadlines, consider whether the

interviewer is probing delicately about your personal life, careful not to

ask you whether your family responsibilities will interfere with your work. 

Find away to address fears if you sense they are present. 

5.   Follow up with an effective “thank you” letter. Don’t write this letter

lightly. It is another opportunity to market yourself. Find some areas

discussed in the meeting and expand upon them in your letter. Writing a

letter after a meeting is a very minimum. Standing out among the other

candidates will occur if you thoughtfully consider this follow up letter as

an additional interview in which you get to do all the talking. Propose

useful ideas that demonstrate your added value to the team. 

6.   Consider the interviewer’s agenda. Much is on the shoulders of the

interviewer. He or she has the responsibility of hiring the right candidate. 

Your ability to do the job will need to be justified. “Are there additional

pluses here?” “Will this person fit the culture of this organization?” These

as well as other questions will be heavily on the interviewer’s mind. Find

ways to demonstrate your qualities above and beyond just doing the job. 

7.   Expect to answer the question, “Tell me about yourself.” This is a pet

question of prepared and even unprepared interviewers. Everything you

include should answer the question, “Why should we hire you?” Carefully

prepare your answer to include examples of achievements from your work life

that closely match the elements of the job before you. Obviously, you’ll

want to know as much about the job description as you can before you respond

to the question. 

8.   Watch those nonverbal clues. Experts estimate that words express only 30%

to 35% of what people actually communicate; facial expressions and body

movements and actions convey the rest. Make and keep eye contact. Walk and

sit with a confident air. Lean toward an interviewer to show interest and

enthusiasm. Speak with a well-modulated voice that supports appropriate

excitement for the opportunity before you. 

9.   Be smart about money questions. Don’t fall into the trap of telling the

interviewer your financial expectations. You may be asking for too little or

too much money and in each case ruin your chances of being offered the job. 

Instead, ask what salary range the job falls in. Attempt to postpone a money

discussion until you have a better understanding of the scope of

responsibilities of the job. 

10. Don’t hang out your dirty laundry. Be careful not to bare your soul and

tell tales that are inappropriate or beyond the scope of the interview. 

State your previous experience in the most positive terms. Even if you

disagreed with a former employer, express your enthusiasm for earlier

situations as much as you can. Whenever you speak negatively about another

person or situation in which you were directly involved, you run the risk

(early in the relationship) of appearing like a troubled person who may have

difficulty working with others. 

General Tips To Overcome An Interview


  So what if you are not a mountaineer. Or a keen hiker. You still cannot treat your interview like a careless morning trot along a jogger's path. Your jaw-jaw at the interview table is nothing less than a cautious climb up a mountain trail--which begins around your early childhood and meanders through the years at the academia before reaching a new summit in your career.And as you retrace your steps down memory lane make sure that you post flags at important landmarks of your life and career, so that you can pop them before the interview panel scoops them out of you. You don't want to be at the receiving end, do you?


Face the panel, but don't fall of the chair in a headlong rush-and-skid attempt to tell your story. Take one step at a time. If you place your foot on slippery ground, you could be ejecting out on a free fall.


So prepare, fortify your thoughts, re-jig your memory, and script and design your story (without frills and falsity). Without the right preparation and storyboard, you could be a loser at the interview. Here are a few preparation tips that books on interviews sometimes overlook.


Before the interview


1. Chronological Outline of Career and Education Divide your life into "segments" defining your university, first job, second job. For each stage, jot down : The reason for opting certain course or profession; Your job responsibilities in your previous/current job; Reason of leaving your earlier/current job. You should be clear in your mind where you want to be in the short and long term and ask yourself the reason why you would be appropriate for the job you are being interviewed for and how it will give shape to your future course.


2. Strengths and Weaknesses

You should keep a regular check on your strengths and weaknesses. Write down three (3) technical and three (3) non-technical personal strengths. Most importantly, show examples of your skills. This proves more effective than simply talking about them. So if you're asked about a general skill, provide a specific example to help you fulfil the interviewer's expectations. It isn't enough to say you've got "excellent leadership skills". Instead, try saying:


"I think I have excellent leaderships skills which I have acquired through a combination of effective communication, delegation and personal interaction. This has helped my team achieve its goals."


As compared to strengths, the area of weaknesses is difficult to handle. Put across your weakness in such a way that it at leaset seems to be a positive virtue to the interviewer. Describe a weakness or area for development that you have worked on and have now overcome.


3. Questions you should be prepared for

Tell us about yourself.

What do you know about our company?

Why do you want to join our company?

What are your strengths and weaknesses?

Where do you see yourself in the next five years?

How have you improved the nature of your job in the past years of your working? Why should we hire you?

What contributions to profits have you made in your present or former company? Why are you looking for a change?


Answers to some difficult questions :


Tell me about yourself ?

Start from your education and give a brief coverage of previous experiences. Emphasise more on your recent experience explaining your job profile.


What do you think of your boss?

Put across a positive image, but don't exaggerate.


Why should we hire you? Or why are you interested in this job?

Sum up your work experiences with your abilities and emphasise your strongest qualities and achievements. Let your interviewer know that you will prove to be an asset to the company.


How much money do you want?

Indicate your present salary and emphasise that the opportunity is the most important consideration.


Do you prefer to work in a group?

Be honest and give examples how you've worked by yourself and also with others. Prove your flexibility.


4. Questions to As


At the end of the interview, most interviewers generally ask if you have any questions. Therefore, you should be prepared beforehand with 2-3 technical and 2-3 non-technical questions and commit them to your memory before the interview.


Do not ask queries related to your salary, vacation, bonuses, or other benefits. This information should be discussed at the time of getting your joining letter. Here we are giving few sample questions that you can ask at the time of your interview.


Sample Questions


Could you tell me the growth plans and goals for the company?

What skills are important to be successful in this position?

Why did you join this company? (optional)

What's the criteria your company uses for performance appraisal?

With whom will I be interacting most frequently and what are their responsibilities and the nature of our interaction?

What is the time frame for making a decision at this position?

What made the previous persons in this position successful/unsuccessful?


5. Do your homework


Before going for an interview, find out as much information on the company (go to JobsAhead Company Q and A) as possible. The best sources are the public library, the Internet (you can check out the company's site), and can even call the company and get the required information. The information gives you a one-up in the interview besides proving your content company or position.


Clearing the interview isn't necessarily a solitary attempt. Seek assistance from individuals who are in the profession and whose counsel you value most. Be confident in your approach and attitude; let the panel feel it through your demeanour, body language and dressing.


Getting prepared for your interview is the best way to dig deep and know yourself. You will be surprised that it would breed a new familiarity become more familiar with your own qualifications that will be make you present yourself better. All the best and get ready to give a treat.


PANEL

When you are facing a panel of interviewers, make your best moves.


Whether you are searching for jobs, looking for career avenues or climbing the corporate ladder, you can't escape team interviews these days. The problem is that such interviews don't have a pattern to them. They come in different forms. You could be facing your prospective team members. Or you could be up against the top brass—HR vice-president, the section head, the operations chief. Or you could also be sent to a recruitment assessment centre for multi-parametric evaluation (psychological tests for pressure-handling abilities, team-player skills and so on).


Try these ten tips for surviving, and scoring, in a team interview.


GIVE VARIETY TO YOUR ANSWERS

Remember you might be interviewed by different panels. Don't give a stock answer to all of them. They'll be comparing notes.

Repackage your skills so that they sound different. If you're showcasing project X as your major achievement in your present job before one team, talk about project B before another interview panel.

A technical team will tune in to techie talk; an HR team would rather hear about your interpersonal skills.


FINE-TUNE INTERPERSONAL SKILLS

Pull out the stops on your group management and group presentation skills.


Interviewers are people after all. Look for the personality type underscoring each interviewer.Then try and connect with each one of them without getting personal. Usually the best way to make contact is to project values that you feel you can share with your interviewers.

DON'T QUAKE IN YOUR BOOTS

* Interviewers are not ogres. They are looking for excuses to hire you, not spill your guts.

* Don't be obsequious. That conveys low self-esteem.

* If you face your interviewers with fear in your eyes, they won't like what they see. They are NOT sadists.


PREPARE FOR STRESS

* You'll be up against a time crunch in a team interview.

* In one-on-ones, the interviewer might be taking notes, allowing you little breathers. No such luck with four people firing questions at you. Use stress control techniques to soothe your nerves. You might even use the extra adrenaline to sharpen your responses.


SHOWCASE THE IMPORTANT THINGS

* List seven important things that fit the job description of the advertised post. Prepare to present skills that fit such traits.

* It helps to talk to friends familiar with the job description. You can even ask them to prepare tests that you can take from them.


REHEARSE WELL

* Put together three family members or friends with diverse personality traits.

* Recreate the formality of a team interview situation and ask them to fire nonstop questions at you. That will serve as a useful practice session.

* Ask for serious feedback, especially about weak areas in your answers. Questions about qualifications and work experience are usually generic, so what your mock team asks you is bound to be pretty close to the real stuff.


CREATE A MENTAL PICTURE OF YOURSELF

Boost your self-confidence by seeing yourself as star performer who's a cut above. See yourself answering with elan the questions you expect. Then replay your answers and ask yourself these questions:

* How interesting were your observations?

* Did most of your responses begin the same way?

* Did you use 'we' often, suggesting team-player attributes?

* Are there traces of humour in your responses?


ASK GOOD QUESTIONS

* Research is integral to a good interview performance. Find out as much about you can about the company concerned. Browse the Net, check company reports, put together news clips.

* Armed with your background brief, ask relevant questions about the company.

* If you think you have a bright idea about any ongoing activity, try this: "Did the company consider this option ..."


LOOK BEYOND THE OBVIOUS

* Your interview team has some core queries about you. It's these they want you to address. Try and look beyond the upfront questions to decipher their exact intent. Then respond to fill in what the team is really looking for.

* Flesh out your answers to focus on the team's concerns. If they ask you about your perception of the company's ESOP policy, they want you to present your expectation from a stock option plan.

* Answer in sync with the general tenor of the interview. If your work involves individual research besides team work, don't go overboard about team-player abilities. Balance your answer. Mention how sometimes individual work is more productive though team work is needed to put into action ideas generated by individual research.