Congratulations! You have been invited for the interview.
It gives wings to the hopes on hearing the you have been shortlisted but, at the same time it also brings an expression of concern “Now What?”.
An interview is all about research, confidence and creating a good rapport. The hiring manager needs to know that you are capable of performing the tasks of the job and also that you will be a good addition to the team. The interview is your time to shine. Don’t be intimidated because you don’t think you have all the skills that are wanted in the job specification.
Most job experiences will teach you as you go, so though you may not have the necessary skill, doesn’t mean that you can’t get the job. All you need is to work twice as hard in your interview to portray that you are perfectly capable for the job. When it comes to hiring the right person, it is about the overall package – skills, personality, confidence and also the passion you show in your interview.
Preparing for the interview
“The more complicated and powerful the job, the more rudimentary the preparation for it.”
Therefore, the first step after you get an interview call is to research about the company. Once you know all about the company you’ll be ready to prepare for the interview. Learn about improving your interview skills and think carefully about what you’ll be wearing to the interview.
There is no perfect set of rules to define how to research about the company but getting prepared as best as you can, will enhance your chances. You can easily search about the company on google.
A true story…
I know of this person who was called for an Interview at a renowned IT firm. Out of about 50 candidates, 10 were selected and when asked about what they know about the company, 9 of them narrated the same as they saw in the company’s website. But this person, he did his homework and read about the company’s new policies in the newspaper and analysed that the company is bound to grow in future. He was hired instantly because he was able to impress the interviewed with his inquisitive and different knowledge.
He was hired not because he was the smartest candidate, but because he showed curiosity and dedication by going a little further in interview preparation.
A careful research on the company would give better insight on typically,
- The history of the business
- The types of services the business offers
- Career progression
- The business culture
- CompetitorsBenefits
- Latest news and policies
Check out the Competitors websites as well – they are also a good source of information for your job preparation.
Interview Questions
Ice Breaking Questions:
These are the general question asked to make you comfortable. However, at the same time, the questions are equally important. These questions may not seem to be getting job with the answers you provide for these questions, but you may surely lose the job with your answer. For example, questions like,
- Introduce yourself or tell me about yourself,
- Did you have any difficulties finding our office today?
- Would you like some coffee or a glass of water?
- Why have you applied to the job? ( perhaps the most tricky one)
How you answer these questions forms the first impression of the interviewer about you and giving a wrong impression might severely affect the outcome.
Tips:
- Keep the answers related and brief. Be polite. There is no need to describe your whole life story.
- Use proper English and do not use slangs or lazy English. Avoid words like wanna, gonna etc’. Using these words crate unprofessional or even careless impression
Types of questions you can expect to get in an interview:
General Questions
These are usually questions for which there is no Yes or No answer. You have to elaborate the answer and describe it. These are the questions for which the interviewer is looking for specific piece of information and thus these require a careful thought.
For example questions like:
- Tell me about yourself
- Why did you decide to leave your previous job?
- Where else have you applied?
- What is your biggest strength or weakness?
- Why have you applied for this job?
Note: always try to answer directly in brief, but complete sentences- and never just one word answers.
Behavioural Questions
“Past behaviour is a better predictor of future behaviour”
These type of questions are asked to analyze how you acted in certain circumstances in your previous job. It is an indicator of how you will act in the new job. There can be literally thousands of behavioral questions but you can prepare for these type of questions by researching the culture of the organization to get into an understanding of the behavioral traits that are essential to working at that organization. Behavioral questions focus more on experiences, behaviours, knowledge, skills and abilities.
Examples:
- Tell me about any recent challenge and situation in which you found yourself and what you did?
Situational Questions
These are usually Hypothetical questions designed to find out how you would approach certain problems if they would rise. These types of questions are to judge the individual’s ability to be pro-active and keep calm under difficult situations and finding smart solution to the problem.
Examples of Situational questions:
- If you found out an employee was stealing from the business how would you approach this employee?
- What would you do if your supervisor asked you to do something that you felt was unethical?
- Imagine you have a deadline and you are running out of time. What would you do?
- How would you handle an employee that is disrupting the work environment?
Asking the interviewer Questions
At some point, the interviewer will turn to you and ask “Do you have any questions which you would like to ask me?”
If you are uncertain about certain aspects of the role or need greater clarification, than this is the time to ask those questions. Don’t be shy or intimidated. Also, asking clever questions will not just help you in deciding if this job is right for you but will impress the interviewer and leave a positive image as someone who comprehensive and professional.
Some questions that you can ask:
- How will my leadership responsibilities and performance be measured?
- Do you provide any sort of professional development or training?
- How do you measure performance and how often is it reviewed?
- Who was in this job before and why did they leave?
What Not to Ask!
- About Salary and benefits
- Questions that are clearly stated on the website
- Generic / Obvious questions
- Questions that are irrelevant to the job or organization
How to Dress for the Interview?
“Don’t Dress for the job you have, dress for the job you want to have”
When you walk into the interview room, the very first thing that the interviewer does is look at you. Do not allow you dress to damage your chances of being hired. Dressing properly will not guarantee the job, but dressing inappropriately definitely will ruin your chances. Once you decide what to wear, you should also decide of what color the dress you should wear. Colors also get noticed and make a huge difference.Different colours evoke different emotions and it is imperative when you’re interviewing that you evoke the right emotions from the interviewer.
For example:
Blue: describes: trust, loyalty, wisdom, peaceful.
Red: Red is a strong colour, very emotional, an extreme colour. Red is fiery (think love and passion), and can be an intimidating colour for the interviewer.
Grey: Grey gives the look of sophistication and authority. In a corporate environment, grey is professional and portrays an individual as being confident without being intimidating.
Black: Be careful when wearing just black to an interview. Black is seen as a power colour and can be viewed as threatening. Wearing black outfits can portray an individual as being powerful or even arrogant.
Mistakes to avoid
- Arriving Late
- Lack of Preparation
- Dressing Inappropriately
- Avoid Badmouthing
- Poor body language
- Mumbling
- Using constant slang
- Crossing your arms
- Rigid
- Slouching
- Nervous gestures e.g. playing with your hair
- Using your hands too much when talking
- Poor Communication Skills
- Talking Too Much
- Not answering the question
- Forgetting to Follow Up