Personal Interview

Once you have sent your resume to a company and survived the weeding out process, your resume typically gets passed along to the hiring manager.

In-Person Interview

If you survived the initial phone interview, the next step is probably an in-person interview. Every company has their own way of conducting these interviews. Some prefer to have "panel-like" interviews, while others prefer one-to-one interviews. Expect to interview with three to four technical people (most likely the people you will end up working with) and maybe a group manager. The entire interviewing process can take anywhere between 2 to 6 hours. If the interview overlaps with lunch hours, the company will usually arrange for lunch. Expect a wide variety of questions that range from common personal questions to very challenging technical questions relevant to the job you are applying for. Remember that the whole point of this exercise is for the interviewers to determine if you have the skills to do the job you are interviewing for, and if you are someone they would like to work with.

Tip 1 #
Self-awareness is of paramount importance. To be self-aware, you need to introspect on your qualities, good and bad, and what motivates your actions etc.

Tip 2 #
your friends and family know you well, so utilize their inputs to learn about yourself.

Tip 3 #
an important preparation tactic is to guess what kind of questions may be asked of you, given your particular profile, thinking of how you would respond to the same, and then guessing what further questions may be asked from your responses. Developing multiple lines of questioning from each answer will help you prepare for most of the eventualities. But this is best done with someone else helping you sound out your ideas, not in isolation.

Tip 4 #
writing down your responses to probable questions allows you to check how your ideas appear in black and white.

Tip 5 #
A serious simulated interview will go a long way in preparing you mentally for the actual one.

Tip 6 #
A very important point is to remember to photocopy the interview form and preserve the copy to recollect what exactly one had written in the form at the time of the interview.

Will they grill me ?
Students always get intimidated at the prospect of going through an interview. But that's not the way to look at the interview process. You should look on the interview positively, as an opportunity to present yourself to a complete stranger, rather than an ordeal.

How does one lead the interviewer ?
One leads the interviewer by ending a topic with a reference to the next topic you wish to take the panel to.

How do I deal with my nervousness ?
By preparing for the interview. The importance of preparation is paramount for success. 70-80% of questions can be prepared for.

What about the questions I have not prepared for ?
Not all questions can be anticipated, and some questions are asked to harangue the candidate a bit. You will have to think on your feet. Therefore, in these cases as well as throughout the interview, keeping an alert mind is necessary

How should I dress ?
Maintain at least a neat and clean appearance, and wear comfortable clothes. People generally do dress up formally for interviews.

How should my posture and body language be ?
Follow the general body language rules - Maintaining eye contact with the entire panel. Body language should be relaxed and yet formal.

If I don't know an answer, can I try and bluff my way through ?
Bluffing is to be strictly avoided because of the possible expertise of the panellist in that area. You can admit that you don't know the answer.

How do I answer the question "Tell me something about yourself" ?
This all-important question is to indirectly ascertain which areas to ask you questions on. This is a great chance to set a favourable tone for the entire interview. You should tell them things about yourself that reflect positively on you. Remember that there is no such thing as a universally right answer. What is right answer for you may not be a right answer for your neighbour. The answer that is right for you is the one that shows you in positive light.

How do I answer the questions "Should we select you? And why ?"
Never say 'No'. Don't sound over-confident and if pointed out, then accept the mistakes you committed during the interview, but in return point out all your strong points and how you would add to the learning process of the entire class through your experiences and background (if an uncommon one).

What is a stress interview? How does one behave in the same ?
A stress interview is said to be the one in which the panel deliberately acts hostile and tries to make the candidate uncomfortable. The panel wants to see your maturity, see how well you can handle stressful situations. The way you should tackle a stress interview is to keep your cool, answer questions as coolly as possible, without raising your voice, getting aggressive and confrontationist, and acting as reasonably as possible