Tips for Interview
No matter where you went to school, no matter what your GPA is, no matter how much experience you have, no matter who you know--if you aren't able to interview successfully, you won't get the job. 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.
Entering the room
Prior to the entering the door, adjust your attire so that it falls well.Before entering enquire by saying, “May I come in sir/madam”.
If the door was closed before you entered, make sure you shut the door behind you softly.
Face the panel and confidently say ‘Good day sir/madam'.
If the members of the interview board want to shake hands, then offer a firm grip first maintaining eye contact and a smile.
Seek permission to sit down. If the interviewers are standing, wait for them to sit down first before sitting.
An alert interviewee would diffuse the tense situation with light-hearted humor and immediately set rapport with the interviewers.
Enthusiasm
The interviewer normally pays more attention if you display an enthusiasm in whatever you say.This enthusiasm come across in the energetic way you put forward your ideas.
You should maintain a cheerful disposition throughout the interview, i.e. a pleasant countenance hold s the interviewers interest.
Humor
A little humor or wit thrown in the discussion occasionally enables the interviewers to look at the pleasant side of your personality,. If it does not come naturally do not contrive it.By injecting humor in the situation doesn't mean that you should keep telling jokes. It means to make a passing comment that, perhaps, makes the interviewer smile.
Eye contact
You must maintain eye contact with the panel, right through the interview. This shows your self-confidence and honesty.Many interviewees while answering, tend to look away. This conveys you are concealing your own anxiety, fear and lack of confidence.
Maintaining an eye contact is a difficult process. As the circumstances in an interview are different, the value of eye contact is tremendous in making a personal impact.
Be natural
Many interviewees adopt a stance which is not their natural self.It is amusing for interviewers when a candidate launches into an accent which he or she cannot sustain consistently through the interview or adopt mannerisms that are inconsistent with his/her personality.
Interviewers appreciate a natural person rather than an actor.
It is best for you to talk in natural manner because then you appear genuine.
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 :