Job Interviews are always a nerve-racking experience for individuals, be it a student or a professional. Everyone gets the jitters when it comes to interviews. It is the time when one is judged not only on the basis of one’s past performance but also on his skills, confidence, and various such factors. We as professionals can’t flee from interviews as our livelihood depends on it. The better one performs in the interview, the more prominent the odds of finding a new job. Most of the people easily clear the written competitions yet stall in the interview round. Candidates who are appearing for the first time in an interview generally take the assistance of the internet where one can get various interview preparation tips on how to crack an interview. But sometimes these interview preparation tips are vague or too conventional hence applying them becomes difficult.
Though the interview questions may differ from sector to sector there are a few things that remain the same irrespective of the career paths.One of the questions is Introduce yourself, here the candidates should come up with innovative ways to answer - Tell me about yourself. First of all, one should understand that the interviewer is human and is also nervous about the process. Now the question is why because it is you who will be facing him. The obvious reason is that if he hires an incompetent person company will lose its time, money, and resources on an incompetent candidate. Therefore, one must understand that the interviewer is there to hire and not reject people. If he finds you suitable he will give you a job.
And now, how will you prove to the interviewer that you are worthy? As a professional, I have seen numerous professionals some for an interview and get disheartened. Therefore here are a few job interview preparation tips I would like to share. Hope this eases such coming processes.
First of all, never leave everything to faith. I have seen many students and professionals who come unprepared for the interview and this is the biggest mistake one can do. Most of the people just read one or two random articles from the internet about interview preparation tips and not much thought is spared on the details. Always do your homework well before entering the room. Improve your communication skills for the job. Since English language is the medium through which most job interviews take place, know the importance of english in your job career. Get to know the basic facts about the company, about the business, its operations, etc. Also research about its competitors and why you want to join this particular company. Remember you have got only 30 -35 minutes to impress the person sitting in front of you. Understanding the first impression is the last impression. Your clothes and personality would be the first thing the interviewer would notice. Take extra care about your wardrobe for the D-day and groom yourself a bit. Many would say that these things do not matter against your capabilities, but understand that the interviewer should feel that you have put some extra effort and are serious about this job. Work on your voice modulation and be punctual.
Prepare the basic HR questions beforehand and be thorough with your CV. There are a few questions that are asked everywhere irrespective of sector. Prepare those questions thoroughly because not only do these answers give an insight about you to the interviewer but from here you can drive the interview the way you want to. Include things that you are good at, your strengths, etc. Also, be well versed with whatever you have written in the CV. Do not be monologues. Try to weave a story for every point you have written in your CV. Nearly Think from the perspective of the interviewer. He has been sitting there since morning listening to some kind of answers. Try giving him something different to make the interview interesting. I have seen many people have different achievements or certifications mentioned but not knowing about it in detail. Therefore, be ready with as many counter questions as you can.
Body language is important when it comes to communicating with the interviewer. He can judge you with the way you sit, talk, or communicate. Most of the interviewers make up their minds about the candidate within 30 seconds of entering the room. Therefore work on your body language. Learn how to use your hand, how to sit, and when to smile. These are the basic etiquettes one must remember and be professional. Nobody likes a person with no manners and therefore be polite and try to be as calm as possible. Do not be too fast or too slow. Take your time to first understand a question properly and then try to give an answer. Being in a hurry won’t make the situation favorable.
Do not act like a know-it-all. Remember they take interviews of hundreds of people and therefore can easily understand when someone is lying. The rounds can be technical or non-technical and your answers may vary but if you are bluffing then chances of getting caught in the technical round are far more. Even the interviewers know that you may not know everything. Therefore be honest in what you say and backup confidently about everything that you have mentioned in your CV. Interviewers appreciate honesty but if you do not know the basic terms or techniques of your career then it may act negatively on your side. Hence be careful as to what you speak in front of them.
After passing several rounds of the interview, you eventually reach your dream job. But the problem arises when the dream job does not come up with the salary you expect. We hesitate a lot to ask for salary negotiation and forget about the mistakes to avoid during salary negotiation. In this process, the situation can hit right back at you and the results may not be in your favor.
There can be a lot of preparation tips that you can apply to help you with the process. But even after preparations, there may come certain circumstances when things may not go accordingly. And in such situations, your presence of mind and persuasion skills may come handy. Therefore, prepare well but do not overdo it. Make it look spontaneous.