Interview Success and Tips for Interviews
1. Always remain positive during the interview even if things aren't going as well as you'd hoped. In school, did you ever write a test that you were sure you'd failed, only to find out you passed? You never know, you might be doing better in the interview than you think and you don't want to give up.
2. Try to leave the interviewer with at least one thing about you that might be unique from other candidates that would be valuable to the company if they hired you. Once they've interviewed several people with similar backgrounds, they will tend to look for reasons to hire one person over the others or they might try to eliminate candidates who don't meet certain criteria.
3. If during an interview you realize that the position is not of interest to you, complete the interview and answer the questions as you would if you were interested in the job. I've seen situations where the candidate wasn't good for the job they were interviewing for but the hiring manager referred them to another hiring manager in the company for a different position that they ended up receiving. It doesn't happen often, but it can happen.
4. Don't speak negatively about your former or current employer or divulge confidential information that you shouldn't. I have seen people lose out on jobs by criticizing former employers or by mentioning things about their current employer that they shouldn't have.
5. Don't forgot to listen during the interview! Sure, you are there to answer questions but don't forget to listen. Listen to the questions you are asked, listen to the answers to the questions you ask and also listen to comments that the interviewer makes that might help to shed more light on the job, the company, and your interest in both.
Success in Interviews:
Interview Tips
Your dress-up reflects your choice, how much you respect yourself and your professionalism.
Check your resume thoroughly for sentence framing, grammar, spelling mistakes, correctness of information, consistency etc.
Carry atleast 2 copies of your resume in a neat folder
Explain:
Interview is arranged to understand aspects of your personality. A lot of explanation is required and real life / other examples play a very important role in putting your point across. When you just say "I have a positive attitude." That's not enough, "Whenever I face a difficult situation, I face it with a positive attitude. When I was in 12th standard, I was not at all prepared for my exams because of ill health and everybody told me that I will fail. But just seven days before the exam I worked hard and was confident of clearing my exam and I cleared it with flying colours."
Do not lie:
There are very high chances that you will be nervous in an interview for various reasons. If you put forward a wrong information ("I have 7 years work experience in Sales" when you have only 2) You will have a tough time justifying if the interviewer asks many questions. On the other hand, if you don't know something, admit it gracefully. "I am sorry sir, I do not have a 50 wpm speed but 30 wpm on computers, but if you can give me 10 days time, I can definitely reach that speed."
Prepare:
Before going for an interview:
Know the company name, job description and other relevant details
Collect information about the company from company’s website or any other source
Understand the role of your department
Be sure about the date, time, venue of the personal interview
Print two copies of your resume and check for spelling / grammatical errors, missing information
Carry two passport-size snaps, if possible
Think of the interview questions you might face and do mirror practice of all till you are satisfied.
Ask:
An interview is not about just talking and answering questions. After major part of interview is completed, if appropriate, asking couple of questions will demonstrate your interest in the job and will also make you aware of your role, if selected.
Suggested questions:
What will be my exact role in the company?
What will be my key performance parameters?
What are company’s future plans?
What will be my career-path in your company?Commonly Asked Interview Questions and Suggested Answers
Describe yourself as a person
People tell me that I am a very confident and mature person. I think one reason people tell me that I am confident because in any situation of my life I handle it with a positive attitude. For eg. When I was working with a marketing company I was assigned a target of selling 20 machines. My senior colleagues told me that this was one of the unachievable targets. But I took it as a challenge and I worked hard on it continuously for all 30 days and at the end of it, I had achieved a sales of 27 machines – which broke all the records. I think this was all because of my confidence and positive attitude.
What are your strengths and your weaknesses?
[First of all, take time to write down 3 of your strengths and 3 weaknesses. These are examples from personal life, you can quote your relevant real professional life examples.]
Since my childhood, I have a habit, if I want to go to a movie, solve Maths problems, I used to make sure that I do it. I would not care how much effort was involved, how much convincing was required. , so my first strength is that I am a determined person.
Secondly, I have a habit, when I take up some work, I make sure that I do it very well. It was my dad’s 25th birthday. All my family members had completed the decoration, but I started when everybody finished, because I was not satisfied with the way it was. I worked alone for four hours and at the end of it, everyone appreciated it. Moreover, my father, for whom it was a surprise was delighted. , my second strength is that I love perfection and I achieve it most of the times.
Now as I have told you about my strengths I would like to share with you something. One of my strength of being a determined person is also my weakness. When I take up some commitment, I invest so much energy, hardwork and efforts in it that I sometimes neglect my personal life, social life, health and family life. I still remember I have not visited my very close friend since last 2 years. My strength of being a determined person is also my weakness.
My mother tells me that I spend a lot of money. I think she is right and but from other perspective, I think what I am doing is also right. Whenever I buy something – clothes, watches, shoes, I buy best quality products, and good products or services are always expensive. My second weakness is that I spend a lot of money on quality products.
Where do you see yourself five years from now?
I have observed that your company has grown very fast in the last five years. I want to contribute my services and be a part of this growth. I think in five years I would like to see myself as a Head of a Department.
There are other 3 candidates with same age, experience and work-profile. Why should we consider you for this post?
I know about myself, hence I can comment about myself. I not only have relevant experience in the required field, but also, I am passionate about my work. Most people become Software Engineers because there is a demand, but I got into it because I love & enjoy programming. Additionally, I have achieved two promotions in three years, which clearly shows my performance in my current job. I think these qualities qualify me for this job.
What if you do not get this job?
Based on my qualifications, experience and skills, I am very sure that I deserve and will get this job. But for some reason, if you decide to select somebody else, I will respect your decision and would like to know from you the reason. I will then work on the skills that need improvement and maybe come back to you again.
Your resume has 2 spelling mistakes, can you justify?
I have checked my resume twice before submitting it to you. But there are chances something must have slipped out. Since you are commenting, I would like to have a look at the resume. Can I please take it? I can only find one spelling mistake in EDUCATION, and I am not able to find the second one. Can you kindly help me out? [take response]. Ok Thank you, for pointing out my mistakes. At this point of time, we have to do with this one. I will correct it once I leave from here and then email it to you.
What if you get an opportunity in other company?
[Fresher] I am working for this company currently and as far as I know myself, once I make a friend, I maintain the friendship for life and it is the same in my career. Once I work for a company, I take it as a long term commitment. In this highly competitive market, offers from other companies will always be there but I want to work with your company to build a Career with you.
[Experienced] I have studied about your company in detail. I am seriously looking at dedicating my services for the company’s growth and I know that your company offers excellent growth opportunities to employees who deserve it. So I am looking forward to work with your organization in long-term.
In the BM English Course participants go through many rounds of real-life kind of interview questions listed above and are thoroughly trained to present their thoughts such that they succeed in interviews.
