Preparation The Interview 

Interview is an opportunity for both the employer and the applicant to gather information. The employer wants to know if you, the applicant, have the skills, knowledge, self-confidence, and motivation necessary for the job. At this point you can be confident that the employer saw something of interest in your resume. He or she also wants to determine whether or not you will fit in with the organization's current employees and philosophy. Similarly, you will want to evaluate the position and the organization, and determine if they will fit into your career plans. The interview is a two-way exchange of information. It is an opportunity for both parties to market themselves. The employer is selling the organization to you, and you are marketing your skills, knowledge, and personality to the employer. 

Interview Preparation 

Research is a critical part of preparing for an interview. If you haven't done your homework, it is going to be obvious. Spend time researching and thinking about yourself, the occupation, the organization, and questions you might ask at the end of the interview. 

Step 1: Know Yourself 

The first step in preparing for an interview is to do a thorough   self-assessment so that you will know what you have to offer an employer. It is very important to develop a complete inventory of skills, experience, and personal attributes that you can use to market yourself to employers at any time during the interview process. In developing this inventory, it is easiest to start with experience. Once you have a detailed list of activities that you have done (past jobs, extra-curricular involvements, volunteer work, school projects, etc.), it is fairly easy to identify your skills.

 Simply go through the list, and for each item ask yourself "What could I have learned by doing this?" "What skills did I develop?" "What issues/circumstances have I learned to deal with?" Keep in mind that skills fall into two categories - technical and generic. Technical skills are the skills required to do a specific job. For a laboratory assistant, technical skills might include knowledge of sterilization procedures, slide preparation, and scientific report writing. For an outreach worker, technical skills might include counselling skills, case management skills, or program design and evaluation skills 

Generic skills are those which are transferable to many work settings. 

Following is a list of the ten most marketable skills. You will notice that they are all generic. 

• Analytical/Problem Solving 

• Flexibility/Versatility 

• Interpersonal 

• Oral/Written Communication 

• Organization/Planning 

• Time Management 

• Motivation 

• Leadership 

• Self-Starter/Initiative 

• Team Player 

Often when people think of skills, they tend to think of those they have developed in the workplace. However, skills are developed in a variety of settings. If you have ever researched and written a paper for a course, you probably have written communication skills. Team sports or group projects are a good way to develop the skills required of a team player and leader. Don't overlook any abilities you may have 

When doing the research on yourself, identifying your experience and skills is important, but it is not all that you need to know. 

Consider the answers to other questions such as: 

• How have I demonstrated the skills required in this position? 

• What are my strong points and weak points? 

• What are my short term and long term goals? 

• What can I offer this particular employer? 

• What kind of environment do I like? (i.e. How do I like to be supervised? Do I like a fast pace?) 

• What do I like doing? 

• Apart from my skills and experience, what can I bring to this job? 

Step 2: Know the Occupation 

The second step in preparing for an interview is to research the occupation. This is necessary because in order to present a convincing argument that you have the experience and skills required for that occupation, you must first know what those requirements and duties are. With this information uncovered, you can then match the skills you have (using the complete skills/experience inventory you have just prepared) with the skills you know people in that occupational field need. The resulting "shortlist" will be the one that you need to emphasize during the interview. 

It is also in your best interest to identify the approximate starting salary for that position, or those similar. 

There are several ways to find out about an occupation: 

• Acquire a copy of the job description from the employer (Human 

• Resources/Personnel) or check with Student Employment Services. If you are responding to an advertisement, this may also supply some details. 

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General Tips To Overcome An Interview

So what if you are not a mountaineer. Or a keen hiker. You still cannot treat your interview like a careless morning trot along a jogger's path. Your jaw-jaw at the interview table is nothing less than a cautious climb up a mountain trail--which begins around your early childhood and meanders through the years at the academia before reaching a new summit in your career.And as you retrace your steps down memory lane make sure that you post flags at important landmarks of your life and career, so that you can pop them before the interview panel scoops them out of you. You don't want to be at the receiving end, do you?

Face the panel, but don't fall of the chair in a headlong rush-and-skid attempt to tell your story. Take one step at a time. If you place your foot on slippery ground, you could be ejecting out on a free fall.

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.                                                           

Before the interview  

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 :                                          

Tell me about yourself ?

Start from your education and give a brief coverage of previous experiences. Emphasise more on your recent experience explaining your job profile.

What do you think of your boss?

Put across a positive image, but don't exaggerate.

Why should we hire you? Or why are you interested in this job?

Sum up your work experiences with your abilities and emphasise your strongest qualities and achievements. Let your interviewer know that you will prove to be an asset to the company.

How much money do you want?

Indicate your present salary and emphasise that the opportunity is the most important consideration.

 Do you prefer to work in a group?

Be honest and give examples how you've worked by yourself and also with others. Prove your flexibility.

                                  

4. Questions to As                  

                                                                        

 At the end of the interview, most interviewers generally ask if you have any questions. Therefore, you should be prepared beforehand with 2-3 technical and 2-3 non-technical questions and commit them to your memory before the interview.

Do not ask queries related to your salary, vacation, bonuses, or other benefits. This information should be discussed at the time of getting your joining letter. Here we are giving few sample questions that you can ask at the time of your interview.

Sample Questions

Could you tell me the growth plans and goals for the company?

What skills are important to be successful in this position?

Why did you join this company? (optional)

What's the criteria your company uses for performance appraisal?

With whom will I be interacting most frequently and what are their responsibilities and the nature of our interaction?

What is the time frame for making a decision at this position?

What made the previous persons in this position successful/unsuccessful?

 5. Do your homework         

                                                                                                                     

 Before going for an interview, find out as much information on the company (go to JobsAhead Company Q and A) as possible. The best sources are the public library, the Internet (you can check out the company's site), and can even call the company and get the required information. The information gives you a one-up in the interview besides proving your content company or position.

 Clearing the interview isn't necessarily a solitary attempt. Seek assistance from individuals who are in the profession and whose counsel you value most. Be confident in your approach and attitude; let the panel feel it through your demeanour, body language and dressing.

Getting prepared for your interview is the best way to dig deep and know yourself. You will be surprised that it would breed a new familiarity become more familiar with your own qualifications that will be make you present yourself better. All the best and get ready to give a treat.

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WRITE YOUR QUESTIONS DOWN

You’ve secured a job interview. Great. The first thing you do is homework.
The
second thing you do is write down the questions you will ask.

Some job seekers are uncertain about whether they should write
down their questions. If they do, should they bring them to the interview?
The answer to both questions is yes. Doesn’t that look, well, premeditated?
Of course it does. That’s the effect you want.

“I’ve always found that the most important thing at a job interview
is to have a list of questions prepared before going in,” says Kate Brothers,
director of grants administration at Keuka College in Keuka Park,
New York. “It accomplishes two things: It makes you look like you’ve
done your homework, and it fills the awkward silences when the interviewer
runs out of things to ask you. Also, it puts at least a portion of the
interview in your control.”

Writing down your questions accomplishes a number of useful
objectives.

It helps articulate your thoughts. Your questions should be as crisp
as your shirt or blouse. Write them down, practice reading them
aloud, and edit until the questions sing.

It helps prioritize your issues. Not every question carries equal
weight. But only when you write them all down can you decide which
question to ask first. Some candidates write questions on index cards
so they can easily order and reorder them until they have the flow
they want.

It helps you remember. In the anxiety of the interview, you can easily
forget a question you meant to ask. Or worse, your brain can
vapor-lock and spill out something really dumb. If you have been interviewing
with a number of companies, it is easy to forget where
you are and ask a totally inappropriate question, such as asking
about manufacturing facilities at an insurance company. Protect
yourself and make yourself look professional by preparing questions
in advance.

It improves your performance. Knowing which questions you will
ask generally makes the interview go better. It breeds confidence. You
will be able to guide the interview to highlight your qualifications in
a way that your questions will underscore.

It makes you look prepared. That’s a good thing as far as interviewers
are concerned.

KNOW YOUR KILLER QUESTION

Depending on how the interview goes, you may have time to ask only
one question. If that’s the case, make it a killer question.

Everyone has a different killer question. Ask yourself, if you could
present just one question, what would it be? Think about the brand you
want to present. You are that brand. Take some time to think of the question
that allows you to differentiate yourself from the crowd.

In many cases, the killer question has three elements:
• A statement that you appreciate the company’s challenges or problem
• An assertion that you can solve the problem
• A request that you be given the opportunity to do so

The thoroughness with which you prepare for this question goes
a long way in deciding whether you will be successful in getting a
job offer.

Formulating open-ended, penetrating questions gives you a leg up
on the competition. The right questions give the hiring manager a better
picture of your value proposition to the company, the only basis
on which you will be offered a position. The 15 rules that follow provide
guidance to help you strategize about the questions you will take
into your job interviews. Now is the time to be intentional about the
interview, to take control, and to put your best foot forward.

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A QUESTIONING ATTITUDE

Asking just the right questions is your chance to demonstrate that you
are the best candidate for the job by communicating five different impressions:

• Interest. You have taken the trouble to investigate the job.
• Intelligence. You really understand the requirements of the job.
• Confidence. You have everything it takes to do to the job.
• Personal appeal. You are the type of person who will fit in well.
• Assertiveness. You ask for the job.

Of course, there is a sixth objective for your asking critical questions:
to help you assess whether or not you really want the job. The job interview
is a two-way street. You get to estimate the quality of the organization
as much as the organizations gets to estimate your credentials.

The other important point is to avoid “What about me?” questions
until after you get a job offer or a very strong expression of interest.
“What about me?” questions are anything that goes to what the candidate
receives as opposed to what the candidate offers. Remember, you
have two roles in the interview: buyer and seller. For the first part of
the interview, you are a seller. The only time you are buying is when
they make you an offer.

Listen to Susan Trainer, senior information systems recruiter with
RJS Associates in Hartford, Connecticut. She interviews hundreds of
candidates to determine if they represent a good fit for her client companies. “It makes me crazy when I ask a candidate if they have any questions
and they respond with either ‘No, you have answered them already’
or ‘How many vacation days does your client give?’

“There are so many things you can screw up in a job interview, and
not asking thoughtful questions when you have the opportunity is probably
the biggest one. Interviewers want to know how candidates collect
information, and the easiest way to know that is by listening to candidates
ask questions,” Trainer says.

“This is a real chance for a candidate to shine and set themselves
apart from all the other job seekers. When I am prepping a candidate to
go on an interview, I usually give them two or three very pointed questions
to ask in the interview, and then we talk about another three for
them to formulate,” she adds. Her two favorites:

In what area could your team use a little polishing?
Why did you come to XZY Company?

“The questions you ask, and how you ask them, do as much to differentiate
you from the competition as the questions asked by the interviewer,”
Trainer insists. As you prepare for the job interview, your
questions have to be as carefully coordinated as your suit and shoes. If
you miss the opportunity to leave your interviewer with any one of these
impressions, you risk losing the main prize.

Thoughtful questions emphasize that you are taking an active role in
the job selection process, not leaving the interviewer to do all the work.
Active is good. Great questions demonstrate that, far from being a passive
participant, you are action-oriented and engaged, reinforcing your
interest in the job.

Asking questions is an excellent way to demonstrate your sophistication
and qualifications. The questions you choose indicate your depth
of knowledge of your field as well as your general level of intelligence.
Asking questions also enables you to break down the formal interviewer-
candidate relationship, establish an easy flow of conversation,
and build trust and rapport. The matter of rapport is critical. Remember,
most finalists for a job are more or less evenly matched in terms of
qualifications. What gives the winning candidate the nod is rapport.

Your questions steer the interview the way you want it to go. Questions
are a form of control. You can also use questions to divert an interviewer’s
line of questioning. If you sense the interviewer is leading up
to a subject that you’d rather avoid—your job hopping, for example—
ask a question about another topic. After a lengthy exchange, the interviewer
might not return to her original line of questioning.

The more senior the position you are seeking, the more important it is
to ask sophisticated and tough questions. Such questions demonstrate your
understanding of the subtext and context of the position, as well as your
confidence in challenging the interviewer. Hiring managers will judge you
as much on the inquiries you make as on the responses you provide. If
you don’t ask sufficiently detailed questions, it will demonstrate lack of
initiative and leadership qualities that a senior-level position demands.

CAN’T I JUST WING IT?

Imagine that tomorrow you are giving the senior decision makers in your
organization the most important presentation of your career. Your future at
the company literally depends on the outcome. Would you wing it?
Well, the situation I’ve just described is your next job interview. It’s
a presentation. The agenda: your future at the company. In the audience:
the senior decision makers required to authorize offering you a position.
Everyone is looking at you to shine. Now, given the stakes, are you willing
to wing it? If you’re comfortable with working like that, there’s little
need to read further.

Some applicants believe that spontaneity can make up for lack of
strategic planning. But spontaneity, in cases such as this, can be indistinguishable
from laziness and lack of preparation. Interviewers, professionals
themselves, really want you to prepare for the interview as
they did. Preparation is professionalism in action. It’s common sense.
It’s courtesy. It works.

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Ask Open Ended Question

1. Ask Open-Ended Questions??

Closed-ended questions can be answered yes or no, and begin with

words such as “does,” “did,” “has,”  “would,” and “is.” Open-ended questions—which usually begin with “how,” “when,” and “who”—create opportunities

for a conversation and a much richer exchange of information.

This is a closed-ended question:

For Example:

Employee: Does the company have a child-care center on-site?

INTERVIEWER: Yes.

Here is an open-ended question:

Employee: How does the company support working parents?

INTERVIEWER: Let me show you a brochure about our award-winning

day-care center located right here in the building. Working Woman recently

rated it one of the top ten corporate day-care centers in the

United States . . .

“Why” questions also start open-ended questions, but they often

come off as too challenging in a job interview.

2. Keep It Short

Nothing is as disconcerting as a candidate spewing out a long, complicated

question only to have the interviewer look confused and say, “I’m

sorry. I don’t understand your question.” Restrict every question to one

point. Resist mouthfuls like this:

I know that international sales are important, so how much of the company’s

revenues are derived from overseas, is that percentage growing,

declining, or stable, do international tariffs present difficulties, and how

will currency fluctuations impact the mix?

No interviewer should be expected to take on such a complicated question.

If you really think a conversation about these points is in your interest,

indicate your interest in the issue and then break the question into

separate queries.

3. Don’t Interrupt

Wait for the interviewer to finish the question. In other words, listen.

Many candidates get anxious or impatient and jump in before the interviewer is finished asking the question. Sometimes they want to show off

and demonstrate that they “get it.”

Don’t do it. The risks of flubbing outweigh any points you may get

for appearing swift. To combat the tendency to interrupt, make sure

the interviewer is really finished with each question. It’s a good idea

to pause three seconds before answering. If you can, use the time to

think about what you want to say. In your mind’s eye, repeat the question

to yourself. Consider repeating it to the interviewer. See if you really

have it. If not, ask the interviewer to repeat the question. Even if

you can’t make productive use of the three seconds, the pause will

make you look thoughtful. The pause will also protect you from answering

an incomplete question. For example, one candidate reported

the following exchange:

For Example:

HIRING MANAGER: I see by your résumé that you’ve had six systems

analyst jobs in six years . . .

CANDIDATE [interrupting]: . . . And you want me to explain the job hopping,

right?

HIRING MANAGER: Actually, I was going to ask what’s one new skill

you took away from each job. But since you mentioned job hopping,

I am concerned about your ability to stick with one employer for

more than year.

Oops. Better to wait for the full question.

How much better it would have been for the above candidate if the exchange

had gone this way:

HIRING MANAGER: I see by your résumé that you’ve had six systems

analyst jobs in six years. Can you mention one specific skill you took

away from each experience?

CANDIDATE: You’re asking what’s one important skill I added to my

portfolio from each of the jobs I’ve held, is that right?

HIRING MANAGER: Exactly.

CANDIDATE: Fair question. Let’s take my jobs in order. At Netcom, I

learned how to implement an enterprise network management strategy.

Then at 4Com, I worked with client-side Java programming.

believe you mentioned Java as one of the hot buttons for this job.

After that, I finally got my hands on . . .

4. Getting to Yes

James Joyce, the author of Ulysses, went out of his way to end his epic

novel with a big “Yes,” the most affirming word in the English language.

He knew that ending the novel with “Yes” would let readers exit the

novel with a positive frame of mind.

Your goal in the job interview is also to end the interview on an affirmation.

In fact, the more yes’s and statements of agreement you can

generate, the better off you will be. Why? People, including job interviewers,

really prefer being agreeable. Few people enjoy saying no. Who

needs arguments? The best way to avoid arguments is to say yes.

If the job interview features wave after wave of yes’s, think how much

easier it will be for the interviewer to say yes to that last question,

whether it’s asked explicitly or implicitly:

I think I’ve demonstrated I’m qualified for this job. I’d very much like

to join the team. Can we come to an agreement?

In tactical terms, that means framing your interview questions so the answers

you want or expect will be positive. Here’s an example of an exchange

between a candidate and an interviewer to demonstrate the

power of yes.

For Example

CANDIDATE: I have long been impressed by Acme Widgets. It’s been the

leader in pneumatic widgets for over 50 years, right?

INTERVIEWER: (proudly) Yes!

CANDIDATE: I noticed in the current annual report that the company sets

aside $50 million, or 2.5 percent of revenues, for research and development.

That’s more than all of your competitors, isn’t it?

INTERVIEWER:Yes. We lead the industry in allocation of R&D by revenue.

CANDIDATE: As the market for widgets gets more commoditized, we

will have to differentiate the product, right? What specifically is the

company doing to preserve the market share it has gained over the

years?

As the interviewer answers the question, note the subtle messages the

candidate is sending. The candidate ends each question with “right?”

which invites the interviewer to answer with “yes.” Of course, the candidate

must be on sure ground. The candidate certainly wants to avoid

any possibility that the interview will answer, “No, that’s not quite

right.” Good research makes such questioning possible.

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Avoid Question that are easy to determine

Asking questions such as these will make you look uninformed or lazy:
What does IBM stand for?
Who is the company’s chief executive officer?
Where is the company located?
Does the company have a Web site?
Why? Because the answers are as close as the company’s Web site or
annual report. Don’t ask the interviewer to state the obvious or do your
job for you. At best it will raise questions about your ability to engage,
and at worst it will cost you the job offer.

2)Avoid “Why” Questions

“Why” questions—queries that start with “why”—often come off as
confrontational. Interviewers can get away with asking you “why” questions.
After all, they are interested in your thought processes and the
quality of your decisions. But when the situation is reversed, “why”
questions from the job seeker sometimes make the interviewer defensive.
Not good:
Why did you consolidate the Seattle and Dallas manufacturing facilities?
It comes off as a challenge. Better:
I am interested in the company’s recent decision to consolidate the Seattle
and Dallas manufacturing facilities. In a Wall Street Journal article,
your CEO stated the wisdom of keeping manufacturing facilities
close to customers whenever possible.Yet this move creates distance between the company and some of its customers. Can we talk about this decision
for a moment?

3.Avoid Asking Questions That Call for a Superlative

Questions that call for a superlative (“What is the best book of all
time?”) make people hesitate and also put them on the defensive. When
faced with a superlative, the interviewer’s mind gets vapor-locked and
he or she hesitates.
Poor: What is the biggest challenge for the company/team?
Better: What do you see as three important challenges for the
company/team?
Poor: What is the absolute best thing about this company?
Better: What are a couple of things you really like about the
company?
Avoiding superlatives gives the interviewer wiggle room to answer
questions more personally.

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