How to succeed in interviews?
As no interviews are completely predictable, there is no magic
formula which you can follow. However, if you plan and prepare
carefully, your chances of getting the job will be high. The information
given here is designed to help all job seekers.
Preparing for the interview
What are you going to be interviewed for? It is essential that you
have a clear idea of what the job entails. Read the advertisement
carefully. Then look at the demands of the job itself. How is the job
described? Is that what you want? Look at exactly what the job demands
and what other things are implied. Have you got the right qualifications
and experience? Are you overqualified? Will training be given? There
may be qualifications or experiences which are essential, or you may be
able to make a case for lack of qualifications being balanced by
relevant work experience or vice versa.
Once you have decided to apply for the post, find out all you can
about the organization and make the application. You may need to obtain
guidance on this, if you cannot do this own your own. Getting it right
at this stage may mean the difference between being invited for an
interview and an immediate rejection. Keep a copy of the original
advertisement and your application so that you can refresh your memory
before you go to the interview.
Work out your strengths and weaknesses
Work out your strengths and weaknesses before making the application.
Strengths and weaknesses should be assessed in the light of the demands
of your chosen job or career. If you haven’t already thought this
through and you really aren’t qualified or experienced enough for the
posts you apply for, your moral will crash with the subsequent rejection
letters. You must establish a through knowledge of your plus points in
relation to each company. You must consider your potential weaknesses
too. Be realistic – nobody expects you be to be perfect, but balance is
essential. There may be ways you can show your weaknesses in a positive
light, so do this as long as you won’t seem too clever or arrogant.
Interviewing technique
A good interviewer will treat you politely, will ensure that you will
be free from interruptions and noise, and that you have been put at
your ease before the actual interview begins. Often you will be asked
about your journey or the weather at the beginning.
A good interviewer will test you through his/her questions to see if
you are able to do the job, and will also give you information about the
job. It is important for the company that even if you do not get the
post, you should not go away from the interview feeling unfairly
treated.
You should listen well while they are talking, stay looking attentive
and when answering ask if you can add anything if you are not sure
whether to keep talking.
Once the interview begins the interviewer may either start by telling
you more about the job and the company or may ask you questions first,
and then give you details of what the job entails. The interviewer will
probably take notes; do not be put off by this. Most interviewers will
jot down a few reminders of the things that you have said so that they
can remember all the facts later and make an informed judgment on which
candidate to appoint. It is in your interests that they write rather
than forget you. Don’t make the mistake of trying to see what the
interviewer writes; it probably won’t help you and it will destroy your
concentration on what you are saying.
The questions themselves can be asked in a variety of ways. A good
interviewer will link the questions well and the conversation will flow
as one question leads naturally on from another. Most interviewers will
try to ask all the candidates the same sorts of questions so that they
have a basis for comparison, whilst still leaving them enough
flexibility to probe areas of possible weakness.
Create a good impression
Interviewers often assess individuals very quickly as they enter the
room. Typically they have analyzed the candidate in about four minutes,
which means that your first four minutes are very important. However,
there is room to redeem yourself – the last few minutes and the way you
depart from the interview are also very important. The memories of first
impressions and last impressions count. So try to keep back your
weaknesses till the middle of the interview.
The interviewer will need to see what kind of a person you are and
whether you will fit in with the organization and be happy there. You
will be showing them what kind of person you are by every answer you
give to each question. Your likes and dislikes may reveal your
motivation too. Although you might think that your happiness is of no
importance to the interviewer, remember that if you are content, you
won’t interrupt others and will probably stay with the company longer.
No one wants to employ someone who is permanently miserable or moaning.
Questions you may be asked
There is no limit to the range of questions you may be asked and the
variation between them. However, there are many questions which come up
time and time again. You should have thought of the answer to these
questions for your own peace of mind. The questions given below are
typical of the kind of questions you may be asked. The list is not
exhaustive, but gives general guidelines.
Qualifications
Why did you study X at school/college?
What are your educational qualifications?
How important do you think qualifications are?
What were your best subjects at school or college?
What training have you had since leaving full-time education?
Have you been in any courses whilst in your present employment?
Are you willing to undertake training even if this takes place in your spare time?
Work experience
What does your present job involve?
What do you enjoy most/least about it?
What did you find easiest/most difficult in your last job?
What are your greatest achievements/failures at work?
Why did you choose this career?
Why did you leave your previous job?
Why are you seeking a new job?
What kind of work are you looking for?
Have you ever done this kind of work before?
Why were you out of work for so long?
Why were you made redundant?
Isn’t this job a step down for you?
Give evidence of a time when you demonstrated initiative in your job?
Have you any experience of managing staff?
Working style
Do you prefer to work alone or as part of a team?
What are your working relationships like?
How do you get on with your boss?
How would you change things if you came to work here?
Can you work under pressure?
Give evidence to show that you are used to meeting deadlines.
How do you motivate others?
Ambition and personal motivation
Where do you want to be in five years’ time?
What sort of work would you most like to do, given the choice?
What would you do if you inherited/ won a large sum of money?
Which is more important to you, money or power?
What sort of people do you get on with best?
What sort of people do you find it difficult to get on with?
Are you a competitive person?
How would you describe your management style?
How long do you think you will stay in this job?
How much do you know about this organization?
Do you know the name of the chairman of this company?
Interests
What are your leisure interests/activities?
Which newspaper do you read?
What television programmes do you watch?
Personality
Tell me about yourself?
What is your greatest weakness?
What do your consider to be your strengths?
Are you political/ religious?
Health
How often did you have time off in your last job?
How many days sick leave did you take in the last year?
Have you had any serious illnesses?
How do you cope with stress/pressure?
Background
Where were you brought up?
Which school did you attend?
Tell me about your family.
What to say and what not to say?
Whatever other advice is given about interviewing, above all you must
be honest. An interview is not an opportunity for you to spend an hour
bluffing. Many interviewers are trained in body language and you will
doubtless give yourself away if you spend the vast majority of the time
inventing fairy tales. However, this does not mean that you should
parade all your negative characteristics in front of the interviewer.
To begin with:
A knowledge of the kind of questions that will be asked should help
you to prepare. You will need to think out in advance the answers to
each question, and decide which characteristic or attributes you should
bring out for each job. Look at the application form again to refresh
your memory about what you have already told the organization. Don’t
give monosyllabic answers.
Get your facts right. Check with your CV so that you can remember the
order and dates of your jobs. Muddling these will make you sound
confused and vague.
Although you need to think through the answers to questions and
should practice them aloud, don’t learn them parrot fashion. A recital
is liable to be boring and unconvincing rather than natural and
spontaneous. Role-play and practice will help, particularly if you tend
to be nervous beforehand.
Listen well
Listening is important. Make sure that you understand what has been
asked. If you are not sure, ask for clarification. Be positive and
enthusiastic about the job. Your tone of voice will give you away if you
sound very enthusiastic about your hobbies but answer questions of your
potential employment in a monotone. Don’t lecture and show a sense of
humour if possible. If you are able to lighten the discussion, it will
create a good impression and help you to relax. Show that you can laugh –
but not too much. Don’t sound too timid – timidity and shyness are
often seen as signs of weakness.
Keep your answers brief and concise whilst still imparting all the
relevant information. You should communicate technical information
simply, without using jargon and without assuming that your interviewer
is an expert on the subject.
Don't give yourself away
Never volunteer information about your weaknesses, though you must be
prepared to discuss these if asked. If you have nothing special to say,
say nothing. Give an overview of the jobs that you have performed
rather than a blow-by-blow account. Remember to keep your responses
relevant to the posts you have applied for, too.
Don’t apologize for your background – you will need to sound positive
about all aspects of yourself. It is no good inspiring pity, if you
intend to look sought-after by others.
Don't criticize your previous employers
Never be over critical of your current or last employer. Don’t
complain that the boss didn’t recognize your skills, superior qualities
etc., that you didn’t get a promotion you richly deserved or that you
were deprived of variety in your job. Apart from the fact that this
irritates interviewers and they will seldom believe you, they will
assume that you will say the same kind of things when you leave their
company, and they don’t want that.
Don’t talk about politics or religion unless you are sure that the
interviewer will agree with your viewpoint. Don’t ask about the salary
straight away, for this will sound as if you are more interested in the
money than the job.
Cliches to avoid
There are certain things which are said in interviews time and time
again, which make interviewers cringe. Avoid saying that you are good
with people. Most people who really are wouldn’t dream of saying it.
Don’t talk about the challenge of a job without showing that you are
really enthusiastic about a particular aspect and that you mean it. If
you are saying only that you are interested in this post because it is a
challenge without any explanation of what that challenge is, forget it.
Namedropping is another common irritant to interviewers. Do avoid
this. Namedropping usually has the opposite effect as the interviewer
sees it as arrogance, particularly if you intimate that this person will
‘put in a word for you’ – this deprives the interviewer of the right to
make their own decisions and sounds as if you will ask someone else to
persuade them. Have confidence in yourself. Worse still is the practice
of pretending contacts you don’t have; this is very easily found out, so
don’t do it.
Other statements that must be avoided are:
‘I am looking for a new challenge.’
“I left company X because I was seeking a new challenge.’
‘I like working with people.’
‘I have always wanted to work in …’
‘I am eager to enter the filed of … in a company such as yours.’
‘I have extensive experience in …’
‘I am willing to fill any/either of your posts.’
‘I have no direct experience in this field.’
‘You don’t need to search any more. You have found me. I am the person you have been looking for.’
Turning the question around
There may be occasions when the honest and most basic answer to a
question is ‘No, I haven’t done that,’ but you realize that saying that
won’t help your case, and there is another side to it. Turn the question
round to your advantage if you can. There may be occasions when you can
say, still honestly, ‘No, I haven’t done X, but I have done Y.’ Then go
on to prove why these are similar and show the same basic skill.
If you think that you have been misunderstood, don’t accuse the
interviewer of getting it wrong, but say gently and firmly, ‘No, that
wasn’t quite what I meant,’ and then go on to repeat clearly what you
had intended to say.
How to talk about your successes and failures
With both of these, you must strike a balance. Avoid boasting. Don’t
be over-modest about your successes either. When talking about past
failures, be honest about your mistakes but show that you have learned
from them. When asked about past weaknesses, don’t just say that you
have ‘none that will affect this job. Thinking about a weakness, that
you can talk about will be necessary; don’t skip this thinking that the
question won’t come up.
Do not lie about your qualifications as many organizations check on
these. If you think that you may be overqualified, you do not have to
mention everything (though you may need to account for the time spent
during that period. If you are under qualified, show a willingness to
return to study to obtain the qualifications you have not gained so far.
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