Interview Tips
Interviews allow you to showcase your talent and abilities, demonstrating whether you are a good fit for a particular job. Utilize the following tips to enhance your interview skills:
1. Practice makes perfect. Practice in front of a mirror or with friends/colleagues.
2. Dress professionally for the job; avoid wearing jeans, T-shirts, etc.
3. Proper preparation helps reduce tension and nervousness during the interview.
4. Punctuality is crucial. Arrive at least fifteen minutes early for the interview.
5. Answer questions clearly and confidently during the interview.
6. Maintain eye contact with the interviewers while responding.
7. Turn off your cellphone, iPod, pager, etc.
8. Refrain from smoking while waiting for an interview.
9. Avoid answering in a simple 'yes' or 'no' manner.
10. Listen attentively and ask for clarification if needed.
11. Demonstrate your interest in the work and your skills during the interview.
12. Remember to bring copies of your resume, a pen, and a writing pad.
13. Stay positive and respond thoughtfully.
14. Interviews are based on the information provided in resumes, cover letters, and applications.
15. Feel free to ask relevant questions about the job.
16. Conclude each interview by summarizing your qualifications and expressing continued interest in the position.
17. Greet and thank all panel members upon entering and leaving the interview.
18. Send a thank-you letter to all interviewers.
19. Use examples to illustrate your skills and experience.
20. Avoid discussing politics, salary, bonuses, etc.
From India
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Interviews allow you to showcase your talent and abilities, demonstrating whether you are a good fit for a particular job. Utilize the following tips to enhance your interview skills:
1. Practice makes perfect. Practice in front of a mirror or with friends/colleagues.
2. Dress professionally for the job; avoid wearing jeans, T-shirts, etc.
3. Proper preparation helps reduce tension and nervousness during the interview.
4. Punctuality is crucial. Arrive at least fifteen minutes early for the interview.
5. Answer questions clearly and confidently during the interview.
6. Maintain eye contact with the interviewers while responding.
7. Turn off your cellphone, iPod, pager, etc.
8. Refrain from smoking while waiting for an interview.
9. Avoid answering in a simple 'yes' or 'no' manner.
10. Listen attentively and ask for clarification if needed.
11. Demonstrate your interest in the work and your skills during the interview.
12. Remember to bring copies of your resume, a pen, and a writing pad.
13. Stay positive and respond thoughtfully.
14. Interviews are based on the information provided in resumes, cover letters, and applications.
15. Feel free to ask relevant questions about the job.
16. Conclude each interview by summarizing your qualifications and expressing continued interest in the position.
17. Greet and thank all panel members upon entering and leaving the interview.
18. Send a thank-you letter to all interviewers.
19. Use examples to illustrate your skills and experience.
20. Avoid discussing politics, salary, bonuses, etc.
From India
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Dear Ash,
I empathize with your feelings of bitterness. Do realize, though, interviewers come in all sorts of hues, as do the interviews. There are pressure/shock interviews too. I have also heard of interviewers making those rare indecent proposals (in small, family-owned companies). However, a strong candidate can always give a befitting reply and turn the tables on such interviewers. (Of course, this comes with experience).
Regards
From India, Delhi
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1446I empathize with your feelings of bitterness. Do realize, though, interviewers come in all sorts of hues, as do the interviews. There are pressure/shock interviews too. I have also heard of interviewers making those rare indecent proposals (in small, family-owned companies). However, a strong candidate can always give a befitting reply and turn the tables on such interviewers. (Of course, this comes with experience).
Regards
From India, Delhi
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Sure, I completely agree with you.
At that point, it was my first experience. But I was also arrogant when the person finally told me, "I don't see you having HR skills, can you join my marketing team?" All I had to say was, "Thanks for your time for interviewing me, this will not work out.
Of course, experience has helped me understand a lot about interviewing and being interviewed.
I have not completely explained what happened during the interview. But thought you should know it.
I had mentioned about my part-time course on "Psychotherapy and Counseling" on my resume. The interviewer asked me - why did you opt for that course. I mentioned it was out of pure passion towards psychology and also - this should help me in the long run as far as HR is concerned. He was "shocked" and asked me, "how on earth can you tell HR is related to Psychology? HR means calculating wages and taking care of absenteeism. You don't know how to calculate and fix wages, you don't know how to open a PF account - and you say that you want an HR job? Which person told you HR was related to psychology? Have you ever read your books on HR?"
Tell me please - was this man worth interviewing an HR grad?
I seriously thought this was a stress interview and kept my cool throughout the interview (except when he offered a role in marketing). But I later learned that he went and complained to my lecturer, "That girl Asha - thinks that psychology and HR are interrelated... how did you screen her for a seat with your prestigious college?"
She only smiled - and later came back and shared the joke with the entire bunch of students.
Dear Ash
I empathize with your feelings of bitterness. Do realize though, interviewers come in all sorts of hues, so do the interviews. There are pressure/shock interviews too. And I have also heard of interviewers making those rare indecent proposals (in small, family-owned companies).
But a strong candidate can always give a befitting reply and turn the table on such interviewers.
(Of course, it comes with experience).
Regards
From India, Madras
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At that point, it was my first experience. But I was also arrogant when the person finally told me, "I don't see you having HR skills, can you join my marketing team?" All I had to say was, "Thanks for your time for interviewing me, this will not work out.
Of course, experience has helped me understand a lot about interviewing and being interviewed.
I have not completely explained what happened during the interview. But thought you should know it.
I had mentioned about my part-time course on "Psychotherapy and Counseling" on my resume. The interviewer asked me - why did you opt for that course. I mentioned it was out of pure passion towards psychology and also - this should help me in the long run as far as HR is concerned. He was "shocked" and asked me, "how on earth can you tell HR is related to Psychology? HR means calculating wages and taking care of absenteeism. You don't know how to calculate and fix wages, you don't know how to open a PF account - and you say that you want an HR job? Which person told you HR was related to psychology? Have you ever read your books on HR?"
Tell me please - was this man worth interviewing an HR grad?
I seriously thought this was a stress interview and kept my cool throughout the interview (except when he offered a role in marketing). But I later learned that he went and complained to my lecturer, "That girl Asha - thinks that psychology and HR are interrelated... how did you screen her for a seat with your prestigious college?"
She only smiled - and later came back and shared the joke with the entire bunch of students.
Dear Ash
I empathize with your feelings of bitterness. Do realize though, interviewers come in all sorts of hues, so do the interviews. There are pressure/shock interviews too. And I have also heard of interviewers making those rare indecent proposals (in small, family-owned companies).
But a strong candidate can always give a befitting reply and turn the table on such interviewers.
(Of course, it comes with experience).
Regards
From India, Madras
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Well, well, highly informative and enlightening... (need I say more?) Despite my years of HR experience, I am shocked! (I would like to make this a part of my upcoming book, with your permission).
Regards.
From India, Delhi
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Regards.
From India, Delhi
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Great. Do you want the name of the company that interviewed me? You could even mention that if you prefer. Our college, in fact, later banned this particular company from visiting us. Please do let me know.
From India, Madras
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From India, Madras
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I really wonder how a person could have combined qualities, namely:
(1) Psychotherapist
(2) HR Expert
(3) Student
(4) Mentor
I am shocked to see the multifaceted capabilities in a single person, especially interviewing the interviewer! Astonishing!
The person, in my opinion, should not have attended the interview; they could have directly sat in the CEO's cabin! (may seem high profile)
I have never heard or witnessed such a quality anywhere, even though I am with the IIM team and work groups!
Congratulations!
kb
Dear Raj,
The interviewer was obviously aware of my experience. And please note, this was a few years back and not recent. The interviewer was well aware that I have no experience. I would definitely say it is unfamiliar to a fresher. Today, I can showcase my intelligence by asking questions that a fresher may not be able to answer and make them feel uncomfortable. However, this indicates my lack of interviewing skills. Obviously, the position is for a fresher, so it is pointless for the interviewer to ask such questions. It's not about me feeling embarrassed; I would have appreciated if he had asked whether I have any hands-on experience. But the immediate statement showed his lack of interviewing skills: "Then what did your HR faculty teach you? Were you sleeping when she taught you how to fix wages and work on PF?" In fact, my professor was stunned when I mentioned what happened. I was a fresher, so I thought the mistake was on my side. Today, if I were to encounter that person, I would ask him to take courses on "The Art of Interviewing."
Dear Ash,
An interviewer can ask any question; it is up to the interviewee to give a fitting answer. In the first case, the interviewer wanted to know if you have any hands-on/practical experience. Instead of feeling angry or embarrassed, you should have informed them accordingly (that you are a fresher). Please note that these days, like in developed countries, in Indian B-Schools, students come with a few years of work experience. So the question is not all that unfamiliar.
From India, Madras
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(1) Psychotherapist
(2) HR Expert
(3) Student
(4) Mentor
I am shocked to see the multifaceted capabilities in a single person, especially interviewing the interviewer! Astonishing!
The person, in my opinion, should not have attended the interview; they could have directly sat in the CEO's cabin! (may seem high profile)
I have never heard or witnessed such a quality anywhere, even though I am with the IIM team and work groups!
Congratulations!
kb
Dear Raj,
The interviewer was obviously aware of my experience. And please note, this was a few years back and not recent. The interviewer was well aware that I have no experience. I would definitely say it is unfamiliar to a fresher. Today, I can showcase my intelligence by asking questions that a fresher may not be able to answer and make them feel uncomfortable. However, this indicates my lack of interviewing skills. Obviously, the position is for a fresher, so it is pointless for the interviewer to ask such questions. It's not about me feeling embarrassed; I would have appreciated if he had asked whether I have any hands-on experience. But the immediate statement showed his lack of interviewing skills: "Then what did your HR faculty teach you? Were you sleeping when she taught you how to fix wages and work on PF?" In fact, my professor was stunned when I mentioned what happened. I was a fresher, so I thought the mistake was on my side. Today, if I were to encounter that person, I would ask him to take courses on "The Art of Interviewing."
Dear Ash,
An interviewer can ask any question; it is up to the interviewee to give a fitting answer. In the first case, the interviewer wanted to know if you have any hands-on/practical experience. Instead of feeling angry or embarrassed, you should have informed them accordingly (that you are a fresher). Please note that these days, like in developed countries, in Indian B-Schools, students come with a few years of work experience. So the question is not all that unfamiliar.
From India, Madras
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Dear Balaji,
At that point of being interviewed, I was only a student. All the others came through experience. A mere course on Psychotherapy will not help in gaining the professional expertise. Till now - I only know the theoretical part of Psychotherapy - never implemented it on anyone (Rather no good soul approached me for that!) And about mentoring - anyone can be that only when they grow professionally with thoughts. I was just a simple student looking for an HR job... Today - I am a simple ordinary Junior HR looking for higher responsibilities.
"I really wonder how a person could be with combined quality viz.,
(1) Psychotherapist
(2) HR Expert
(3) Student
(4) Mentor
I am shocked to see the multi-faceted capabilities in a single person that too interviewing the interviewer! Astonishing! The person in my feeling should not have attended the interview, else could have sat in the CEO's cabin directly! (may look a high profile) I never heard or even witnessed such a quality anywhere even as I am with the IIM team and work groups! Congrats! kb"
Dear Raj,
The interviewer was obviously aware of my experience. And please note - that this was a few years back and not recent. The interviewer was well aware that I have nil experience. I would definitely say it is alien to a fresher. Today I can show my smartness in asking questions that a fresher may not be able to even answer at all and make them look miserable. But that shows my inability in interviewing. Obviously the position is for a fresher - so it's pointless for the person to ask such a question. It's not about me feeling embarrassed - I would have appreciated if he had asked whether I have any hands-on experience - but the immediate statement showed his inability in interviewing "Then what did your HR faculty teach you? Were you sleeping when she taught how to fix the wages and work on PF?" In fact - my professor was stunned when I mentioned what happened. I was a fresher - so I was thinking the mistake was on my side - today if I get to see that guy - I would ask him to take courses on "The art of interviewing"
From India, Madras
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At that point of being interviewed, I was only a student. All the others came through experience. A mere course on Psychotherapy will not help in gaining the professional expertise. Till now - I only know the theoretical part of Psychotherapy - never implemented it on anyone (Rather no good soul approached me for that!) And about mentoring - anyone can be that only when they grow professionally with thoughts. I was just a simple student looking for an HR job... Today - I am a simple ordinary Junior HR looking for higher responsibilities.
"I really wonder how a person could be with combined quality viz.,
(1) Psychotherapist
(2) HR Expert
(3) Student
(4) Mentor
I am shocked to see the multi-faceted capabilities in a single person that too interviewing the interviewer! Astonishing! The person in my feeling should not have attended the interview, else could have sat in the CEO's cabin directly! (may look a high profile) I never heard or even witnessed such a quality anywhere even as I am with the IIM team and work groups! Congrats! kb"
Dear Raj,
The interviewer was obviously aware of my experience. And please note - that this was a few years back and not recent. The interviewer was well aware that I have nil experience. I would definitely say it is alien to a fresher. Today I can show my smartness in asking questions that a fresher may not be able to even answer at all and make them look miserable. But that shows my inability in interviewing. Obviously the position is for a fresher - so it's pointless for the person to ask such a question. It's not about me feeling embarrassed - I would have appreciated if he had asked whether I have any hands-on experience - but the immediate statement showed his inability in interviewing "Then what did your HR faculty teach you? Were you sleeping when she taught how to fix the wages and work on PF?" In fact - my professor was stunned when I mentioned what happened. I was a fresher - so I was thinking the mistake was on my side - today if I get to see that guy - I would ask him to take courses on "The art of interviewing"
From India, Madras
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Dear Ash,
I endorse your views. This clearly shows the maturity you have and the balance given by you towards attaining the expertise. Sure Ash, you would reach better heights in the future. Best wishes,
It's just a view given in my previous post and good to hear the suggestions you give to all the posts. Really praiseworthy. I do not want to overburden this post with a can full of sugar. With best wishes,
K. B
[QUOTE=Ash Mathew;748464]
Dear Balaji, At that point of being interviewed, I was only a student. All the other came through experience. A mere course on Psychotherapy will not help in gaining the professional expertise. Till now - I only know the theoretical part of Psychotherapy - never implemented it on anyone (Rather no good soul approached me for that!) And about mentoring - anyone can be that only when they grow professionally with thoughts. I was just a simple student looking for an HR job... Today - I am a simple ordinary Junior HR looking for higher responsibilities.
[QUOTE=Balaji Kuppuswamy;748450]
I really wonder how a person could be with combined quality viz.,
(1) Psychotherapist
(2) HR Expert
(3) Student
(4) Mentor
I am shocked to see the multi-faceted capabilities in a single person that too interviewing the interviewer! Astonishing! The person in my feeling should not have attended the interview, else could have sat in the CEO's cabin directly! (may look a high profile) I never heard or even witnessed such quality anywhere even as I'm with the IIM team and work groups! Congrats! kb
From India, Madras
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I endorse your views. This clearly shows the maturity you have and the balance given by you towards attaining the expertise. Sure Ash, you would reach better heights in the future. Best wishes,
It's just a view given in my previous post and good to hear the suggestions you give to all the posts. Really praiseworthy. I do not want to overburden this post with a can full of sugar. With best wishes,
K. B
[QUOTE=Ash Mathew;748464]
Dear Balaji, At that point of being interviewed, I was only a student. All the other came through experience. A mere course on Psychotherapy will not help in gaining the professional expertise. Till now - I only know the theoretical part of Psychotherapy - never implemented it on anyone (Rather no good soul approached me for that!) And about mentoring - anyone can be that only when they grow professionally with thoughts. I was just a simple student looking for an HR job... Today - I am a simple ordinary Junior HR looking for higher responsibilities.
[QUOTE=Balaji Kuppuswamy;748450]
I really wonder how a person could be with combined quality viz.,
(1) Psychotherapist
(2) HR Expert
(3) Student
(4) Mentor
I am shocked to see the multi-faceted capabilities in a single person that too interviewing the interviewer! Astonishing! The person in my feeling should not have attended the interview, else could have sat in the CEO's cabin directly! (may look a high profile) I never heard or even witnessed such quality anywhere even as I'm with the IIM team and work groups! Congrats! kb
From India, Madras
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