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| Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash |
Interviews are scary sometimes and sometimes they are breeze.
Why are they scary? Because we don’t know what to say. And sometimes, we wanted
to say something, but we ended up saying something else. Sometimes we did not
answer what the interviewers wanted to hear. So, how should we handle interviews?
Here is what we can do:
1)
Thorough research: Do a thorough research about the company. For
example, there are companies which publish certain reports like earning reports
and so on and so forth. Read those details. So if the interviewer asks you
about the opportunities the company might get in a year or two from now, you
can say, ‘While reading some reports the other day on the internet, I saw that
there were some changes implemented in web marketing. I feel, owing to that, there
could be chances of xyz opportunities….
2)
Tell me something about yourself. Now this one
question, everyone thinks he/she can answer perfectly because we feel we know
everything about ourselves. However, the interviewer, here, is not looking at
answers from your resume or your cover letter. He/She is looking at an answer
which can connect you and your credentials for the role you are applying. For
example, talk about something which you have achieved in your professional
career which fills up the need of the role you are applying for in this current
company. You can say something like, ‘When it comes to work, my way of working
is such that…..’ . If you are applying for a role in HR, you can start with, ‘I
have always been a people’s person….’
3)
Ensure your social networking sites are clean.
Interviewers nowadays check the candidate’s social media profile for any red
flag/sore point. Hence, ensure your profile does not have anything objectionable.
4)
Time: The best day and time to schedule an
interview is Tuesday, 10:30 a.m. Why? Because Mondays and Fridays are all about
scheduling for the week and winding up. Avoid lunch time or a time slot right
before or after lunch. After lunch, the interviewer might be in food coma and
before lunch, he/she might be in a rush to go for lunch. Avoid the last slot of
weekdays as well because if they are in a rush to go home, they will be rushing
through your interview as well.
5)
What is your weakness? This is one question, which
is primarily asked not to know about your weakness, but to know how you handled
it. The answer can be something like, ‘I usually tend to panic when it comes to
organizing huge events. But now I know, how to go about it. I plan it perfectly
and never wait till the last moment. I ensure all the arrangements are done before time, so that there is no last moment running hither thither.’
6)
Be ready with PAR anecdotes: PAR stands for Problem
Action Result. If you come with anecdotes of interesting experiences, the
interview becomes memorable. So, have three anecdotes ready from your
professional experience wherein there was a problem, what action you took and
what was the result.
7)
Do you have any questions? If the interviewer
asks you ‘Do you have any question for me?’. Ask something which will portray
one more attribute of yours. For example, you can say, ‘I have always actively
participated in CSR(Corporate Social Responsibility)activities. Will I get an opportunity to do that here?’
8)
The final question: Before the interview ends,
you can ask this question. Although the question is bold, it would show your
confidence level. You can ask, ‘Have I said anything in this interview which
makes you feel that I wouldn’t be the right choice for this position?’. That
way, the interviewer might tell you what he/she felt.
9)
Do not forget to send a thank you email. Try
doing it within 24 hours. That shows gratitude and also, even if you do not get
the job now, there are chances, the recruiter might get back to the email
thread months later.
Sources:
