Tackling Interviews
To the people who have been following us, welcome again. In the previous blog, we emphasized on the need for practicing and preparing for an interview and how to go about it. In this blog, we will be taking on the problems of how to tackle interviews. We will teach you how to give great interviews and get that job.
We at KaryaMitr.com, have long understood the importance of job interviews, for both, employers and candidates. And so, we have researched deep into this subject and come up with certain techniques that anyone can follow and nail that interview.
As we have already talked about, to give a great interview, the candidate should be motivated to get the job. Once you decide on a particular field, congratulations to you! You have just taken the first step towards the perfect interview.
Now, before we go into how to crack the interview hurdle, we must first understand what an interview really is. Once you do that, you will realise the importance and use of this.
To understand what an interview is, let us divide it into its two base parts- Inter and View. So, essentially, any interview is a chance for the recruiter and employer to get a basic idea about what a prospective candidate is all about. It is to understand whether you, as a candidate, will be a good fit for the team, whether you can fulfil the organisation’s goals, and, if you have certain leadership qualities for the future.
On the flip side, for the candidate too, an interview is very important. The most obvious reason is that it allows them to highlight their skills and abilities, but a very important thing is often overlooked by candidates. We often forget that while the employer is looking for the right fit, so should we. If a candidate feels like the recruiter is being unnecessarily hostile, or that you will not be able to work together, there is no point trying to pursue that particular job opening if you have choices.
So basically, an interview is a meeting with fixed objectives, for the employer as well as for the candidate.
To the most important question now, “How to nail that interview?”
As with all things, it is not that straightforward. There are many things, many aspects one needs to look at.
Preparation
First off, as usual, we at KaryaMitr emphasise greatly on the importance of the pre-interview preparation. This involves not just getting basic information about the organisation, but trying to get deep insights about their problems, challenges, advantages and competitors. One should also try to analyse and relate their skills to the situation of the organisation. This will let you easily highlight how you can be beneficial for the employer in the long run, and will also give the impression to that you may be suitable for leadership roles in the future. Plus, a prepared candidate always impresses a good recruiter.
Apart from the information, insights and analysis, the other important aspect is preparing for what you want to present to the employer. This means how you will behave in the interview. Now the most obvious answer to this is “Politely”, but that isn’t enough. You have to practice to ensure that you can highlight as many as your skills in simple conversation. For example, Sita gave an interview to for the position Manager at The Coffee Shop. Now, Sita can either say “I perform great under pressure”, or she can be give an anecdote like, “I coordinated the school annual concert in high-school, managing almost 2000 students.” This not only gives a personal impression of Sita to the interviewer, but also helps in highlighting her management and pressure handling abilities.
Interview
Coming to the interview, if you have prepared well for the interview, have the required skills and abilities, you should be confident at this stage.
The first thing is to work on your body language. You must project confidence. Drooping shoulders or slouching back are a big NO. Your confident body language proves that despite the natural nervousness, you are willing to work through it. When speaking with the interviewer, it is very important to be polite, but also, firm. For example, while discussing salary or benefits, if you try to be too accommodating or polite, you will end up being hired for much less than your worth. While discussing such things, it is not considered rude when you are clear about what you expect from the job in terms of salary, benefits and work conditions.
Here are a few tips from preschool- https://www.proschoolonline.com/blog/body-language-during-interview
Now to the issue that a lot of candidates fail to tackle. Often, the questions of the recruiter can be quite simple, but they can confuse and stump candidates.
Observe- Try and learn about the work environment of the office while you are waiting for the interview. Observe how the other candidates are. Pay attention to the body language of the recruiter, most importantly. This will help you understand whether the interview is going favourably or not.
Listen- It is very important to listen to what the recruiter says. You can get a lot of information simply by listening attentively. This will allow you to understand the requirements of the job, what the employer is looking for and give you an opportunity to modify your answers suitably.
Ask- Asking questions of the employer is a great way to show that you are an interested candidate. The relevance of your questions will determine whether you were attentive while the recruiter was speaking, and it will also show the recruiter that you are a candidate who is straightforward and comfortable with the setting. This is also an amazing chance for the candidate to clear all their doubts regarding things like responsibilities, chain of command, salary, benefits, etc.
Apply- This stage comes after all the above. Here, you will have to compile all the information you have got so far, and try and sort of pitch yourself to the recruiter as the ideal candidate.
This technique is a continuous process, and you should try and incorporate in your daily life, too.
A very basic and common question that many think is simple is, “Tell us about yourself. Why should we consider you for the job?”
There are a few ways to answer this question. The best way, however, is to actually tell about yourself. Specifically those aspects and activities that are relevant for the job.
Post-interview
It is a thing of the past that you can relax after an interview. Well you should relax, but not completely. There are a few things you should be ready for, after an interview.
First off, and most importantly, you should ask whether you should follow up with the recruiter. If yes, then how?
Second, you should prepare for another round of interview, which is quite common when more than one candidate feels suitable to the recruiters.
Third, you should properly, and without bias, analyse how you performed in the interview and where you can work on improving.
Then, try to gauge how you felt about the interviewer and the organisation.
You can also send a thank-you email for the opportunity of the interview.
Other than this, although it hurts, you should prepare yourself for the worst-case scenario. No matter how well your interview went, maybe for whatever reason you could not connect with the interviewer, or maybe they found a candidate who was a better fit. There is nothing you can do about this other than move on. Your hardwork for the interview did not go to waste. It will help you in the next one, where you can apply your observations and improvements to your technique.
After all, at the end of the day, it all comes down to how much you are willing to work on yourself.
Keep a lookout for this spot for more helpful tips and blogs. We at KaryaMitr.com are working hard to connect you to the right opportunity. These blogs from Karyapedia have been an effort on our part to educate and train the young candidates out there looking for their right job. So good luck for your next interview!