Interview tips
An interview is a conversation between two or more people (the interviewer and the interviewee) where questions are asked by the interviewer to obtain information from the interviewee.
Contents |
[edit] Professionalism
Interviews are like anything else in life, they take practice to perfect. The job market is highly competitive so you should always maintain a high standard of professionalism. This is guaranteed to impress your potential employer, as it will show focus and maturity.
[edit] What is Professionalism?
Professionalism is:
- Presentation
- Punctuality
- Preparation.
[edit] Presentation:
Presentation is not just the clothes you wear, but your general presentation during the interview. Dress for success, formal attire is the best option. Look the part and you will be more likely to get it. Body language such as eye contact and how you greet your interviewer are important. Shaking hands is a sign of confidence and respect so is making regular eye contact. Always be polite not just during the interview but to any one you may have contact with in the office or work environment.
[edit] Punctuality:
Being on time is essential to a successful interview. Give yourself plenty of time to get to your destination, map out a route if you are unsure in any way. Being early gives you time to relax and prepare for your interview. If you are going to be late or unable to attend for any unforeseeable reason call ahead and let them know. This will show them that you are serious and that you take your commitments seriously.
[edit] Preparation:
Get to know the company you are hoping to work for. A little background information can go a long way. You should research the company well before applying to it. You must be prepared to discuss the industry, the company's relative size within that industry and show that you know who the major players and competitors are
Since you’ll almost always have to go through a phone interview in order to get in front of actual people in a company, it’s important to nail it.
[edit] Types of Interview
The types of interviews are:
- Informal Interview.
- Formal Interview.
- Planned Interview.
- Patterned Interview.
- Non-directive Interview.
- Depth Interview.
- Stress Interview
- Group Interview.
- Panel Interview.
Preliminary Interview
- Informal interview
- Unstructured interview.
Core Interview
- Background information interview.
- Job and probing interview.
- Stress Interview.
- The group discussion interview.
- Formal and structured interview
- Panel interview
- Depth interview.
[edit] Decision-Making Interview:
[edit] Preliminary Interview:
[edit] Informal Interview:
This is the interview which can be conducted at any place by any person to secure the basic and non-job related information.
[edit] Unstructured Interview:
In this interview the candidate is given the freedom to tell about himself by revealing his knowledge on various items / areas, his background, expectations, interest etc. Similarly, the interviewer also provides information on various items required by the candidate
[edit] Core Interview
[edit] Background Information Interview:
This interview is intended to collect the information which is not available in the application blank and to check that information provided in the application blank regarding education, place of domicile, family, health, interests, hobbies, likes, dislikes, extracurricular activities of the applicant. Job and Probing Interview This interview aims at testing the candidate’s job knowledge about duties, activities, methods of doing the job, critical/ problematic areas, methods of handling those areas etc.
[edit] Stress Interview:
This interview aims at testing the candidate’s job behavior and level of withstanding during the period of stress and strain. Interviewer tests the candidate by putting him under stress and strain by interrupting the applicant from answering, criticizing his opinions, asking questions pertaining to unrelated areas, keeping silent for unduly long period after he has finished speaking etc. Stress during the middle portion of the interview gives effective results. Stress interview must be handled with at most care and skill. This type of interview is often invalid. As the interviewee’s need for a job, his previous experience in such type of interviews may inhibit his actual behavior under such situations.
[edit] Group Discussion Interview:
There are two methods of conducting group discussion interview, namely, group interview method and discussion interview method. All candidates are brought into one room i.e. interview room and are interviewed one by one under group interview This method helps a busy executive to save valuable time and gives a fair account of the objectivity of the interview to the candidates. Under the discussion interview method, one topic is given for discussion to the candidates who assemble in one room and they are asked to discuss the topic in detail. This type of interview helps the interviewer in appraising, certain skills of the candidates like initiative, inter-personal skills, dynamism, presentation, leading comprehension, collaboration etc. Interviewers are at ease in this category of interview because of its informality and flexibility. But it may fail to cover some significant portions of the candidates’ background and skills.
[edit] Formal and Structured Interview:
I this type of interview, all the formalities, procedure like fixing the value , time, panel of interviewers, opening and closing, intimating the candidates officially etc. are strictly followed I arranging and conducting the interview. The course of the interview is preplanned and structured, in advance, depending on job requirements. The questions items for discussion are structured and experts are allotted different areas and questions to be asked. There will be very little room for the interviewers to deviate from the questions prepared in advance in a sequence.
[edit] Panel Interview:
Interviewing of candidates by one person may not be effective as he cannot judge the candidates in different areas/ skills owning to lack of knowledge and competence in multiple disciplines and areas. Hence most organizations invite a panel of experts, specialized in different areas / fields / disciplines, to interview the candidates. A panel of experts interviews each candidates, judges his performance individually and prepares a consolidated judgment based on each expert’s judgment and weighted of each factor. This type of interview is called as panel interview. This type of interview would be more effective as each candidate is prepared by an expert in relevant areas. Experts should be cautioned against over accuracy, excessive weight-age to a particular factor, domination of other experts etc.
[edit] Depth Interview:
In this type of Interview, the candidates would be examined extensively in core areas of knowledge and skills of the job. Experts in that particular field examine the candidates by posing relevant questions as to extract critical answers from them, initiating discussions regarding critical areas of the job, and by asking the candidates to explain even minute operations of the job performance. Thus, the candidate is examined thoroughly in critical / core areas in their interviews.
[edit] Tips for preparing and carrying out the interview:
1. Use your invisibility!
Speaking on the phone carries the huge advantage of the interviewer not being able to see what you’re doing.
Have the job description, your resume, and your cover letter printed out or in front of you. Take some time beforehand to highlight the experiences and qualities that you want to be sure to hit on in the interview, and refer to these while you’re chatting. Know your strengths and weaknesses. Write out your three strongest selling points, and your three weaknesses — with an answer to how that weakness can be improved or leveraged. Have questions for the interviewers written down, and take notes as others come up in the conversation. Of course, don’t be reading something you’ve written already - they’ll know you sound rehearsed. Bullet points will keep you on track.
2. Get dressed up
Okay, you don’t have to go all out business attire, but if you’re at home, wear something nice that will put you in the “work” mindset and keep you feeling sharp.
3. Just because they can’t see it doesn’t mean they can’t hear it. Don’t be eating, chewing gum, or smoking while you’re on the phone. It’s fine to have a glass of water around just like you would in a normal interview.
4. Find a quiet place
You wouldn’t believe how many people having yelling kids, barking dogs, nearby traffic and other distractions around when they’re doing phone interviews. Not only will these be a distraction to your train of thought and presentation, but they could make you feel apologetic or embarrassed to the interviewer, which isn’t a psychological place you want to be in when you’re selling yourself.
5. Enunciate and speak deliberately
Because you can’t read the interviewers’ facial expressions, it’s easy to start doubting whether they’re still with you and to speed up your answers. Take your time, be deliberate, and finish each thought.
6. Make sure you have phone service, or use a landline
With most people speaking on cell phones, calls can drop easily - creating an awkward break in the conversation and more uncertainty. If you are having trouble hearing the interviewer, tell them - there’s no point in going through an interview where you can’t understand what they’re asking just because you feel embarrassed to call it out.
7. Get follow up contact information
You’ll want to send a thank you note, so be sure you have an email address of whoever you spoke with.
And some more interview tips
Here’s what we came up with to help you avoid those moments of scattered, forced laughter (or blank stares) from the crowd:
1. Know your audience and cater to them
If you’re in a room full of women, don’t make sexist jokes. Same goes for an interview or cover letter - figure out what you can say that will resonate with the reader. Sensitivity and judgment will go a long way in warming the interviewer up to you; lack thereof will quickly get you blacklisted.
2. Just the right amount of eye contact
Not too much and definitely not too little! In an interview, don’t look up or out the window too much when you’re considering a question…better to look down at your notes. We’ve had people disqualified for jobs because of wandering gazes.
3. Energy!
The comedians who were too loud and energetic for the crowd seemed overbearing; those who were lethargic seemed like they were unprepared, nervous or just didn’t care. Find the right balance of energy between sluggish and overzealous so that you can express both your passion and your composure.
4. Be confident and natural in what you are saying
Sounding too rehearsed will not bode well. If you give canned answers that mirror your resume or cover letter exactly, it can appear as though you have no more to offer than what they already read about you in the application. (Though practice does make perfect in this case - “mock interviewing” with friends is one of the most effective ways to prepare for an interview.)
5. Be concise
Know where the story is going and get there! (With the appropriate tangents along the way…) For the comedian, if it’s obvious that your joke isn’t funny to the audience, don’t beat a dead horse — change tacks. This goes for interviewing too — if something you’re trying to express about your experience or passion is drawing blank stares (or worse, offended looks), carefully exit from that strand of conversation and strike out in a new, hopefully more successful, direction.
6. Timing is everything.
7. Incorporate others only as much as they want to be incorporated
Actually, this comparison doesn’t actually work: Interviews are considered successful when they are a conversation between two people rather than drawing a clear distinction between interviewer and interviewee. Whereas for a comedian, the audience may prefer to be passive and that’s okay!
8. Work with whatever makes you, you.
The best and most successful comedians are those with a memorable, distinctive style which they have made “work” for them. This is true for the rest of us as well. Know your strengths and quirks and make them work for you.
9. Don’t be negative about previous employers
At this show, we saw an elementary-school-principal-by-day reference how ridiculous her students and parents were — with a fair number of expletives laced in — while her husband was enthusiastically filming the performance. We couldn’t help but think if that video ever got in the “wrong” hands of her colleagues, school parents, or anyone else, she would likely lose her job and her reputation would take a serious hit. There is never a need to un-constructively criticize an organization just to prove dedication to a job opportunity; rather, emphasize the things you would change and how you think the experience has prepared you to contribute to a new organization.
10. If you make people laugh, that is a very good sign!
Interviews can be tense situations. If you find that you have a good enough rapport with your interviewer, finding some (appropriate!) humor can take the edge off and make you seem poised, confident and likeable…all good things when they are evaluating whether they want to work with you!
