The 7 Laws of Success to Ace your Interview!
How do you ensure that you stand out from competition?
How do you make a great impression on the interviewer?
What is your strategy for nailing the ‘out of syllabus’ questions?
Let’s examine some great tips from the experts:
1. Do your homework – Research adequately – the Company, the interviewer, the JD. News search, Google or check the Company’s website – and be aware of the full portfolio of the businesses, top management and market standing. Know who is their competition. Search the interviewer on LinkedIn and social media – they would have done the same search on you!
2. Be aware of the Company culture – This is easily comprehensible from the organization’s website under the Mission statement. Talk to people who have worked there, and explore on this. It is important that the company culture is in sync with your values and way of working else you will be having a very short stint there.
3. Prepare strategic questions – An interview is a two-way process. Just as the organization is assessing your experience and capability as well as your fit for their organization, so should you engage to unearth if you can contribute your years to grow with the organization. It is perfectly fine to ask questions like ‘what are the growth prospects in your organization?’ or ‘what are the most important aspects of the job?’.
4. Be Punctual – Punctuality is always a good impression and lack of it can create a negative impression to start with. Always call beforehand and inform if you are running late for whatever reason. And if you are not planning to go for the interview it would be prudent to let them know you are not interested rather than not show up and have your name crossed out from their calling list for forever.
5. Dress for the Interview – Formal or semi-formal is the safest recourse. If possible, check out the Company office before-hand and see what people are wearing to work. Avoid tight and extra snug clothes that make you uncomfortable while seated. Do not forget to wear your smile ?
6. Spend time listening – Yes, that’s right – pay attention when the hirer is talking and allow him to feel appreciated by being heard. Start talking once he has finished and ensure your replies are not ramblings. If you heard the hirer correctly and patiently you will be able to hit the nail on the head with your reply. Keep your answers short – it is shown that the attention span of a hirer is usually 2-3 minutes so refrain from doing excessive talking about your accomplishments etc to impress the hirer – it could rebound badly.
7. Expect the unexpected – These are ‘out of syllabus’ questions and they are not thrown to measure your general knowledge but rather aim to gauge how you handle situations and whether you can handle stress and keep your cool. They can ask you the height of Mt. Fuji and not expect the answer in meters but rather the logical steps you take to deduce the height. Take the time to think your answer – you do not have to answer straightaway. Follow the STAR model – Situation, Task, Action & Result for giving examples.