How to nail an interview

The interview round - the most important step of the selection process. A good resume is definitely useful to get you to the interview stage, but human interaction is what lands you a job. So, give utmost importance to be prepared for the interview. The interviewer wants to see the face behind the resume he/she liked.

You need to be sharp enough to be able to translate your resume in your responses and, at the same time, not say only what’s written in the resume. You are expected to be more than that piece of paper. The interview round is to simply justify the question ‘Why should you be hired?’. Fairly simple, right? Now let’s break it down to understand better.

What does an employer needs in an employee?

The ability to perform the job. It is the very reason why you are being interviewed. So, prepare yourself in a way to justify your presence in the interview. Everything else comes afterwards. Here is something you should do:

Understand the job description well: If you thought the first thing is knowing about the company, then we must say, IT IS NOT! In most cases, learning about the department you will work for is a key element. So it’s better to invest your time to understand what the requirements of the job are. Is it something that you have an experience with? How similar or different is it from your past experience? Do you feel comfortable with the expectations of the job? And you already have answers to these questions, just need to spend a good amount of time thinking it through.

Understand the job description well: If you thought the first thing is knowing about the company, then we must say, IT IS NOT! In most cases, learning about the department you will work for is a key element. So it’s better to invest your time to understand what the requirements of the job are. Is it something that you have an experience with? How similar or different is it from your past experience? Do you feel comfortable with the expectations of the job? And you already have answers to these questions, just need to spend a good amount of time thinking it through.

There are some common questions that can be asked in any interview such as “Tell me about a situation when you had to overcome a challenge” or “How would you describe your leadership skills?”. Also, “Can you give us some examples of your major achievements?” and “Why did you apply for this job?” Another very common question is “What are your strengths and weaknesses?”.

Read a little bit about the department and company: You don’t need to know everything about it. But it is always good to know some basic info such as their story, industry, major products or services and values. You can usually find this type of information on their mission, vision statement and the letter/note by CEO (executive page). It is also useful to know about the function where your job lies. Go to the department page to collect some latest news. If you find some good information, you can incorporate it into the answers. This way, you will demonstrate to your interviewer your concern about the work environment you are willing to join.

Practice your answers: Once you have gone through the previous questions in your head, try to do a role play (by yourself). Sit alone, ask yourself those questions and then try to answer as you would in front of your interviewer. It is such a powerful step! Usually the challenge during the interview is anxiety. Candidates get nervous and then find it difficult to clearly articulate the words they already have. Now, this is just a lack of confidence which can be overcome with some practicing. Below are some topics you can consider during the interview:

Try to be conscious in your responses with only relevant details (long answers make people lose focus, and small answers feel incomplete. Somewhere in between is the sweet spot!);
Follow a structure for the responses. Start with an opening by mentioning the situation/scenario, provide some relevant insights/ information, and then conclude the answer with a clear message;
Do not show overconfidence or attitude, as it can be perceived negatively. On the other hand, try to remain as calm as possible, so people don’t judge you as unprepared or unsuitable for the position. Be confident in what you speak and also respect the thoughts and judgements of others;
Do a pre-run: It is not possible to always have enough time to practice before the interview, but if time is not a barrier, then the pre-run would be an excellent practice session. Ask a friend to go over some of the questions with you and provide you with feedback.

It is no surprise that the questions might differ depending on the job type and position applied for. But, what would still be the same, is ‘how you are as a person’,’are you someone they can trust?”. It is a portion of the personality traits that I am indicating here. It has been noted that candidates express their interest to switch jobs or their reasoning for quitting their previous one in a way that they end up saying words against their former company. Be careful with the words you use about your former workplaces because they can be “used” against you.

Final tip: If you get in a situation, where you feel the questions asked by the interviewer are not what you prepared for and you don’t understand what to answer, then without any hesitation, ask back, ‘are you mentioning about…….?’, ‘would you like to know ....…?’. This would help you not get into a ‘freak out’ mode and after better knowing what the interviewer really meant, you can pick up from your prepared answers and carry on. Trust me, it does help!

Go get it! Remember, you would not have a second chance to make that impression necessary to get the job. So, make it a good one :)