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Prepare & practice for the job interview

You can't guess specific questions in advance, which will be asked in the interview. However you can prepare in advance for commonly asked questions. Interview questions are categorized as
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1. Skills based questions
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These questions are related to the functional knowledge, experience, and industry practices. These questions help find the difference between theoretical and practical knowledge.
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2. Behavioral questions
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These questions show aptitude, problem solving approach to a role and soft skills.
Preparing and practicing for the commonly asked job questions is a good strategy to ace the interview. It prepares you mentally and you become more confident. Content (What to say) and delivery (How to say) will helps.
Preparation brightens your chances of success. The most commonly asked job questions are related to
• About you - Education, abilities, strength and weakness
• Work Experience - Job history, current role and achievements
• Why are you looking for a change
• Tell me about a situation and show the actions and results
• Salary question
As a candidate, you need to convince the interviewer that you are the right candidate by demonstrating the right behavior supported with real stories based on your experience, abilities, attitude and skills.
Throughout the interview process, recruiter is interested to know, do you have the right skills and experience. Are you a good match? Will you be able to deliver? Will you be a good fit to the culture? To do well in the interview, one needs to show the interviewer you are not only a good fit for the job but also better than others.
How does your skill set match the job requirement? Think about your strengths, experiences which matter the most for this job. Embed these in your answers to convince the interviewer. Practice your script. Practice but do not memorize. Even if you come across a known question, do not blurt our the reply. Take time to get comfortable with the question and then answer. Do not be a robot.
You need to understand the intent of each question. Do you have the right experience? Have you handled such a situation successfully? Can you learn from your mistake? What value add you will bring to the employer? Now package what you have, customize it and deliver to the interviewer. Create confidence in him that you are the one who will do it better. Express each answer supported with your work life experiences. Also it is not about past but about future i.e.what you promise to deliver.
As you practice the answers, you will gain confidence and this will reduce the anxiety. Practice will hone your interview skills.
We have listed most commonly asked job questions and categorized in Top10, Top30, Top50 ... so that you can move up the practice ladder at your pace. Happy practicing.
Photo adaptation / Pixabay / mohamed_hassan-5229782
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Deliberate practice improves our success in an interview

It is a deliberate effort. It requires one to break down the required skill into smaller chunks and practice systematically and repeatedly. Performance improves over time based on the number of times an activity is performed with timely and correct feedback. It is not just the number of hours of practice but quality matters. It is not mindless repetition but one needs to incorporate feedback to improve. Seeking feedback and reflecting on one’s performance to guide subsequent practice sessions improves the performance.

Deliberate practice based on small, achievable, specific steps for meaningful improvement. To gain mastery, you need to · - Start early - If you have decided to improve your interview skills performance, then it is important to start well before. It is not something which you can acquire a night before the interview schedule date. · - Set a specific goal – You choose your goal and stick to it. (Answering 50-100 questions, 2 mock interviews…) · - Discuss with colleagues and know the trends. Learn from job websites and figure out the type of questions asked. · - Think, write your responses for the most common job questions. Don’t avoid this step. Writing is preparation and practice. No one can learn football by reading football articles. · - Improve your responses based on feedback from your friend and senior · - Stay committed to your goal and stay positive

Consistent, systematic practice will see you through the interview. Take a challenge and attempt one question a day for the next few days. Think your story for each question and prepare your response. Seek feedback and build into your response.