Story

Ace the job interview - A checklist

Ace the job interview - A checklist

The interviewer is meeting up few candidates to see, who is best suited for the vacancy. Job interview is a situation where you need to sell yourself and convince the interviewer that you are the right fit for the job.
Preparation is the most important step as it will help you walk into the interview with confidence. Preparation and practice reduces the fear of unknown. It helps you to put the best possible self forward.
Sound humble and be open minded during the interview.
It is a time to showcase your abilities, skills and attitude suitable to the job and how you are better than the rest. Help the interviewer to choose you over others. A quick checklist for Interview preparation will help you to stay ahead.
------------------------------------
A. Prepare for the interview
------------------------------------
• Know thyself - You are a product and should be always prepared to answer the hard questions irrespective of interview
• Understand the interview process
• Review the job description - Understand the role, description, , qualification and experience needed for the job
• Research the company - Know about the company, industry, competition, financials etc
• Know the interviewer - Check online profile. Use network
• Practice the hard questions
- Tell me about yourself
- Know your strengths and weakness
- Situational question (How you handle/improve/achieve..).
- Practice and rehearse (Take your network support to prepare)
- Be ready to answer salary questions
- Be ready to share reference check names
-----------------------------------------
B. Perform during the Interview
-----------------------------------------
The interview is a conversation and the interviewer needs to uncover your abilities and skills. Relax and be natural. Be prepared to talk about yourself, show relevant skills and experience in your discussions. Tell your real life stories briefly and bring out your abilities, skills etc. Be authentic in your replies. Be confident, but not arrogant. Be enthusiastic and positive.
• Firm handshake - Give a firm handshake before taking the seat.Carry copies of resume for handover to the interviewer
• Body language - Make eye contact during discussion
• Delivery - Stay calm. Be yourself, natural and authentic in your replies. Be truthful and do not fake. Answer the questions with real life success stories with action, results achieved, lessons learnt. Each question is an opportunity to be memorable and fabulous.
• Ask your questions at the end of Interview
• Thank the interviewer before leaving the room
------------------------------------------
C. Follow up after the interview
------------------------------------------
• Send a Thank you note
• Follow up on the interview status.
• Find out why you were not successful and then improve upon
Photo Adaptation / Pixabay / terovesalainen-809550
Share on

Your Comments

Similar Stories


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.