What is an Interview? Why at all Interview is conducted?
Scoring well in the written test is only winning half the battle and you now need to shift your attention to the face to face interactions with the selection panels. The next step is the personal interview which is conducted with the objective of assessing the interviewee's suitability. A personal interview is the panels’ attempt at knowing the candidate as a person and assessing the various traits of his personality. Most of the organisations conduct an interview prior to accepting a candidate.
Candidates are tested on parameters like initiative, team skills, task orientation, willingness to learn, leadership capabilities, goal clarity and stress management. An interview, though nerve wracking for many candidates, is also an opportunity for the candidate to express himself and prove that he is worthy of the job offer. It is essentially conducted to determine whether the candidate is the right fit.
What are the evaluators looking for in a Job Interview?
- A ttitude , Approach, Attention, Application of Theory to Practice
- B ody language, Behaviour
- C onfidence, Clarity of thoughts, Career plan, Curiosity, Consistency
- D etermination, Discipline and Dedication.
- E nthusiasm, Eagerness, Energy, Ethics.
- F ocus, Family background.
- G oal orientation, General awareness.
- H umor, Humility, Hard work.
- I nteraction, Initiative.
- J udging skills.
- K nowledge, Killer instincts.
- L istening skills.
- M otivation.
- N eatness, News
- O penness to ideas, Opinions, Optimism.
- P resence of mind, People skills, Planning and Preparation, Personality.
- Q uantitative skills.
- R easoning Ability.
- S eriousness, Skills -communication, listening, team, quantitative, people.
- T eam skills, Time management.
- U niqueness.
- V ersatility, Value for values.
- W eaknesses
- X cellence
- Y earn for achievement(s).
- Z est for excellence.
.........Believe in yourself!
How to prepare for a Job Interview
Interviews include questions regarding the candidate's most recent academic profile, his work experience, general awareness, his career, extracurricular activities and achievements. They may also include questions related to the candidate's reason for joining the organization, about his dream organization, his long term career goals, etc. The panel does not expect you to know everything you are asked in an interview, so be honest. Treat the interview as a conversation rather than making it a question-answer affair. The interview is about how the candidate communicates and responds to pressure situations, so it is important to stay calm and composed.
As an interview is an opportunity to highlight yourself, so make sure you know your unique value proposition and are able to talk about it in the interview. Your performance in the interview determines your chances of selection to a large extent. So spend a lot of time and effort on your interview preparation and do not make the mistake of considering it a formality in the selection process.
If you have any question, suggestion or feedback, feel free to post it in the discussion box given below.
