What is an "Interview"? Why at all Interview is conducted?
Scoring well in the written exams of Banking, SSC and other government exams, is only winning half the battle and you now need to shift your attention to the face to face interactions with the interview panels. The interview is the last hurdle you need to cross before you land yourself in your dream government job. A personal interview is an attempt at knowing the candidate as a person and assessing the various traits of his personality. The panel wants to know whether you are capable to handle the role and responsibilities of the given post.
Candidates are tested on parameters like initiative, 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 being hired for the post. Hence you need to finish off this last phase of the recruitment process with finesse to make sure that you bag yourself your dream job!
What are the evaluators looking for in an Interview?
Here lies an A-Z list of parameters that the interview panel is looking for in a candidate:
- Attitude, Approach, Attention, Application of Theory to Practice
- Body language, Behaviour
- Confidence, Clarity of thoughts, Career plan, Curiosity, Consistency
- Determination, Discipline and Dedication.
- Enthusiasm, Eagerness, Energy, Ethics.
- Focus, Family background.
- Goal orientation, General awareness.
- Humor, Humility, Hard work.
- Interaction, Initiative.
- Judging skills.
- Knowledge, Killer instincts.
- Listening skills.
- Motivation.
- Neatness, News
- Openness to ideas, Opinions, Optimism.
- Presence of mind, People skills, Planning and Preparation, Personality.
- Quantitative skills.
- Reasoning Ability.
- Seriousness, Skills -communication, listening, team, quantitative, people.
- Team skills, Time management.
- Uniqueness.
- Versatility, Value for values.
- Weaknesses
- Xcellence
- Yearn for achievement(s).
- Zest for excellence.
.........Believe in yourself!
How to prepare for an Interview
Interviews include questions regarding the candidate's most recent academic profile, general awareness, his career, extracurricular activities and achievements. The most important question that is certainly asked is- Why banking/Why a govt job? This question is asked to test the candidate's vision of entering the public sector. The panel does not expect you to know everything that you are being asked in an interview, so always be honest. Prepare your resume very well. Another aspect to be taken care in government job interviews is general knowledge, so read the newspapers every day to be aware of the national and international happenings. 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.
Happy Reading!
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