Expert Interviewing Tips – Part 3

Just like other skills, interviewing is a skill, and hence requires adequate preparation and practice in order to refine it. One of the biggest mistakes that you could ever do is to be over confident, think that you do not need preparation (because you know it all), and not prepare for it. Confidence does bear great importance in determining your success in an interview, however, together with it, you need to be fully aware of the various dimensions associated with interviewing, specific strategies that need to be followed, as well as make way for actually experiencing the real ‘feel’ of the interview prior to it.

Be prepared for anything:

One of the best methods of preparing for an interview is to have a mock interview prior to the date of the interview. Invite friends, colleagues, or even a couple of family members whom you believe can conduct an interview well. Give them a briefing of the company and the post you will be interviewing for and request them to formulate a list of questions accordingly. At the same time, make your own list and try and have answers for basic questions like:

1. What is your basic interest in this field/position?
2. Why did you choose our company to work with?
3. How well do you think you can contribute to the company?

Also, be prepared to discuss practically anything that is mentioned on your resume as well as answers that would reflect the extent of research conducted by you on the company and the position. Your main aim here must be to talk about the value that you can add to the company or firm and the contributions you can make, and NEVER to initiate a discussion on salary or benefits. Potential employers need to feel that you are genuinely more interested in ‘giving’ to than in ‘taking’ from the company.

You must also prepare yourself on those issues which you would really not like to talk about. For instance,

• Your low grades
• Your lack of related experiences
• The gap in your employment history
• Job-hopping
• Your weaknesses

In fact anything on those lines should be looked into and you need to equip yourself with concrete and convincing answers. Remember that anything can be hit upon in an interview and the bottom line is to be prepared for the worst in the best possible way. Note that, should you not have anyone to help you with a mock interview, practice in front of a mirror or you could also video or audio tape your answers. This will not only help in reducing your fears and nervousness, but also help in getting accurate insight into your mannerisms, facial expressions, posture, and inflection of voice. Accordingly, you could rework your manner of delivery or reword your answers in order to tactfully strike a balance between calm and enthusiasm.

Expert Interviewing Tips: Part 1

Expert Interviewing Tips: Part 2

Keep visiting our website and we will be back with more interviewing tips every week. We would appreciate your feedback and any suggestions which you could provide on feedback@hound.com