How To Prepare For The Interview

Interview tips for freshers are basically some suggestions and advices to guide the job seekers who are going to appear for an interview for the first time in their professional lives. An interview can build-up the confidence level of the job seeker or may even break his or her confidence level and this is where good suggestions on how to crack interviews come in handy.

General Interview Tips

There are a few basic tips on how to crack your interview. Some of them include:

1.Before attending the interview, you should try to gain some basic knowledge about the organization's background and its operational area;
2.On the day of your interview, try to be very punctual. In other words, try to reach your interview venue before time;
3.Fill up the preemployment application form, if any, properly and very carefully;
4.Be professionally dressed;
5.Clean your nails, comb your hair properly, avoid using strong perfumes/deodorants and excessive makeup, and wear clothes neatly ironed;
6.Try to look smart;
7.The moment you face the interviewer/s, make a formal greeting and shake hands with the interviewer/s;
8.Maintain eye-to-eye contact with the interviewer/s;
9.Think before answering any question;
10.Be precise with your answers and give answers to only those questions asked;
11.Speak clearly with a lot of confidence;
12.Be very specific on what you know and what you want to achieve;
13.Your responses should match your claims;
14.Do not feel nervous;
15.Be assertive in your tone;
16.Be polite with the interviewer/s;
17.Avoid using harsh or offensive language;
18.Before leaving the interview venue, ask the interviewer/s when can you expect a call.

Job interviews are particularly designed to get detailed information on an individual's background, skill set, character and personality trait. Usually employers would examine you on:

19.Your ability to take decisions independently;
20.Flexibility;
21.Integrity and honesty at workplace;
22.Your creative bent of mind;
23.Your attitude towards work;
24.Your interpersonal and communication skills;
25.Your willingness to learn new things;
26.Your willingness to help your colleagues;
27.Your time management skill;
28.Your planning and organizational skills;
29.Whether you have the ability to manage workplace stress;
30.Your leadership qualities;
31.Your energy and motivation level;
32.Whether you belong to the regular job-hopper class or you have long-term working plans provided the job suits you.

In order to collect these information about you, prospective employers may ask you certain questions for which you need to be well prepared in advance. For instance, you may come across some basic questions like:

33.Introduce yourself;
34.How do you describe yourself in a few words;
35.Your aim in life;
36.Your hobbies;
37.Your future plans;
38.Where did you get information about this job opening and what do you know about this job;
39.Give a brief overview of this organization;
40.What attracted you to this particular job opening when there are several other career options available in the Indian job market;
41.What makes you think you are qualified and suitable for the position you have applied for;
42.If you get this job, in what position would you like to see yourself five/ten years down the line;
43.Are you open to traveling if situation so demands;
44.Are you open to relocation;
45.What qualities/personality traits would you look for in your boss/superior;
46.If you were asked to mention some of your “strengths” what would first come to your mind;
47.Similarly, you may be asked about your weaknesses and how do you plan to overcome them;
48.If there is a break in your education for a certain time period, then you may be asked to justify it;
49.How do you rate yourself in computer skills, say, in a rating scale of 1-10;
50.Whether you work better in a team, or with just a single partner;
51.Being a fresher, what compensation package do you expect from the organization and why;
52.Which is more important to you, pay-package or job responsibility, or both, and why.

Telephonic Interviews Tips

Today, there are several organizations who prefer telephonic interviews at the initial stage rather than face-to-face interviews. For telephonic rounds, certain points should be kept in mind:

53.Your telephone's call-waiting service should be switched off to avoid any interruption;
54.Use landline rather than a cell phone to avoid the problem of dropped call;
55.Make the room sound-proof as far as possible to avoid any distraction in the middle of the call;
56.Suggest some alternative time, if you are not comfortable with the time of the call;
57.Keep a pen and notepad ready;
58.Keep your resume in front of you so that you can immediately refer to it if required;
59.Do not indulge in any other activity during the call;
60.Use the surname of the interviewer (if asked, then use the interviewer's first name);
61.Speak slowly;
62.Make your pronunciation clear;
63.Be confident and do not stumble over words;
64.Try to give short and to-the-point answer to each question asked;
65.Do not disrupt the interviewer;
66.Finally, thank the interviewer.

Group Discussion Tips

There are several organizations which have group discussion as a part of their interview process. A group discussion can be divided into three categories, namely,

• Initiation/Introduction
  
• Body of the group discussion
  
• Summarization/Conclusion

There are certain points which should be kept in mind at the time of group discussion. They are:

67.Be the initiator and concluder of the group discussion instead of being passive;
68.In case you are finding it difficult to initiate the group discussion, then try to be the key participant to grab the attention of the panel members;
69.Express your points firmly and try to get the support of other participants;
70.If at any point during the discussion you find that the discussion is going off-the-track, then immediately try to bring it back to stream since it is one of the ways you can score high marks;
71.Try to give latest information on the topic;
72.Be calm and polite, even if the other participants try to provoke you to utter some more points;
73.Do not wait for your turn to speak when the discussion is on. Make a polite interruption to put forward your points;
74.Keep a track on the time allotted for the group discussion. If you find that not much time is left, score points by wrapping up the discussion;
75.If you are wrapping up the discussion, then end with a concluding note. That proves your leadership quality.

If you want to be the highest scorer in the group discussion round, then you should try to:

76.Initiate the discussion;
77.Keep or atleast try to keep the discussion on track;
78.Conclude the discussion on time; 79.Stay cool; 80.Listen attentively to what the other participants have to say and at the same time express your views.

Technical Interview Tips

Facing the technical interview round is really a difficult task, particularly for the freshers. To some extent, it depends upon the mood of the interviewer and partly on your appearance. If the interviewer is in a bad mood, there is high chance that the interview will be a difficult nut to crack. Below are a few tips on how to crack technical interviews.

81.Be mentally prepared for any question from every section of your technical skill set;
82.If the interviewer questions you on that part of your technical skill which you are not so comfortable with, make an attempt to divert his/her attention to some other part of your skill set with which you are very much comfortable;
83.Try to explain in a simple way and be very precise in your answers;
84.In case you do not know an answer, make an honest confession; do not ever try to make up an answer as this may reduce your chances of cracking the technical round.

Things to Avoid in Interviews

There are certain things which you should avoid in an interview. Some of them are:

85.Submitting incomplete application form;
86.Wearing T-shirt, slippers or jeans for your interview;
87.Discussing too much about money, time-offs and other benefits before an offer has been made;
88.Not expressing appreciation for the interviewer’s time;
89.Showing aggressiveness with a “know-it-all” attitude;
90.Acting in a manner which shows that the organization needs you more than you need them;
91.Moving restlessly or biting your nails;
92.Lack of career planning;
93.Showing no interest to know more about the organization;
94.Being passive and indifferent;
95.Making signs of disrespect;
96.Giving vague answers;
97.Excusing yourself frequently for using the bathroom or for talking over the phone;
98.Talking on your cell phone or reading text messages during interview;
99.Grumbling on the interviewer for making you wait outside for longer hours;
100. Telling your interviewer that you will not be in a position to work for overtime by giving some lame excuses.

However, all said and done, ultimately it is confidence in one's abilities that can get one through an interview successfully.