10 Tips to Succeed in a Job Interview
This is the second post of the Job Interview Series. Hopefully, by now you have read the first post. And if you have not read it, then do read it once.
As per plan Today, I will share with you 10 such things which I find very important to get success in a job interview. Apart from these things, there are some important tips which I will share with you in tomorrow's post as Job Interview Dos & Don'ts.
In these 10 tips, you will see a squeeze of the experience so far related to my interview. So let us know which 10 things are necessary to be successful in an interview.
1) Take the utmost care in creating CV / Resume:
The purpose of your CV should be to show your potential employer why you are the best person for this job. Your CV is the first thing that goes to the interviewer. There is an impression.
If the interviewer does not like the CV or shows childish mistakes in it, then his perception may be bad for you. And keep in mind that your small things also point towards your big things. If a person is inadvertent in making his CV, then he has a lot of chances to do so in the job as well, and the interviewer knows this very well.
Must Read: How to Make a Perfect Resume or CV in 10 Minutes
Creating CVs properly is also important because in most companies candidates are first sorted on the basis of CVs, and if you are shortlisted here, the remaining tips will be kept. So do not miss this most important step.
I can not tell you how to make a CV here, but I can definitely share some important points on which you should pay attention:
Your CV should look professional.
Use bullet points instead of big paragraphs, these motivate the interviewer more to read CV.
There should be no spelling mistakes.
If CV can be made in two pages, do not force it to be four pages.
Make a few changes to your CV according to different jobs.
Try to highlight those points which are related to this job.
After making the CV, have two to four people read it.
2) Pay special attention to the theoretical knowledge related to the job:
I have been related to the insurance field for the last 5-6 years. I have good knowledge of this sector, but whenever there is an interview schedule, I repeat my old books, PPTs, and other resource material very well.
Give equal importance to the theoretical knowledge related to the job, I know some people who have good knowledge of how practical work is done, but they lack in technical terms and theory, and because of this, they are given so much in the interview. Success could not be attained. Do not make such a mistake, and do not underestimate the theoretical knowledge.
If I make my point then I give 60% of the time for the entire preparation of the interview in this work. The effort given here makes things easier, your confidence increases, and it is also visible in the answers you give. The interviewer also knows from the quality of the initial answers whether you are a well-prepared candidate or a casual candidate.
Never take the interview casually, it is a competition, you have to prove yourself better than others. And you can not be bestowed in any department. Therefore, pay extra attention to the theoretical knowledge related to the field you are going to interview.
I am not emphasizing practical knowledge here because if you are a fresher then practical knowledge is not expected from you and if you are experienced then surely you will have practical knowledge.
3) Put yourself in place of Employer:
Think about what you would have looked for in an ideal candidate if you were an interviewer. Try to understand the specific need of the job vacancy, and you can showcase the qualities that are needed to fulfill those needs. On the other hand, you can also hide those qualities which do not fit for this job. .
For example: If you are going for a marketing job, then you can highlight your traveling hobby, but if you are going for the job of operations then you should not highlight it. Depending on the different job requirements, you can change your CV, and make it even more effective.
Generally, an interviewer checks your confidence, subject knowledge, and stability, ability to work in the team, etc.
Many times it also happens that you are overqualified for a job, such as if there is a computer operator's job and an MCA is giving an interview for that job, then even the employer will hesitate to select it because in this job of his Chances of sticking will be less. So if your qualification is more according to job then it is better not to mention it.
Similarly, when you see yourself as an employer, many things will come to your mind and you can prepare yourself accordingly.
4) Prepare Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):
Some questions are very common in job interviews, which are asked in almost every interview. Prepare such questions properly, and at the same time think about the questions that can be asked in return for your answer.
Here I am giving a small list of such questions:
Tell me about Yourself? / Walk me through your CV? / Introduce yourself / Tell us about yourself?
Do you want to ask any questions? / Do you have any questions? (This can be asked at the end of the inerview.)
Tell us about your current job, what is your role? / What about your current job, what is your job?
Why do you want to join this company? / Why do you want to join this company?
Why is there a gap in your studies / job? Why is there a gap in your studies?
Why do you want to leave your current job? / Why do you want to leave your current job?
What are your weaknesses/strengths? / What is your weakness / strength?
Why should we select you? / Why should we choose you?
Why did you choose this specialization? Why did you do this specialization?
Why your marks are very low in the XYZ exam? Why are your marks so low in the Xyz exam?
What has been your biggest achievement to date? / What has been your biggest achievement so far?
Apart from this, some common questions related to your industry can also be asked, so study such questions in detail beforehand.
Preparing these questions does not mean that they should be memorized. This is so that your mental clarity remains. An outline of the answers to these questions should be prepared in your mind, and at the time of the interview, it should be ready to speak in your own words.
For example: If someone suddenly asks you your strength, then you will definitely give some answer, but later on, you may feel that you have missed your biggest talent, but if you remain prepared before then There will be no such mistake.
5) Run the entire interview process several times in Mind:
Whenever I have to give an interview, before that I run the entire interview 4-5 times in my mind. And it is very detailed.
In this, I think about the smallest thing from getting up in the morning to the end of the interview. By doing this the mind becomes absolutely clear about many things. Such as when to lift, what to revise, what to wear, how to go, how long to reach, what to carry, what gesture, how to introduce yourself, etc.
The most important part of this is to visualize yourself interacting with the interviewer. I think in my mind that the interviewer is asking a question, and then I am answering it. By doing this many times such questions come to mind, whose answers are not known properly, and then I prepare them well.
I do not know how you like this technique, but whenever I do it, it definitely has some benefit. Now, whether it is expected from an interview to come to the mind of a question or some small thing like getting the clothes pressed for the interview… But there is definitely some benefit.
6) Mock & Mirror Practice
During the MBA, I gave mock interviews many times before campus selection, and along with my friend Dheeraj had done mock interviews of many people, we had recorded these interviews with web-cam, which saw people benefit greatly. happened. If you do not have much experience in giving interviews, then you must also give Mock Interviews. To conduct a mock interview, you can request a friend or senior who can give you the correct feedback. Take this activity very seriously, it can teach you a lot. Because often we do not see the mistakes we make ourselves, but someone else can easily point to those same things.
Note that this activity should not reduce your confidence. Here, the interviewer has to show understanding that they should also tell your improvement areas and also increase your confidence. If you feel that this activity may cause you to lose confidence, then do not do it. Instead, you sit in front of the glass and give your interview, and if you want, record it on your mobile. When you listen to your answers, you will see some improvement areas yourself.
7) Focus on Non-Verbal Communication:
What we communicate reaches the front in two ways. Verbally and Non-Verbally.
Verbally, ie what we speak, or write, and other things non-Verbally, how, in what tone do we speak, our way of sitting, eye contact, even our dressing sense. According to separate research, only 20% of our total communication is verbal and 80% non-verbal.
Therefore it is very important to pay attention to this 80%. While interacting with the interviewer, you have to pay attention to a few things:
Seeing that you are genuinely interested in this job. You can dress up well, reach the venue from time.
Your voice should not be dull, it is very important to show enthusiasm and confidence.
A light smile is necessary when you meet for the first time, and you should keep a friendly gesture even during the interview.
Your enthusiasm for the job will be clear from your preparation, so do your homework well and go for an interview. Specially, you should have good knowledge of the company, and current developments related to your field.
Note: You can read this article to improve your confidence level.
8) Don't give Contradictory answers:
The interviewer can ask your honesty to check, or just ask some such questions whose answer is related to each other.
For example: If you have already said that this is your dream company, but when it is asked what service this company gives, and you are not able to tell properly, then the message goes that on one side This is your dream company and on the other hand you do not even have basic information about it, so it means you are not honest.
Or suppose you have written your hobby playing cricket in CV, and tell the playing chess in the interview, then surely the interviewer will doubt you.
It is always right to tell the truth in an interview, but if you have spoken more in excitement or nervousness, then stick to that answer, and do not contradict it during the entire interview.
9) Interview in the language in which you are comfortable:
If you are proficient in speaking in both English and Hindi then you can skip this point, but if you are not comfortable in English then it can be an important point for you.
If we see today, most job interviews are in English, but in many places where there can be interviews in Hindi also, people try to give interviews only in English. See, speak correct Hindi is better than speaking wrong English.
Yes, if the job is such that it is not going to work without English, such as in the International Call center, etc., then you should try to speak in English, but if there is any job where Hindi can also work So talk in Hindi only. At the beginning of the fact interview, you can ask the interviewer that I can answer the questions in Hindi. Can I give my answer in Hindi? In most cases, you should get a yes answer. And then you can mix your complete Interview Hindi + English. Actually, in many jobs, you just need to understand English, even if you cannot speak it, but the ability to listen or read it is also enough to do that work, and the interviewer also understands this.
The biggest benefit of doing this is that you will be able to express yourself well and will be able to bring whatever knowledge related to that job to the interviewer easily. And when you do this, your chance of success will definitely increase.
10) Think that if the selection is good or not, then something better will happen:
Do not be too over conscious to be selected in the interview. Even if you are not selected, the world will not be here and there, in fact after a few months, you might not even remember that you appeared in such an interview. People with a positive attitude tend to assume that what happens is good.