How to Nail Job Interviews
Interview Preparation
How well you prepare for a job interview will determine how successful you are. Researching the job and the firm, as well as attentively analyzing your replies to the interview questions, are the most important aspects of interview preparation. There are several components of the interview that you should prepare for during and after the interview, in addition to pre-interview preparation. Below we have mentioned some points that need to be prepared before going for the interview.
Review the Job description
Read the job description carefully to see how the company has portrayed the role and the type of candidate they seek. Examine the employer’s requirements in terms of skills and competencies. You’ll have a better chance to impress your interviewer if you can match your all those mentioned talents and qualifications for the job description. The job description may also provide insight into the types of questions an interviewer might ask. So, after reviewing the job description try to study those topics (mentioned in the JD) mainly.
Search About the Company
Use the company’s website, social media sites, and other internet resources to learn more about it. Learn about the company’s mission, management, work culture, products it offers, and clientele it serves. Learn about the company’s most recent revenue, growth prospects, and business plans. Most companies have a “about us” section mentioned in their website with information about the management, a “careers” or “work with us” page with information on employment, and a “investor relations” page with information for investors. Researching the firm thoroughly can assist you in aligning your resume with its requirements. It will also assist you in responding to inquiries about the company during the interview. Once you will become familiar with the company, then you can also offer pertinent questions to the interviewer, demonstrating your interest in the position. So, basically, the goal is to gain a fundamental grasp of the company’s operations.
At the end, you can search all these following points to complete your research about the company.
- The company’s age Services or products
- National and international competitors in the industry
- Pattern of development
- Divisions & subsidiaries Reputation/where it stands in the industry
- Locations/duration of stay
- Organizational size
- Sales/assets/earnings
- Provision for advancement in your career
- Projects in progress
- Mission, culture, and values are all important factors to consider.
Prepare Interview Questions
Now this is the most important part of interview preparation for this you need to prepare a list of expected interview questions for the position you’re applying for, so that you can respond quickly during the interview. Prepare outstanding responses to interview questions that will demonstrate your ability and excitement for the position. Below I have mentioned some standard interview questions along with the tips that you can include in your list:
Q1. Tell me about yourself
➢ Tips
- Tell your name first in order to introduce your self.
- Tell the location and organization or university from where you belong.
- Tell your hobbies
- Tell your achievements related to your work experience
- Tell any course you have done and required for this post
- Explain only relevant project Work and Work experience
➢ Do’s & Don’t
- Don’t take more than 2–3 minutes to answer this question & don’t mention your flaws.
- Don’t tell deep info such as your parents’ names or the name of your school.
- End your answer with your strongest point because there’s a good probability your following question will be about it.
- There’s no need to specify your percentage, which is already in your resume.
- They can simply figure out if you are lying if you mention something that isn’t true.
- Don’t give the impression that you memorized the answer.
- Short is sweet, and they don’t want to hear a long story form you.
- They can interrupt you in between and cross-question you. Be prepared for that.
Q2. Why do you want to join our organization and not this other company?
➢ Do’s
Be as precise as possible. Mention some of the things you know about the company that you find interesting. There are various aspects of a business (scale, customer loyalty, innovation-friendliness, work culture, team, perhaps it offers help for higher education, etc.) that one may find appealing and use as a reason. ‘It pays well’ can also be an answer, but only as part of the answer; otherwise, it will always lead to another challenging question: ‘Would you quit us if another organization offered you a larger income tomorrow?’
➢ Don’t
Don’t say things like ‘It’s the best company that provides a challenging environment for professional growth,’ or ‘It’s the best company that provides challenging environment for professional growth,’ or ‘It’s the best company that provides a challenging environment for professional growth,’ or ‘It’s the best company that provides a challenging environment for Do not begin to criticize this other company as well.
Q3. What are your strengths?
➢ Do’s
You may have recognized a few things you are strong at (like programming or leading teams) or a few positive behavioral traits during your pre-interview reflection. You can also include all of them or only the ones that are most relevant to the organization and job you’ve applied for. Always back up your claims with real-life examples from your own experience.
➢ Don’t
Don’t just recite a list of skills and strengths like ‘I am a hard worker, sincere, punctual, law abiding, full of fervor, innovative…’ without providing examples or proof from your own life to back up your assertions.
Q4. What are your weakness?
➢ Do’s
Choose a somewhat innocuous flaw that will not jeopardize your chances of landing the job/internship. Also, now that you’ve identified you have a vulnerability, describe what you’re doing to address it.
➢ Don’t
Don’t ‘create’ a weakness that you do not have in order to make it appear as a strength. ‘I am a perfectionist,’ for example. Because they’d then ask you for examples of times in your life when you were a perfectionist and it caused issues, and you’d have to make up additional lies.
Q5. What is life Goal?
➢ Do’s
Be truthful. Mention any specific goals you have, such as “I want to be a brilliant programmer” or “I want to work for women’s rights.” If your stated career objective differs significantly from the position you’ve applied for, you should be prepared to discuss how this function fits into that goal. It’s fine if you don’t have a definite professional interest at this time.
➢ Don’t
Don’t make a lofty career goal such as “I want to achieve world peace”, without any evidence or action on your side thus far. Similarly, do not express a professional objective that is too dissimilar to the current position you have applied for without a clear understanding of how this position fits that aim.
Q6. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
➢ Do’s
No one, including the interviewer, knows where he or she will be in five years. The most you can do is list your current interests and indicate a desire to learn more about them as a career possibility and to progress in them over time.
➢ Don’t
Don’t provide a sarcastic response (‘I envision myself in your place in 5 years’) or one that demonstrates you have no understanding how to advance in the firm such as “I want to reach the CEO level of this company”.
Q7. What are your expectations from this job?
➢ Do’s
You must have a motive for applying for that particular position, and you must have some expectations in return, which you should explain. Consider what you intend to gain or learn from that role. What you want from a role should usually prepare you for your long-term professional goals, and it helps if you can demonstrate that direct connection.
➢ Don’t
Nothing that is absolutely outside the scope of the function should be mentioned. When the role is clearly technical, don’t add something like “I want to study marketing.” Also, you may be applying for a job because you have no other options or because the pay is fantastic; nonetheless, you should avoid mentioning those as the main reasons. There is something additional that you can mention in every job that you might find interesting. Every position, for example, comes with corporate exposure and networking opportunities, both of which are reasonable expectations.
Q8. If you were to join us, what is one thing you would like to change about the company?
➢ Do’s
See if there are any clear improvement opportunities that you can offer based on your investigation. In addition, if you are unsure about the feasibility of an idea, you may always pose it as a question rather than a suggestion.
➢ Don’t
Don’t begin with negative or insignificant criticism; there is always a positive method to express yourself. Don’t come out as overly opinionated, as there may be valid reasons for why things are the way they are that you are unaware of.
Q9. Give me an example of an incident when you had to work really hard to achieve something?
➢ Do’s
Better if you can give an example from your own life or previous work experience. Provide background (what was the scenario and what was required of you), as well as what you did and how it turned out.
➢ Don’t
Don’t use examples of occasions where you were responsible for your own carelessness and had to scramble at the last minute. Don’t mention anything like, “I didn’t study the entire semester and had six night outs in a row to pass my final examinations.” This not make any sense.
Q10 Give me an example from your life when you took an initiative ?
➢ Do’s
Give some real-life examples; describe the situation before you took action, what you did and why you did it, and what happened as a result.
➢ Don’t
Try not to use your usual responsibilities as an example of initiative. The goal should always be to change the status quo. If you were a branch representative in charge of batch placement, you couldn’t say, “I contacted 80 firms to invite them to visit the campus,” because that was part of your job and anybody else could have done it.
Practice Mock Interviews
During an interview, no matter how well you’ve prepared, it’s natural to feel nervous and overwhelmed. Mock interviews can be really useful in this situation. They can assist you in preparing for an interview by simulating a real-life situation and increasing your confidence. You can ask to your friend or family member for conducting a mock interview for you. To analyze your performance, consider recording the entire process. You can practice the interview in front of a mirror if you can’t locate anybody to play the interviewer.
Last Step
After completing all the aforementioned steps just follow some tips for the last moment.
- Appropriate dressing
- Questioning the employer
- Memorizing your resume
- Punctuality
- Relaxing the nerves
Thanks for reading…
