INTERVIEWPREPARATION E-BOOK

TABLE OF CONTENT

• What Is an Interview?

• Types of Interview Formats

• Tips to Clear Phone Interviews

• Some Common Interview Questions

• How to Introduce Yourself In an Interview

• How to Answer "Tell Me About Yourself"

• Questions to Ask the Recruiter

• How to Make a Great First Impression In an Interview?

• What Is an Elevator Pitch and How to Give One?

• Prerequisites For a Job Interview

• How to Answer the Question About Salary Expectations?

• How to Answer the Question About Weaknesses In the Interview?

• How to Ace Group Interviews?

• How to Ace an Walk In Interview

• How to Explain Gaps In the Interview

• How to Answer ‘ Why Do You Want to Work Here’ Question?

• How to Write a Follow-Up Email After a Job Interview?

• Body Language Tips For Interview

• Mistakes to Avoid In an Interview

• How to Ace an Interview hat's Not Going Too Well

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The word ‘Interview’ is formed by two words ‘inter’ and ‘view’ which indicates something like seeing each other in-between. This means that both the parties involved in the meeting, get to know each other by asking questions. The person asking the questions (in most cases, the employer) is the interviewer, and the person answering those questions is the interviewee. Interviews often take place face to face, but with advancing technology the need to appear in person has reduced considerably and has also enabled people to attend interviews from a faraway location. Conversation is a vital part of an interview and that can happen regardless of any party’s physical presence. A survey report states, face to face interviews often help people in forming a connection and are helpful to employers in hiring people easily.

What is an interview?

Types of interview formats

Telephone interviews are hugely valuable because they speed up the interview process and minimise time-wasting, whilst culling your weaker candidates earlier on.

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1.) The Telephone Interview

Video interviews (Skype, Google Hangouts, FaceTime) are a great alternative to telephone interviews.

2.) The Video Interview

Panel interviews are the same as individual, face-to-face interviews, but with two or more interviewers in the room.

3.) The Panel Interview

Assessment “days” can be used to assess larger groups of interviewees at the same time, for a range of different skills.

4.) The Assessment Day

Group interviews are used a lot less regularly than the other interview techniques we’ve mentioned, but they still have their place in modern recruitment.

5.) Group Interviews

Individual, face-to-face interviews are by far the most popular and efficient form of assessment.

6.) Individual (face-to-face) Interviews:

Tips to clear Phone Interviews

You will be getting somewhere around 20 minutes to explain yourself on the call. It is essential you sum up the key points regarding your skills and the value you’ll bring to the table if selected.

1.) Make a Note Of Job Skills

There are a routine set of questions which job recruiters often ask candidates, to understand the expectations, like:

2.) Be Prepared

•Are you looking for a job change? If yes, then why?•What is your expected compensation?

and you should concisely introduce yourself with your full name, the time of interview and the position you’re being interviewed for, for instance— Hello, I am Monica Silva and I am here for the 10 AM interview for the Website Developer role.

Pre-Interview

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This is a point that job seekers often fail to do, i.e. to research about the company they are interviewing for.

Tell me about yourself

Why does this role interest you?

Why our company?

3.) Know The Company

Some common interview questions -

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Why are you quitting your current job?

Why have you changed so many jobs?

What are your strengths?

What are your weaknesses?

What’s your greatest achievement?

What about the time you disagreed or had a spat with a colleague? How did you handle it?

Can you deal with pressure/stress?

How to introduce yourself in an interview

You may cross many people by the time you actually enter the interview room. Each time you may have to introduce yourself to the receptionist, or to the hiring manager, or multiple people.

As soon as you reach the venue of your interview, you may need to intimate your hiring manager or the receptionist who is handling the interview calls. You should be quick

During Interview

Since now you’re waiting in the room, take this time to compose yourself by drinking a glass of water and taking in a couple of deep breaths. Get ready, by taking out your pen, paper to take any notes, if needed. When the interviewer enters, stand up and shake your hand firmly and tell them your name.

Post Interview

However the interview was, you cannot let it reflect on your actions or expressions. Once the interviewer is done and stands up to leave, you should stand up with him and thank them for their time, with a smile on your face.

1. Tailor Your Answer to the Role and Company

You’ll want to spend some time combing through the job description, researching the company, and figuring out how you can tell your story in a way that makes it crystal clear why you’re interested and what you bring to the table that aligns with the role and company.

2. Keep It Professional

In other words, this isn’t the time to talk about your family and hobbies. You're better off keeping the answers professional.

How to answer "Tell me about yourself"

Before The Interview

You should show an enthusiasm to question the recruiter back as well, as this shows you have a genuine interest in the job and the company. We have compiled a list of few questions you can prepare beforehand and ask the recruiter.

How to make a great first impression in an interview?

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Sample Answers

Questions to ask the recruiter

3. Be Precise

Think of it as a teaser that should pique the interviewer’s interest and give them a chance to ask follow-up questions about whatever intrigues them most.

4. Don't Recite Your Resume

Maybe there was some super exciting thing that taught you a lot but couldn't completely fit into the resume. This is a perfect opportunity to tell the interviewer about that thing.

5. Practice (But Don’t Memorize)

You don’t want to wait until you get this question in a live interview to try out your answer for the first time. Think what you want to convey about yourself ahead of each interview and practice saying it out loud.

Example

"I graduated with a Business degree in 2010, and was offered an account management position from a telecommunications company I had interned with. I loved working with customers and managing and growing my accounts, but the industry we were in just wasn’t very appealing to me. After that, I stayed a full year and learned a ton about how to build and manage accounts successfully and I ended up becoming a top performer in my group before leaving. I left at the 1-year-mark to pursue a very similar position within an industry I’m much more excited about- healthcare.

I’ve been at this healthcare startup space for 2 years with this company and I feel ready to take my career to the next level so that’s why I’m currently looking for a new opportunity."

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What will a day in this company look like?

What challenges does this role entail?

4 How can I succeed in this role?

5 Why do you like working here?

Research the company well.

3 How would performance be graded or measured?

Be well versed with the job description.

Rehearse the questions and answers and prepare well for the interview beforehand.

Keep examples ready. You’ll be asked about the work you’ve done over the years..

Be prepared with answers to the most frequently asked questions in the interview

Elevator pitches are used by companies often to concisely communicate what they do, and how they do it. But with time, it got adapted to a personal pitch which speaks about an individual’s talents and capabilities. The name comes from the situation of riding an elevator from the top to bottom of a building which is roughly 30 seconds. That’s the time one would get to pitch the idea, or pitch himself.

1. Get The Dress Code Right

Before you choose your interview outfit, be sure to research about the organization you’re going to, and check for the appropriate dress code.

2. Resume Copies

It’s important you keep hard copies of your resume to hand out to anyone who asks in the company.

What is an elevator pitch and how to give one?

It’s a useful thing to prepare as it also serves as an icebreaker to start the conversation. Be it on phone, in person or on email, you’ll be asked for a summary of yourself, your background and what you’re looking to gain from your next stint.

How To Prepare Your Elevator Pitch

Prerequisites for a job Interview

What are you looking for? This step is the reason for your elevator pitch. Why are you pitching this to someone in first place? What do you want? It could be for a job opportunity, or to get contact information, to sell your product idea, to ask for a favor etc.

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3. Carry Writing Material

In order to take notes, or to take down important role related points you’ll need a pen and a paper.

During The Interview

Dress appropriately.

Who are you? Start by telling something about yourself, and imagine you’re saying it to a person who you have approached to pitch yourself.

Get hard copies of your resume, along with a notepad and a pen.

After The Interview

Be sure you ask about the next steps to your recruiter.

Send a thank you email after the interview.

Be punctual.

Put up a confident stance and body language.

What do you do? You need to briefly summarize your background which includes education, work experience and any specific accomplishment or specialty.

Why Are You Asked This Question?

No human is perfect. This question is proof of it. The important attitude to have here is acknowledging the above fact, that it’s normal to have flaws. The recruiters ask you this question to check how self-aware you are and how open you are to developing and growing yourself.

You should be strategically choosing your flaws. Of course, it can be related to the job role you’re applying for but you need to keep in mind that you don’t end up saying something which will actually deter you from performing the job duties. For instance, if you’re applying for a sales role and you tell them you’re allergic to travelling, then it doesn’t go with the job description at all. Instead, you need to focus on a weakness that will let you deliver your job duties and doesn’t work against you.

How to answer the question about salary expectations?

deflect the question stating the same.

How to answer the question about weaknesses in the interview?

How To Deal With It?

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4. Do You Have Questions?

It’s important you also write down some questions you want to ask, beforehand.

5. Carry References List

Generally, interviewers don’t ask for a list of references on the same day. If you clear the interview, they request a list of references to proceed with the pre-joining formalities.

6. Breath Refreshments

Be sure to carry some cool mints to pop into your mouth. Stress causes physiological bad breath, says a study.

Offer a range

If you aren’t comfortable in quoting an exact figure, the safer way to approach this will be to offer a range instead.

Choose not to answer it

It may so happen that you’re still early on in the hiring process and still waiting to get to know more about the job role specifics and so you can

Be confident and aim high

Always pad your expectations with a buffer amount and make that as your lower amount in the range you quote.

Ask for fringe benefits

In addition to what you’re getting paid, there may be benefits, perks and other forms of compensation that the organization may provide you with.

1. Keep A Straight Face

Don’t let your emotions of shock or disappointment show up on your face. You need to look and feel confident and your body language should exude the same.

2. Be Friendly

When you’re in the waiting area, you could surely use some conversation to let the nervousness off.

How to ace group Interviews?

1. Be Sound With Research

This holds true for all your interviews—telephonic, personal or walk-in. Being informed always is the trick to your self-confidence and knowledge boost.

2. Know Your Resume

Yes, it may sound funny but a lot of applicants forget what they have put on their resumes

How to ace an walk in Interview

How to explain gaps in the Interview

3. Organise Your Documents

You need to keep all your documents ready a day prior to the interview. Keep them all in one place, arranged chronologically for your immediate use.

4. Keep Calm

Keep calm, an interview is coming. Your body language will speak volumes about how you’re feeling and is a huge giveaway.

Acknowledge it

Having an employment gap won’t make you abnormal. It will also not stop you from moving forward in the recruitment process.’

Honesty is the best policy

You need to be honest (which is helpful in most cases), but you also don’t need to talk in-depth about the gaps or go into unnecessary details.

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3. Involve

This is also an important aspect of any group discussion. Involve the people with you and address them by their first names.

4. Don’t Go Overboard

Now, now. In the flow, don’t tend to lose your stand and come across as very aggressive.

Utilise the gap

You really don’t need to stress in too much detail. You would just need to give specifics on how you have utilised the gap resourcefully.

Lastly, it’s your choice whether to give a reason or not.

1. Be very thorough with your research

If you come off as being poorly prepared, it will not give you brownie points. This also means that you cannot have a standardanswer for this.

2. Be thorough with your job description

Pay close attention to theresponsibilities and duties mentioned. Think deeply about how you will perform those duties and what kind of skills would you require to carry it off.

How to answer ‘ why doyou want to work here’ question?

How to write a follow-up email after a job interview?

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Why does the recruiter ask this question?

How to prepare an answer

The hiring manager asks this question—which is one of the toughest, one must acknowledge—to gauge why you want to work for this company and why do you want this position you’ve applied for.

3. Be enthusiastic when you’re answering this question

This question isn’t about you. It’s about them and the recruiter is checking on how you’re going to answer it.

4. Employers want to know if you’re the perfect fit for the job role

You have to state that your interests match what the company wants and the best way to do it is, sticking to the job description. You need to convince them that this career move is an investment for you which is going to reap profitable returns for both of you.

Follow up after the Interview immediately

If it’s the same day you’re following up, it should be a thank you email.

Email subject line

Email subjects are generally very important as they decide if the person opens the email or not. In order to be on the safer side, you can directly reply to the interview call letter email and retain the same subject so that the recruiter knows where it’s coming from.

Email body

Don’t be fussy about this. Keep it very simple and to-the-point. Be clear because clarity is always appreciated.

1. Failing to prepare

Approach a job interview the way you would a test. It's important to study detailed information about the company where you're applying so you're ready to talk about how your skills are a good fit for its business.

2. Failing to research your Interviewer

Go into the interview armed with information about the person with whom you'll be conversing.

3. Wearing the wrong outfit

We all know it's wrong to judge a book by its cover – but interviewers often do just that.

4. Not being punctual

Arriving a few minutes early – experts recommend about 10 minutes – serves two purposes.

5. Using your cellphone

Even if you're simply checking the time, stealing glances at your cellphone may come across as rude or suggest you're easily distracted.

6. Asking questions with obvious answers

Don't ask anything that betrays ignorance of the company's basic information.

Mistakes to avoid in an Interview

Body language tips for Interview

Here is the ultimate list of interview mistakes to avoid:

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Pay Attention

Body language is communication, but non-verbal. Your body has its own ways of giving out cues which are used by the recruiter to make decisions regarding your job. You need to pay attention to yourself and keep yourself alert.

7-38-55 Rule

A Psychology professor from UCLA has researched and found that while 7% of the communication is via the words spoken, 38% is via the tone we adopt and our voice. An astounding 55% of the communication is via body language. You now know why it is so important!

Maintain Eye Contact

Eye contact is a harbinger of confidence. People tend to associate eye contact with respect and honesty.

Copy The Recruiter

In some cases, a safe way would be tomirror the recruiter’s body language.

Avoid Fidgeting Too Much

Hand gestures could be used during the interview. Be sure to keep your hands above the table but below your collarbone.

How to ace an interview that's not going too well

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Step up your game

The interviewer may seem distracted, or maybe going through the interview process robotically; in the sense, asking questions and not following up with another question to your response.

Win them over

Now, if the interviewer is keen on hiring you, they will try to sell you the job opening. Their enthusiasm will show and they will want you to be positive about the job. They might even shower praises about the company, work culture, employee benefits, etc.

Crack a joke

Sometimes interviewers may be rude or hostile from the start itself. As in, either they will try to cut you off or they will not know how to take it forward. In this case where the conversation flow is not smooth, you need to establish a connection with them.

Follow up

The interviewer may not mention the next steps nor give you any indication of things moving positively. You may have to prompt them to talk. In this case, thank them profusely for their time and try asking them about what’s to be expected next. Be polite, and tell them how eager you are about knowing the results.

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