5 effective ways to crack a job interview
How to crack a job interview
Job interviews are important milestones of a person’s career. Getting a call from a good company and then being able to convert the interview opportunity into a confirmed dream job offer may prove to be a turning point in his or her life. It is of utmost importance to bring an element of seriousness in preparing and appearing for an interview. The effort one puts into the preparation process is reflected during the interview. It is also important to keep in mind that often, a job interview is not a test of your knowledge but your ability to apply it at the right time. Let us look at a few tips on how to boost your confidence and be successful at your interviews.
1. Research about the company
The first step to get going on your interview prep is to do your homework. Start your journey by gathering details about the company you have got an interview call from. Explore the lines of businesses the company is into, the geographic footprint of the organization, its financial performance in the last few quarters, the outlook for coming years, top management of the company, its major clients, major projects it has completed, any recognition or award that is noteworthy, the business landscape of the industry and a brief overview of the competition. It is helpful to glance through the annual reports of the company as well. Now- a lot of useful data can be obtained from a company’s social media handles such as Facebook, LinkedIn In, Twitter, etc.
Once you get these basic tit-bits of information in place, try searching how good the company culture is. What are the HR practices, what is the general feedback of the employees, what are the growth opportunities, how is the work-life balance, are employees recognized enough for their contribution, etc? These are some questions you should delve into. The Internet is an amazing tool, and this information is not hard to find these days. Just be wary of hate remarks or vendetta feedback.
2. Expect the unexpected
Not all interviews are comfortable conversations that you can talk through. Depending on the role you have applied, the interviewer can pull out an appropriate interviewing technique from his or her sleeves. Say, if you are appearing for the role of a warehouse manager or a customer service executive, the interviewer might use a stress interviewing technique. These roles require remaining grounded in the face of extreme work pressure, such as seemingly unending material deliveries or handling irate customers on the phone line.
Then, there are interviews where your presence of mind can be checked. Witty interviewers often cook up situational reaction tests during interviews, such as the infamous UPSC or NDA. Remember those mind spinners such as how many stairs you have just climbed or how many windows there are in the city? Be calm and composed during such interviews. Pull out your little mental notepad and try searching what interviewing technique the interviewer might be using and what can be his or her intent in doing so. Once you get the hang of the interviewer’s mindset, you will be in a much more comfortable situation to answer such questions. In a nutshell, prepare for the expected and be ready for the unexpected. Also, communication skills are very important, and you need to improve.
3. Prepare good answers
One of the keys to performing well at interviews is to prepare really good answers for seemingly innocuous questions such as Tell me something about yourself. By all means, elicit the basic details that the interviewer is looking for, but also use this as an opportunity to highlight something that makes you stand out of the crowd, something that is not included in the resume or even as a hook to start your interview in the right direction. It is helpful to jot down points that you want to convey and then structure them so that you can articulate your thoughts properly. Try doing a mock demo in front of someone you are comfortable with and ask for feedback.
4. Ask sensible questions and show interest
Asking the right questions is important to succeed in interviews. Often, interviewers give you a chance to ask questions, mostly towards the end of the interview. Prepare beforehand a well-thought-out list of questions. Unprepared candidates either turn down this opportunity with a polite “no questions” or are caught off-guard and try to throw any question under the sun that they think of at that time. Not asking questions will give the impression that you haven’t done your homework well.
Asking unrelated questions is even worse; it will make the candidate look silly or nervous. Ask questions related to the company's future plans, your role and contribution to the company's growth, projects that are on hand, any new field the company is eyeing, etc. Whatever they are, the questions should make you appear as an intelligent candidate interested in growing the company’s business and looking forward to various work avenues that the company has to offer.
5. Show gratitude
It is a good practice to send a thank you note after your interview. This could be a small e-mail or a phone message to thank the interviewer for giving his valuable time to interview you. Closing your interview with a thank you note gives away your good attitude. Sometimes, it is just the right attitude that the interviewer is looking for, and this act may help in making up his mind in your favour.
These are some effective ways to crack a job interview. You should also read 'How To Prepare For a Successful Interview'. This will help you to crack any interview in the future. Lastly, you may or may not get selected, but you will be satisfied that you have done your best. Rest depends on how well you fit into the role, and you really don’t have much control over that part. Best of luck for your upcoming interviews.
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