Job Interview - A Few Pointers (Part A)

The Job Interview - For some a gateway to wondrous opportunities.....for others a baptism by fire.....

I say that because as an HR Manager/Consultant, I have been involved in conducting numerous job interviews for both service companies and manufacturing firms and an overwhelming number of candidates come with perceived notions, which needless to say, are almost always negative in nature. Simple discussion starters like 'Tell me something about yourself' rapidly dissolve into a 'The Simpsons' parody with the candidate making a complete fool or him/herself and pretty much dashing his/her chances of progressing to the next round within the first 3-4 minutes itself.

A Job Interview is just that, a Job Interview, nothing less and certainly nothing more.

Here are a few pointers for first time job seekers as well as those who have been in the job market for sometime and haven't yet secured a job:

Pointer 1: Treat your Job Interview Like a Dialogue

A Job Interview is not hearing for a possible Death Sentence. You either get the job, or you don't. Whatever happens you will survive, so don't look and talk like someone's pointing a gun to your head.

Always treat your interview like a professional dialogue, because that's exactly what it is, a professional discussion or a dialogue. A dialogue means that you, the Interviewee also has the right to ask questions and not just the other way round. This does not mean that you attend the interview in a condescending, rude or over-confident manner. Remember, the Interviewer is probably someone who's been there and done that and so probably has an experience and knowledge level superior to yours. So giving due respect is important, but so is showing a healthy level of confidence.

Hence, go to your interview with a view of having a mature professional discussion at a professional organization, with a professional person. Professional, Confident and Mature all the way......

Pointer 2: Dress Smart

Ok so you're really a bum at home, bermuda shorts, a loose T-shirt , and unruly hair is your mantra for relaxation.

Great, but unless it's a telephonic interview (and that's a different ball game altogether), you have to look good and smart. The first step to feeling smart is dressing smart. Dressing as smartly as possible does two things:

a. It makes you feel good, and feeling good makes up for upto 30% -40% of your confidence level.

b. It gives the interviewer a positive impression first up as soon as he/she looks at you.

But before you fire up the engine and go shopping for those expensive 'professional' looking shirts and trousers at the local mall, let me tell you that dressing smart does not necessarily mean dressing expensive.

It's all about how well (Read: Smartly) you dress up with the clothes you already possess (and I mean the FORMAL clothes you possess).

For Males: Your shirt ( plain or stripes, no glaring colors) tucked in, a sensible pair of trousers, a smart and non-glaring belt buckle, a polished pair of shoes (or if you are wearing non-leather shoes, preferably a dark colored pair instead of white or other light colors) and if possible, a tie.

For Females: A smart shirt and a pair of trousers and possibly a jacket to go with it. For shoes, ditto as for males.

That takes care of your attire, well almost. How you wear your hair is also obviously an integral part of the 'look' you give off. People ( Males or Females) who have long hair, especially long hair that's also a bit unruly, would be best served if they tied a neat knot or a pony tail etc. This advice especially goes for males who have long hair. Having long hair is not the problem, that's your personal liking, but not wearing it in a tidy manner could give off a not-so-organized first impression.

But according to me, the best option is to have a short cut, tidy hairdo!

Pointer 3: Research the Organization

One of the major reasons candidates (even potentially deserving ones) don't do well at a job interview is that they just don't try to do even a minimal amount of research about the organization from which they have received an interview call. Knowing some basic details about the organization you are going to interview at can help you allay a lot of fears and preset notions as well as give you a sense of confidence, because now you are not going to shoot totally in the dark and have some basic information about the organization, it's culture etc under your belt.

Try to gather basic information about the company - this information is more often than not available on the company website. Information like It's year of incorporation, who it was founded by, what lines of businesses it is into, how many branches it has, how many countries it is present in, what kind of products/services it offers to it's customers in your line of specialization or area of expertise and most importantly, any Job Description that may be available in the 'Careers' section pertaining to the position you are going to interview for.

Knowing all this might help you to more than adequately answer the ' What do you know about us?' question as well as provide you with some more to talk about when answering the 'Why do you want to work for us?' question.

Pointer 4: Update your Resume and Read It!

Make sure that you update your resume and take with you atleast 2 copies of your latest update version when you attend the job interview. You might have been notified about the interview date 2-3 months in advance and the company may have a older version of your resume with it. An updated version would probably provide you with a better chance of selection.

Having a snazzy looking, 'full loaded' resume is fine, but have you actually taken the trouble to read it thoroughly? This is especially important in two scenarios:

a. When someone else has helped you create your resume either in part of in whole; he/she might know what's exactly in there but you might not, and that can be disastrous in the job interview.

b.If your resume is several months old; you might over a period of time forget what's exactly in there, especially things like books you have read, interest areas, activities participated in etc - this happens is you have embelished yor resume 'a bit' and haven't actually been involved in the activities you have mentioned.

I'll leave you to digest these four pointers for now, look out for Part B very soon.

Feel free to clarify any doubts you might have either through e-mail or on here via the comments section.....