Some weeks ago, I had given a talk to our Indore and Ahmedabad students (Ahmedabad over our video link) about how to interview successfully for a job. I am not a total expert on the topic, but I have interviewed scores of candidates for various jobs, and I thought my experience might be helpful.
Here I recount the basic ideas that we discussed that day, in bullet points.
The five steps to clearing a job interview:
1. Know and feel the company
2. Know and feel the role
3. Decide and feel your “avataar”
4. Know the selection process
5. Perform well on the big day!
1. KNOW AND FEEL THE COMPANY
CHECKLIST for what you should know
a. What it does
b. How does it differentiate itself
c. Structure and size
d. Locations
e. Internal culture - which aspects is it proud of?
f. Clients
g. Competitors
Where to go for information?
a. Website
b. 3rd party sites – Hoovers, Fundoodata, etc.
c. Intelligent web searches
d. YouTube
e. If you are lucky, people you know
2. KNOW AND FEEL THE ROLE
CHECKLIST to understand completely the job offered:
a. Title
b. Job description
c. What you will do day to day
d. What skills they consider compulsory
e. What skills they consider "good to have"
f. Career path related to this job
g. Recruiter worries (e.g. is this a job where the biggest worry is that the candidate will get bored and move on?)
Sources of information:
a. Careful word-by-word reading of the job posting
b. Similar job postings on the Internet (e.g. naukri.com) by the same company or similar companies
FEEL the role - imagine yourself in that job.
3. DECIDE YOUR AVATAAR!
The 2-4 reasons why are you the best person for the job.
What might you have that they are they looking for?
a. Positive attitude?
b. Attention to detail?
c. Computer skills?
d. Patience and persistence?
e. Summer internship experience?
f. Process oriented mindset?
g. Specialized education?
h. Ability to communicate well?
i. Writing skills?
j. Long term view on salary?
Choose your avataar and address the interviewer always FROM, AND ONLY FROM, THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE JOB BEING OFFERED.
Tailor your resume so that it shows how you fit the job being offered.
Prepare yourself for the interview to show how you fit the job being offered.
4. KNOW THE SELECTION PROCESS
Don't be surprised. And if you are surprised, don't be. :-)
5. PERFORM WELL ON THE BIG DAY!
a. Show enthusiasm and eagerness
b. Dress very well - wear a new white shirt
c. Watch your mannerisms
d. Be comfortable, moderately polite and confident
e. Give your answers from the interviewer’s point of view!! Don't give general answers!
f. If you make a claim about yourself, explain why. (Not "I am a team player", but "I am a team player, which may come from playing in the college football team".)
g. Ask intelligent questions
h. Show you understand the company and the role being offered
i. Don't forget to offer references
j. Remember your avataar!
3 comments:
Respected sir,
Thank you sir for sharing your ideas, hoping to get the same in future
Regards,
Gaurav Mangal
Spring'09
Respected Sir,
Thank you so much for sharing these things, this cheklist will help us a lot.
Thanks to the technology that we have access to great things written by great people like you.
Pr Avinash Choudhary
Respected Sir,
I am really feeling proud to be in PROTON, and that is specially because we are getting so much valuable instructions about do's and dont's for an job interview.
I could not find any other institute, which uses technology to such an extent, to teach its students.
Thank you sir for sharing your experiences with us.
Regards,
Proton Manish Balwani
Ahmedabad Campus
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