The art of successful interviewing

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!

Where is the law?

Some days ago, I came across this sign at Gurgaon. It said, "NO PARKING ZONE: VEHICLES SHALL BE DEFALTAD (sic) BY ORDER - PRO FAC".

I was quite impressed with the severity of the order, and the fact that it seemed to be working - notice there are no parked vehicles behind the sign. Then I began to wonder, "What does PRO FAC stand for?"

Turned out PRO FAC is not the title of a government officer, it is the name of a private security agency employed by the nearby residential complex! What right does a private security agency have to put up a signboard on what is apparently public land? More, how dare a private security agency deflate anyone's tires?

Is there any provision in law for even the traffic police to deflate tires as punishment? I don't think so. Neither is there a provision for a traffic policeman to swing his lathi at rickshaws and rickshaw pullers, or even motorcyclists. But all this happens. (By the way, no traffic policeman would dare to swing his lathi at a car, especially an expensive car.)

This "might is right" approach is seen everywhere in India, and mostly results from the absence of adequate laws or appropriate methods of enforcement. People, including individual policemen, then take the law into their own hands.

Can you imagine that before 9/11 and Guatanamo, I was far more comfortable facing a US police officer than I was facing an Indian policeman? In those simpler times, I could more or less expect full due process under law in front of the US cop, which I could hardly hope for in India.

Zero Percentile now in bookstores at Indore and Ahmedabad

Some weeks ago, I had written about my friend Neeraj Chhibba's first book, Zero Percentile. I am now finding this book prominently displayed at bookstores all over India. Rupa appears to have a strong distribution channel.

So I checked and confirmed that it is also available at Indore (Sohan Book Store) and Ahmedabad, and of course it is also available on www.flipkart.com as I mentioned earlier.

If you want, we can invite Neeraj Chhibba to Proton once you've read the book and want his autograph on your copy.