How to do well in an Interview? - Some thoughts and Ideas

Having spent twenty-seven years in the Banking and Financial Services Industries, I worked in Leadership and Managerial roles and the last twelve years of my active employment gave me umpteen opportunities to interview and assess Candidates at various levels for hiring and selection. I enjoyed interviewing a Fresher as well as someone for a Vice President position. It is never easy to appear for an Interview where so much is at stake but let me tell you, it is always the interviewee who has the upper hand if one plays it well. Recognising talent and suitability of a candidate to a role in a 30-45 minute interview is mighty difficult. It requires a lot of expertise, knowledge and skills. What goes against the Candidate is that there is a lot at stake for him but not so much for the interviewer. In this article , I have attempted to provide some insight into what does an Interviewer look for, in a candidate , in order to take a decision on his/her candidature .

Disclaimer: Entirely my views and comes totally out of my experience and understanding of the requirements and I must give credit to all those Candidates who were on the other side in an Interview room and who made me a bit more intelligent ?and knowledgeable?and are contributing here to what I am about to share . But, I can say with a great degree of certainty and confidence that these work.

?LET’S START WITH WHAT CONVENTION AND THEORY SAY AND WHY IT IS NOT EXACTLY THAT.

I) Make sure you are on time.

II) Your shoes should be polished and shining.

III) You should be dressed properly and in formal attire.

IV) Look confident and look the Interviewer in the eye.

V) Don’t fidget. Don’t gesticulate too much.

All good points and Candidates should be making sure they comply. But, are they Clinchers or showstoppers? Neither of the two! In my interviews, I never gave much importance to these aspects. I don’t remember even looking at these things when I interacted with the candidates esp. at Junior and Middle levels. At Senior levels, the significance is more and care should be taken to adhere otherwise have convincing answers and be prepared for some marks getting deducted.But , surely , these can't be deal breakers . Read on !

Why? - Whenever a Candidate faltered on these parameters, I put myself in their shoes and tried to understand the reasons for lack of adherence . And, it gave me an immediate perspective of why these can’t be significant aspects of a candidate’s suitability, capabiity and calibre.

?*The reason these are not so significant because these can be corrected with minimum effort. We all make these mistakes all our lives, at home, in office and in other forums.?And these have never been deal breakers. Just because someone does the same and is at my mercy, shall I penalise him with a rejection without assessing him/her thoroughly.And, more importantly, are these the critical traits I am looking for.?Obviously not! As long as there is a proper one line explanation, it is good. No need to be Hercules Poirot and try and dissect the response. I never judged the veracity of the reason(s) given. So, Friends - please do all these, it shows your interest in the position but if you missed out on one, don’t worry, provide a proper explanation and concentrate on the Interview. It is not getting counted. And if it does, you are better off trying somewhere else as the Interviewer doesn’t deserve you.

*It is natural to be nervous and there is no harm in showing it. Things can get worse if you try and hide the feeling.?If you are nervous, look nervous and admit it .I have been nervous in all my Interviews and still was able to get selected in most of them .And, some had 10-12 rounds before a decision was taken.

*It is ok to fidget and gesticulate. If you would notice, the Interviewer does, too. You are expected to do all these things, so don’t focus too much on these and also ruin what you are good at.

Let me illustrate with an example. You are invited to a gold mine and you find two objects – one a pure gold stone – rough at the edges, dirty and without any shape and an artificial gold ornament with beautiful design and lovely looks. You are asked to take one of the two home. Which one would you take? ....................... There you are! Gold is important not in which shape and size it comes. Refinement can be done once it is with you and it never costs much .Finding “Gold” again, would.

So, if you have the right skills and competencies, these won’t matter much in a right environment .Again, not to say that you should not take care of these. Please do. It adds to your candidature and it is expected. Because, in case of a decision between two equally good candidates, these might become Clinchers.

SO, WHAT ALL A CANDIDATE SHOULD TAKE CARE OF, BEFORE APPEARING FOR AN INTERVIEW:

?I)?INTRODUCTION - Most of the Interviews, invariably, start with the Candidate being asked to talk about himself/herself as Introduction. It is a well set standard process. So, you need to prepare a good interesting answer which should take a good 5-7minutes. The Interviewer wants to hear and know about you. The response should be structured and should not be an exact repeat of what is written in your Resume. While, it would cover much of what is written there. It should not be the same language and try and put in some extra elements like your hobbies, your interests, your ambitions, your behavioural traits and anything that defines your personality or adds to the definition of who you are. It is important and needs preparation. Remember – First impression is the last impression. If you can, mug it but speak as if you are gathering your thoughts and your answer is spontaneous.

II) YOUR RESUME –This is where the Candidate has the upper hand. Because Interview would run according to your resume – few exceptions. Your resume is your entire academic as well as your professional life. And, you should know everything about what it says and should be able to provide structured details when asked. And, Candidates should take confidence from the fact that they would know much more than the Interviewer(s) as he/they would/should beasking from it only and it is your den where you rule and not theirs. But , It could be your Achilles’ heel , too , because if you have not prepared on each and every aspect of your resume , you would come unstructured and your answers would be hesitant , vague and long and often , the right answers would get lost in the unnecessary details that you would provide . Spend time on it and as much as possible.

III)?ANTICIPATE YOUR QUESTIONS – It is not difficult as?you know the areas which would be covered – your resume , primarily , which would have your previous experiences/companies , this potential next company?, your competencies , your accomplishments , your skills , your hobbies , your?interests , your ambition , your IT skills , your education , your native place , your state , your reason for joining , salary expectations, relocation , reason for leaving , reason for joining this company?, current situation in the market with specific attention to your area?and likewise and a few more ?. You always get time – prepare and go through them multiple times so that it comes out naturally when asked about.

IV) DO MOCK INTERVIEWS- As many a times as possible – Extremely useful and effective. Find one or more person/persons who can confidently ask the questions which you have anticipated. Create an Interview like environment and ask him/her/them to behave like Interviewer(s) and formally ask questions from the set(s) you prepared. The idea should be to observe your behaviour when things are working well and most importantly when those are not and you are not able to answer most of the questions and there is a pressure situation or if the Interviewer is being tough, harsh and difficult or if the questions are “out of syllabus” meaning the ones not from your resume or the ones you anticipated. If no one is available, use the mirror and become both – Interviewer and Interviewee. It, also, allows you to fine-tune your answers as others can easily point out where it didn’t sound so good and can be better.

V)TRY AND PREPARE ON EVERYTHING RELEVANT – About the Company where you are being interviewed, Current financial, political and burning affairs, Headlines and important news from the day’s Newspaper. It is a big put-off if the Interviewer asks basic details about his Company and hears a “no idea or I do not know “. My answer, in such situations, used to be – I have prepared for you when my stake is much lower than yours. I have spent time on your resume so that I can do a fair exercise with you. Why not you? Your stake is much higher than mine. I, also, had an example for these candidates – I used to ask – do you go to movies? What do you do before you choose one to watch? Always the answer used to be – read the review, see the star rating and check with friends who have already seen it. My response – when you spend only two hours of your life and two hundred rupees with little at stake, you do so much of research. Here, it is your career and you might be spending a number of years here, why no preparation? Mostly, I ended up not taking the candidate. If the Interviewer is put off by this kind of callousness, it is difficult for the candidate to create a positive impression from thereon.

VI)?BE CONCISE AND TO THE POINT – Don’t speak a lot and keep your answers short and precise. It is important to be attentive and in a sincere listening mode every time the Interviewer speaks before you do .Understanding what is being asked, is of massive importance lest you would be speaking a different language than what is being expected.

VII)?ALIGN YOUR ANSWERS TO THE DEMANDS OF THE ROLE – No one expects an exact match, but suitability is a critical aspect. If you are Lionel Messi and the Interviewer is looking for Novak Djokovic, you would get rejected despite putting up a good show. Make sure that you come across as having matching skills and someone who can scale up with training and support.?And, you would need to convey this to the Interviewer through your answers. Again, jot down your answers to these anticipated questions and keep amending till you feel it is as good as it can be. Get it checked with someone.

VIII) DON’T/NEVER LIE – This would kill any chances you have, of making it.?More often than not, you would get caught and it would be curtains right there. I remember a girl who had written in her resume – “Can read, write and speak French “. I had lived in France for three years which she didn’t know. I asked her in French – Comment allez vous? Which is “How are you? “in English.?She couldn’t respond. Even though she was good, I didn’t take her.Integrity can't be compromised upon .

IX) TRY AND DIVERT THE INTERVIEW TO YOUR STRENGTHS – Easier said than done. But, if you are well prepared, you can mould the interview to your strengths by giving open ended answers which would lead to the next question. Even if the Interviewer knows it, he/she would happily let you lead the way. After all, it is a skill which is needed and if you are demonstrating it, it is good news and an interviewer would try and reconfirm it by giving you the opportunities .But, this requires immense preparation and practice. If not confident, provide close-ended answers.

X) STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES – it is a very common question asked in the Interviews and I have seen candidates struggling with both, due to lack of preparation and due to being overconfident thinking it is an easy one. And, many would end up saying there are no weaknesses or would struggle and blabber some vague answer. That’s a huge deduction in marks. Be prepared and speak clearly on both. Everyone has weaknesses and areas of improvement and it is a positive that you know your strengths and also, your areas of improvement. You score heavy if you respond honestly and confidently.

XI)?SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE – You are a sure shot winner if you can demonstrate this quality from your previous experiences and how you did that .This is a “much sought after “breed and if you are a part of that clique, it is a given that you would never run short on opportunities and your demand would only go up as you add softer skills to the SME that you are. This is long term preparation and requires build up over time. Do it.

XII) SOFTER SKILLS – These are the basic traits which are needed whether you are getting interviewed for an “Individual Contributor” role or for a role which gets you into a Team and some of these are Communication skills, interpersonal skills, being a team player, Relationship Management, ability to take others along etc.These are critically important and are expected to be parts of your personality for you to even be considered. Have ready-made examples to demonstrate that you possess these qualities.

XIII)EFFECTIVE USE OF PLATFORMS LIKE LINKEDIN - In today’s world, it is extremely important to make good use of such platforms. Build your Network, have a good profile, Ask for references from past and present Colleagues and from other connections. It is common practice to write for each other and there is no harm. No one would go looking around to find out that it was a case of “I scratch your back, you scratch mine “. I was never good at any of these and I suffered. It is an advice from experience. Besides, be active on the platforms by writing blogs, articles or by reacting to posts with your thoughts and ideas. Helps build your brand.

XIV) ACCOMPLISHMENTS – Be prepared to talk about your accomplishments in your previous companies, the projects that you drove and completed and the impediments and challenges encountered along the way and how you overcame those to successfully reach your goals.

XV) TIME MANAGEMENT – Extremely important in today’s organisations and you would be needed to demonstrate with examples as to how you do that. Have examples ready.

XVI)?BE POLITE AND ACCEPTING – This would get you extra brownie points. A humble and polite approach and accepting an input from the Interviewer shows your ability to be receptive about your areas of improvement and the ability to take feedback positively and use it to become better and more refined – something every Manager likes and admires.

REMEMBER - YOU HAVE MORE AT STAKE AND THE INTERVIEWER LITTLE. SO, NEVER LET GO OF THE BELOW WHILE YOU ARE INSIDE THE COMPANY PEMISES AND IN THE INTERVIEW ROOM ,WITH OR WITHOUT, THE INTERVIEWER.

XVII) HAVE PATIENCE AND TIME – Critical as it is expected that this is your most important assignment of the day and you have made sure that time is not at a premium and you are willing to stick around if asked for. Sometimes, it is deliberate and you are watched!

XVIII)ASK A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS – At the end of the Interview, generally you are asked if you have any questions. Though not asking would not result in anything negative, it always creates a good last impression if you ask a few relevant queries related to the Company or its vision. Refrain from asking about your growth, salary or onshore visits. These are premature and can wait till the time you get selected and get on boarded.

XIX)THANK YOU NOTE - Make sure that your send a “Thank You note” at the email address or mobile number shared with you for communication. Send just one message but thank everyone you interacted with, in it. It is a great gesture and might tilt the balance in your favour if there is a dilemma regarding your candidature. Besides , you might run into the same Interviewer(s) somewhere else or some years later, in the same Company.

There is no end to one’s efforts and one’s measures to reach perfection and one can overwhelm oneself with umpteen ideas and thoughts on making it foolproof but that is not possible. As the saying goes “Even a fool can ask more questions than a wise man can answer “. So, Give it your best shot and leave it at that. No one can crack all interviews and you should be accepting that, as well. But, if you take care of all the above, more often than not, you would be doing a good job and would come out of the Interview Room satisfied.