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3/20/2009

HOW TO ATTEND A JOB INTERVIEW



When attending a job interview, you want to impress your prospective employers by projecting a professional image of yourself. Much of this is achieved by anticipating questions that will be asked and preparing appropriate answers. The following tips might be useful to you in preparing for an interview.

Listening to and Answering Questions
You need to concentrate and listen very carefully to the questions. Make sure you understand the question before offering any answer. Allow the interviewer to finish asking the question before offering an answer. If you miss the question or are not sure about it, rephrase the key words and ask the interviewer to clarify. Do not attempt to answer without fully understanding the question.
If you do not anticipate a question and have not prepared an answer for it, pause and think before offering one. It is better to think carefully for an appropriate answer than to offer an answer in a hurry. Make sure you do not spend too much time thinking. If you do not anticipate a question and have not prepared an answer for it, pause and think before offering one. It is better to think carefully for an appropriate answer than to offer an answer in a hurry. Make sure you do not spend too much time thinking. You need to take the initiative in providing useful information for the interviewer in order to evaluate your suitability for the position. Do not give Yes/No answers only. Give your answer directly and support it with relevant evidence from past experience because interviewers do not have time to listen to your long and comprehensive replies.
Although you should prepare your answers for interview questions beforehand, you should not recite them directly from your memory in front of the interviewer. You should memorize the main ideas and offer the answers in a natural and spontaneous way. You should attempt to offer positive responses to every question in the interview. Even when your answer is negative, you should stress your present situation and discuss your future plans or inclinations. Offer clear and positive explanations of why some of your accomplishments are less than satisfactory. Do not try to put blame on others or offer an excuse for yourself. Be honest and sincere about your weakness or shortcoming, and turn it into something positive.

Language Use
If you cannot hear the question, do not ask the interviewer to repeat directly using
"Pardon me" or "Excuse me, can you repeat the question again?"
They make the interviewer feel that you have not been paying attention. Use key words the interviewer has used and rephrase the question to ask for clarification. You can use, for example,
"Do you mean...?" or "Do I understand correctly that you mean...?"
Be careful in using expressions such as
"Sure" "Obviously" "Of course" "No problem" "As you know"
They make the interviewer feel you are conceited and arrogant. Offer answers that are factual and modest. You can rephrase your answer in other equally positive ways, for example,
"I believe that..." or "I don't see a major problem in..."
Be careful in using expressions such as
"To be frank" or "To be honest".
They imply that you have not been honest in answering previous questions. You should only use these expressions when you want to turn something negative into something potentially positive, for example, negotiating salary and terms of employment or discussing your weaknesses.
When you cannot avoid a negative answer, you should soften the tone of the reply first, then offer affirmation to reassure the interviewer of your ability and eagerness for the job. For example,
"I do not have the answer to that question at this moment, but my past experience shows that I can learn fast. I believe I can acquire knowledge of that field on the job."
End your answers promptly when you have offered all necessary details. Do not end by saying
"That's all."
You can indicate the end of your reply by nodding your head lightly to assure your interviewer.
Body Language

Handshake
Shaking hands with your interviewer is good practice although it is not common in Hong Kong, even in the business field. It helps you create a friendly and professional image. Make sure your handshake is prompt and firm.
Posture
You can place your portfolio or briefcase on the side of your chair or on your lap. Make sure you feel comfortable with your posture. You may sit upright or perhaps lean forward a little to project an eager and confident image. You should not fidget. Make sure you are seated properly in your interview suit and that it is not creased.
Eye Contact
You should look at all interviewers when answering questions. Don't just maintain eye contact with the interviewer who asked you the question you are answering. Make sure you look sincere and honest.
Facial Expressions
You can keep a friendly smile on your face to show your enthusiasm. Be careful not to look too eager for the job or so relaxed that you don't seem to care. Try to project a serious and professional image on your interviewers.
Voice
You should speak clearly and relatively slowly. You can pause when you are thinking of appropriate replies before answering questions. Make sure you do not pause for too long. Be careful not to pause too often in the middle of your answers or fill your pause with too many types of filler such as "Em..." or "Ugh..."
They make it difficult for your interviewers to follow what you are saying.

Humor
You can use humor appropriately in an interview to lighten up a tense atmosphere in the interview room. You can demonstrate your leadership quality by showing that you are a confident person who is relaxed and capable of controlling a tough situation.
Be careful not to be overly humorous. Your interviewers may feel that you are not serious enough for the job.















Interview Etiquette

Interview etiquette is not just the way you are behaving in front of the panel but at the same time how diligently you are handling the question answer round also. Therefore, in short the interview etiquette is both your etiquette in front of the panel and your way of handling the situation. Let's discuss what is interview etiquette? – Interview etiquette should be how you behave in the interview, so that you are able to make an impression on the panel who is interviewing you for the job. So needs to behave properly in the interview period to emerge as the strong contender. You have to show respect toward everybody who is present in the place of interview. This is the normal human behavior and that is why it is emphasized that you should not look upon on anybody with a frown in your. Otherwise it would send the wrong signal to the people who are taking the interview. Showing respect is just the interview etiquette but a general human behavior. This etiquette would be deciding factor for you to prove as you're your human skills are much better than others and you are the right person to be taken in for the job. So, think about it seriously before going for the interview. This interview etiquette to show that you are showing what is required during the time of interview. As a human being we all are having some flaws in us therefore, you need to hide these flaw may be temporarily as when you are in the interview session you are expected to show some trait which are considered well within the realm of etiquette. What etiquettes are required? – Interview etiquettes are required in all interviews. These are primarily:-

1-showing respect to all the people present in the scene of the interview.

2-Then it is expected that you are listening everybody's point over their and not imposing your thoughts only. It is important that you are listening to what people are saying as it is the interview etiquette. This would be sending a strong signal that you are not people oriented person and you don't listen to what people says and at the same time if you feels that somebody is saying something wrong don't just cut him or her but offer your suggestion strongly.

3- While you are entering the room, make sure you are knocking the door gently and asking for the permission to enter the room.

4-Until you are asked to sit in the chair, don't sit and ask the panel that whether you can take the seat to sit.
5-If they offer you anything to eat then don't just jump to the offer and politely say no thanks. You have to remember that you are not there for eating the snacks but for taking the interview seriously. However, if they insist you should to take the food offered otherwise it would be outside the purview of interview etiquette.




POSTURES AND GESTURES
In reading body language, you sometimes get very clear signals about what a person is thinking. In fact, our thoughts and feelings creep out in our postures and gestures. Here's an example.
At a meeting, and uncomfortable subject was raised. One of the women at the meeting clearly did not want to discuss the issue. Anyone who could read non-verbal communication could see this in an instant. How? The woman was wearing a turtleneck sweater. As the discussion began, she started to pull her sweater up. Slowly she pulled it over her chin. Soon her turtleneck sweater was covering her mouth. The woman did not realize that her body language was giving away her reluctance to talk about this subject!
Gestures, postures and head movements all reveal what we are thinking and feeling. Here are 10 things to watch for:
1. People who are angry may lean forward with a tight facial expression and fists clenched.
2. Someone who is excited will exhibit an open body position with palms up, and mouth and eyes wide open.
3. People who feel shy will look down, make little eye contact, and may appear to shrink to one side.
4. Someone who wants to intimidate others may appear threatening by taking an upright stance and standing close to you.
5. People who stand with their hands on their hips and their elbows turned out are showing a posture of superiority and dominance.
6. People often try to show their superiority by sitting with their legs in the four-cross position, with the ankle of one leg resting on the knee of the other, and the elbows outstretched and hands clasped behind the neck or head. In male body language, two executives may both unconsciously adopt this posture to maintain their respective positions of authority.
7. Someone who crosses his arms, hunches his back or clenches his fist, even if he is unaware of what he is doing, can be showing defensiveness, or even be feeling hostile.
8. People who are interested will prop their heads up with a hand, with the index finger pointing to the cheek.
9. A person may reveal interest by leaning forward, indicating he is about to act on a suggestion.
10. A person who leans back is indicating indifference, or a lack of interest.
SEVEN MANTRAS FOR SUCCESS

In an era of stiff competition, success can only be achieved if one makes the right kind of endeavor at the right time and in the right direction.
The Following are the seven mantras for success:
1. Communication Skills - Most of what goes on as business in an organization is, in fact, communication. Anything that is not communication is probably dependent on something to initiate communication or keep it going. This is why one needs to master the art of communication both verbal as well as written.
2. Influencing Abilities - This is more of a leadership trait. It includes persuading and negotiating skills. Persuasion means convincing and encouraging people to do, as against being pushy and aggressive. It is a very powerful tool, especially in conflicting situations both in your professional as well as personal life.
3. Managing Skills - In layman's words this term means getting things done. But from the career perspective it means managing things, people and of course, managing yourself, that is, your time, resources and money. To be able to achieve success one needs to prepare and train him/ her in the art of effective management.
4. Problem Solving - It means knowing how to recognize and define problems, implement solutions and track and evaluate results. Effective problem solving skills will help to become the backbone of any team, which in turn will help in career prospects.
5. Creative Thinking - It is said that intelligence is central to both the right and left modes of the brain. But the majority of people give more importance only to the logical approach in problem solving. What is really required is a blend of logical and lateral thinking processes together to generate new ideas and solutions, seeing things in the 'round' and having an open mind.
6. Social Skills - It means one's ability to relate to people, having insights, helping others and facilitating. Interdependence today is of greater value than independence. Thus it becomes that much more important for you to take a genuine interest in people with whom you work and spent time, emotion and money on them.
7. Managing Money- If in spite of possessing all the above mentioned skills you fail to achieve success it may be because you are poor in the number game! You must have your figures, statistics and accounts in place. You must be shrewd in the money matters. As an old saying goes, “Money begets Money"











Do’s and Don’ts of Interview
Do's
Come alone
Come a little early
Address the interviewer by title and name
Shake hands firmly
Wait until you are asked to be seated
Maintain good eye contact
Take time to think about your answers to interview questions.
Do not be afraid to ask for clarification if there are questions you don't understand.
Be positive.
Stress your qualifications for the job and your readiness to undertake its duties
Don'ts
Ask when you may call to learn about the hiring decision.
Smoke or chew anything, even if invited to do so
Apologize for your lack of experience
Ask about salary or days off
Handle anything on the interviewer's desk
Discuss personal problems, financial problems, other jobs you did not get
Criticize former teachers or employers
Provide information which is not factual, Beg for the job or hang around after the interview

Student of Rai Business School

Sanjeev Kumar Singh

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