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INTERVIEWS – Phod Do !
January 24, 2012 by Akash Gautam | 40 Comments
Shaadi ho naa ho ; Interview hoga hi ! Honi ko kaun taal saktaa hai
INTERVIEWS – Phod Do ! | Akash Gautam's Blog http://www.akashgautam.com/blog/2012/01/24/interviews-phod-do/
1 of 18 2/25/2012 2:38 PM
and 2) which if prepared well about; can help you crack every interview that you sit for.
Life is moving really fast. I recommend you to ‘SUBSCRIBE’ to free email alerts from my blog; so that you
do not miss on anything important for you – in your busy schedules (Look to the Top Right hand side of the
Blog to SUBSCRIBE). I am always looking at newer & fresher ways to serve you.
This is a long post. Read it v patiently. This is ALL – you need. Read it THRICE and go & crack it !
Copyright © 2012, Akash Gautam. All Rights Reserved
MAKE SURE YOU PREPARE THE FIRST QUESTION WELL:-
90% of the times the first question will be “Introduce Yourself” or “Tell me something about yourself”?.
There is a reason for this. Whatever might happen; the candidate will end up saying something in the answer
to this question. When he says that ‘whatever something’ ; he will feel 1) comfortably arrived & 2) belonging
to that situation and 3) a sense of adequacy shall have happened. This means that you will become
comfortable after speaking those first few lines. This is what the interviewer wants. He wants to meet the
comfortable you. Your best would not show up; unless you are comfortable. He wishes to meet the best in
you. The reason – why 90% of the times; this becomes the first question.
This question is your best (could be the last) chance to sell yourself. It is like your free hit in a cricket match-
you will not get out; however – you get a chance to score any many runs of your volition.
How do you best prepare for this Question?
Three Things:-
1) Understand that an ‘Interview’ is a sales process. You are your salesman. Ask yourself – ‘How do you sell
anything?’. You sell something – by talking about its positives.
Make a small table – the way I ask you to, next. This is the most valid exercise that you can do; while you
prepare for any interview.
Areas that I am very good at ; I can
comfortably talk at length about
Areas that I would not want to discuss in my
interview
1. 1.
2. 2.
3. 3.
4. 4.
5. 5.
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level of any point on the LHS. This gives them the dexterity in answering the questions on that particular
point. )
You need to think very deep about your areas on the LHS. They should be the areas where you are a James
Bond. I mean, those areas / aspects of your life – where in, if you are quizzed upon – you will be able to
happily talk about. The areas on the LHS could be anything. Anything means anything. It could be your
career aspirations, plans, a subject in your graduation, your hobbies, your role model, your home town etc.
Code / magic mantra:-
An interviewer ( in any interview) is checking you on your commitment levels in life.
By commitment, I am not meaning the Sunny Deol kind of commitment (where he fought against the entire
Pakistan to get his family back in the movie Gaddar). I mean, have you remained committed to the choices
you have made for your own self in life? Have you remained committed to the things that you choose to
happily do / pursue? Because, if you have not remained committed here – how will you remain committed to
something that may not be of your liking e.g. the work areas in your job that you are applying to or the
subjects in the B-School ; which you may not like.
Most questions of the Interview which students construe to be questions of GK or academics are actually not.
They happen to be questions from the areas that you claim that you are good at / have remained associated
with. Understand that:- 95% of the knowledge based questions in any interview will be from the areas on
your LHS and the remaining 5% would be such ; that the interviewer is just seeing – ‘how you react to
something that you are not expected to know?’.
So, your entire intention in the answer to ‘Tell me something about yourself’ should be to divert the attention
to the LHS. You do not talk about the negatives. However, if the interviewer somehow asks you about your
negative areas (RHS)– you accept them & do not deny them. Further, you creatively / intelligently shift the
attention of the interviewer from the negatives to the positives.
e.g. if you are a B.Com. student & Accounts as a subject is not on your LHS. But Micro-economics is on
your LHS. If you are asked a question from Accounts – you very humbly say this – “Sir, I am very sorry, I do
not know the answer to this question. Actually in my graduation; my interest area happened to be
Economics and not accounts. Even in Economics- I was particularly interested in Micro-economics”.
Now what happens next is that the interviewer is likely to ask you the next set of questions from Micro-
Economics (to check you on your commitment). These questions; if you answer right – you will be able to
prove your commitment. And this is the code.
Imagine, if you are able to keep your Interview maximum towards the areas on the LHS, by laying them
smartly to the interviewer in the question –‘Tell me something about yourself’. Imagine, if it happens like this.
Would you not have ensured that you are proving your commitment? Yes!! You would. Also, imagine – if you
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then get the freedom to ask you anything from anywhere. Imagine- if from RHS – scary situation naa?
Next, what do you include in the answer to “Introduce yourself?”.
Answer:- You simply pack your LHS in a very humble and intelligent manner.
Copyright © 2012, Akash Gautam. All Rights Reserved
TIP:- Do not give dead biographical details. Ask yourself this question – ‘Can i let these small points add
some extra value about self?’
e.g.
Sir, I come from a joint family. I understand thus, that adaptability is the biggest skill set in today’s
world.
Sir, coming from a defence background- i have become more adjusting to people & places because,
my schooling happened from a lot of places.
Sir, my name is Arti – arising out of my name is my interest in religious scriptures. Sir, I have read the
commentary on Bhagwad Geeta twice.(If Bhagwad Geeta is on your LHS – you’ve very smartly
diverted the interviewer there).
Sir, I belong to Dharamshala in Himachal. It is famous for 1) being the exile capital of His Holliness,
The Dalai Lama and 2) It is the second most rainiest place in India because of a geographical reason.
Now here – you are saying two things – 1) Ask me about Dalai Lama or China –Tibet problem and 2) I am
good at Geography.
Sir, my name is Prashant. Quite like my name – I am calm & composed. But very unlike my name – I
am determined.
Sir, my name is Akash but my friends fondly call me Beckham , because of my intense interest in
European Soccer.
So, you can let the smallest of the points add value to your profile answer by speaking them smartly.
Two important points worth re-iterating:-
1) Make humble submissions. Speak with a lot of humility.
2) End the answer on a positively provocative note. This would increase the probability of the next
question to come from; where/ how you are ending the answer.
SHOW; DO NOT TELL:-
Most of the times; candidates commit damage to their ease of success in an interview by just telling and not
showing. E.g. :-
- My biggest strength is that I am a Team Player
- My weakness is that at times, I am short tempered.
- My role model is my father
- My hobby is reading & music
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Now, for heaven’s sake – do not say it like this. You will allow the interviewer to
open a Pandora’s box if you only tell and do not show. Let me elaborate :-
e.g. if you say e.g. my hobby is reading ;you are giving him a chance to ask you from my genre of reading. It
will be embarrassing if you tell him later that you like reading a particular thing only. Why not tell him
upfront?
e.g. if you do not give an example of a situation , when and where you acted as a team player ; the
interviewer’s next question will be that only. So, show – do not tell.
e.g. If you say ‘my role model is my father’; the interviewer’s next question will be ‘WHY?’. So, show at the
first place only , before he gets irritated and asks you the same thing.
Copyright © 2012, Akash Gautam. All Rights Reserved
Understand – that in an interview – you need to look sharp ; not cute.
HOBBIES/ INTERESTS:-
You have to understand – why is the interviewer interested to know my Hobbies / Interests?
Answer :- To ask you questions out of the same.
Reason:- If you cannot answer questions out of your choicest hobby / interest; it seriously puts a question
mark on your commitment levels in life and would for sure jeopardise your candidature.
So, what do you do ?
If you have a hobby – get deep into it and learn the aspects about it , which are likely to come to the mind of
a normal guy’. Make sure – you are well read about the contemporary relevance / application of what is your
hobby. E.g. if your hobby is say- ‘Stock Markets’; you should be in a position to talk about the present
situations etc.
What if you do not have a Hobby?
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from / at the right places.
e.g. a hobby like *knowing about the tallest buildings in the world or * bonsai cultivation or * India’s missile
program or * Cooking Italian food — all it would take you is 5/6 readings of those 10/15 pages of print outs
which you should take after very smartly googling google. (Refer to the article : How to Google Google at my
website : www.akashgautam.com)
Why this Job/ MBA ?:-
Critical Mistakes here:- Making that Job/ seat in a B-School look like the most important thing in the world
for you.
Understand here that the B-School / Job applied to is not the end, but a means to an end. Let me illustrate
with an example:-
Suppose you are to travel from New Delhi to Mumbai via a Rajdhani Express and you have a confirmed seat.
If for reasons as Delhi traffic , you miss your train; would you not go to Mumbai now? Yes, you would. You
will take another train / a flight or do something ; but would ensure that you reach Mumbai. Your
commitment is to Mumbai and not to Rajdhani.
Here, Mumbai is symbolic of what you are planning to do after your MBA. It also represents what aspect of
your long term career plan – that particular job is falling in. Rajdhani is just the MBA / that Job. So, it doesn’t
matter how you reach your destination; your destination is more important than the medium to reach that.
I would recommend you to take a print out of the course curriculum of the B-School that you are applying to.
Juxtapose this against your interests and long term career plans. This would make you sound savvy and
cogent. If you are applying for a job – try and remember the exact KRA –Key responsibility areas of the Job
and use them to demonstrate the career pyramid (if an MBA happens).
Some pointer here; which could come to help:-
Hobby e.g. Stock Market..
Management was a subject in Graduation – Interest- Extension of Knowledge….
Good Fund manager- Managed events / funds / People….
Fathers business
India is growing; want to be a part of it…
Read some Autobiography
Entrepreneurship
I do not wish to be prescriptive here; but you need to choose for yourself – what shall be the most pertinent
reason for you to do an MBA / take up this job. This should be something – 1) which you should be logically
be able to defend out & 2) also show / prove your commitment about.
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STRENGTH & WEAKNESS
A question as this; gets asked for two reasons:-
1) Can you introspect your own-self? Because if you cannot introspect self – how will you critique the
balance sheets or norms in the organisation – you will be working for.
2) The interviewer is looking at character points ; on which the B-School / organisation can build upon. Again
here – the big mistake would be – ‘telling & not showing’.
I am meaning – that be ready with instances & examples.
Strength is that aspect of your personality; which other things remaining equal- has helped you achieve more
than the other people around. Conversely, weakness is that aspect of your personality; which other things
remaining equal- has reduced your achievements more than the other people around.
All of us have many a strength & weakness. Think about it.
Also the strengths & weaknesses; they keep on changing / evolving / morphing – as we grow in life e.g. for a
girl in a girls school – feeling shy while talking to the opposite gender could have been a weakness; which just
went away – when she joined college.
The biggest mistake that people do here is – when they sugar coat strength as a weakness e.g. ‘Sir, at times- I
am so hard working that, i loose focus’. I am sure – you are laughing now. But people do it. Please
understand that a weakness is a weakness and should be presented as a weakness. All of us have weaknesses.
‘To err is human’. No particular weakness will disqualify you; unless it appears as blatantly outlandish.
However, a suggestion:- ‘When you talk about a particular weakness- add a qualifier to it –e.g. ‘I realise this
to be something which is hindering my performance & I am doing this…this…this… to become better about
it’. This shall keep care.
Final words of wisdom:-
Please have a good impression about yourself …
Take time to answer questions. Do not jump on questions which you were expecting / know the answer
to.
Avoid School boy Syndrome : Every Q needs to be answered
In Career Goals : Do not talk about Designation & Salary
Alternative Career Goal : Be a little hesitant to talk ; but then talk firmly
Speak Loudly
Darna Mana hai….
Lastly; even if you get rejected at a few interviews – Just Chill! A favorite shayar wrote:-
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gire aur gir kar sambhalte rahe,
hawao ne bahut koshish ki,
magar chirag aandhiyo mein bhi jalte rahe.
God is gracious! In the last 12 years; I got a chance to do one of my favorite events – ‘How to crack every
Interview that you sit for’; at some of India’s top Colleges e.g. IITs, IIITs, NITs, St Stephens etc. You can
INVITE me to your College at a FEST / otherwise by dropping an email at [email protected] . I will
ensure that you ‘ROAR’; in your confidence.
If you liked reading the above post :- SHARE it with your friends by either pressing the SHARE button
below (FB) or by TWEETING it. SHARING is CARING for your friends.
Copyright © 2012, Akash Gautam. All Rights Reserved
Categories: Careers & Training | Tags: B-school interviews, Communication, How to crack an interview, How
to prepare for interview, IIM interviews, Interview Training, Interview tricks, Job interviews, MBA
interviews, Tips and tricks | Permalink
Author: Akash Gautam
Chief Motivator & Trainer at www.akashgautam.com. You could derive more out of FB by benefiting from
this link:- Akash Gautam- Motivator, Trainer & Success Coach
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Showing 28 comments
Great article sir.
I have to face few interviews in coming days at some rajdhanis(you know what i mean) to get a
confirmed seat. Earlier i was worried about what will i do if i don't make it to the rajdhanis.
But after reading this blog, i realized that destiny is more much important the rajdhanis.
Thanks again Sir
*Correction in last line : important than rajdhanis
sir am yet to read, but I alrdy know its too good :) \m/
aapka agyakari fan cum shishya
-Mayur
its awesome sir..............
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I am an engg. graduate. Like others, I was also selected in multiple Software Companies but kicked
out during training from one of them. Now I am in a BPO and trying hard to get into a good MBA
college. I am so frustrated about everything happened that I am not able to concentrate on my
preparations. I think my problem is not unique and so many people faced it. I am very unclear about
my goals and very upset. Little help will be appreciated. Thank you very much for the above post.
hi rohit.. Its a very general thing you are going through. I will suggest you to first take a deep
breath, go to some place where you can talk to urself and can understnd yourself. Ask yourself,
close your eyes and just think 5 years down the line of your life what you want yourself to be.
Then start the first step. Its hard to take the first step. Trust me as you proceed the journey will
be easy.
fab sir...awsome...
awesome sir ! ..ab toh phod hi denge .... thank you sir ... :)
:'-D
mazaa aa gaya!!
As usual, an amazing post, a fabulous read!!
INTERVIEWS – Phod Do ! | Akash Gautam's Blog http://www.akashgautam.com/blog/2012/01/24/interviews-phod-do/
10 of 18 2/25/2012 2:38 PM
years of my life!
Thank a lot sir !!
:)
HI sir ,
First of all thanks for giving such a fabulous interview tips.
I am also in search of job so i hope it will be helpful to me.
Thanks.
sirkya baat hai... this is AWESOME!!!
awesome sir ji...
The problem with people who think they are good motivational speakers is that they have a very
short-sighted approach to things. Writing on topics like these is sure-shot way of gaining popularity
since this is one area in which people struggle. My doubts on you being one of this breed were
confirmed when I read the line in which you talked about 'making' a hobby if you don't have one. In
other words, you are asking people to be fake so that they become interesting.
Hi Mahima
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clearly ; perceptive communication !!
I was answering the Q 'What if you don't have a hobby at all' . Saying 'I do not have any hobby'
might look very LOST in an interview. It is definitely better to create a hobby based on your
interest and master it further. 'FAKE IT TILL YOU MAKE IT' is what I have always believed
in. And if you make it as an integral part of your personality (even 50%) - I guess the work is
done. All good things start with a start.
This might actually give you a reason to go ahead and have a hobby in life. All things/events in
life happen for a reason. And an interview is a good chance to change yourself and be someone
you want to be.
Best Wishes
Akash
Akash, we seem to be following different schools of thought here. I have always
believed in 100% honesty in interviews and being yourself. A lot of times, we fake it
just to crack the interviews but actually do not realize that the questions are there for a
reason. If we are not suited for the role (job/MBA) for which the interview is being
conducted, then we might not make it if we be ourselves. And that's better than having
the role and then realizing that we are not made for it. Anyways, I think we will have a
healthy debate around this. Lets see if our paths cross some day.
As for anonymous, its really not difficult to see why you need motivational speakers.
My bet is that if you also believe that faking is the best way to fly through an interview,
you will need motivational speakers all through your life. I am not saying that I am a
good speaker, but I do know a thing or two about cracking interviews.
Best,
Mahima
Mahima
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Name is quite an oxymoron since, i don't see u appreciating any good thing in life. Seems like u
have seen many 'people who think they are good motivational speakers' in life and u actually
couldn't meet one who really is a good speaker.
As far as BREED is concerned; u look like someone who is from the 'Know-it-all' breed. Why
don't u write a post on 'how to ace interviews' where there is no recommendation of FAKING. I
promise we will not take it as 'SURE SHOT WAY of gaining popularity. Rather, we will
consider u to be someone who is actually a good motivational speaker.
Till then - please save your analysis skills, read what is being said properly and then comment.
It is better to inspire your believers than to waste energy on describing your critics'
Hi,
Great tips sir
Thanks
thanks for this blog. this may help me.
all the above things u had shared will surely help !!!!!!!!!
Thank you very much sir for your very important blog on INTERVIEW TIPS.... thnk u....
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13 of 18 2/25/2012 2:38 PM
Nice Intense Work Sir...!!
Would definately help...Looking for more tips from you...!!
As usual... great post Akash. :)))
Appreciable work sir..Keep it up!
thnk u sir very much......its like a booster........it will be very helpful to me ..
fab as usual...thanku soo much sir for giving us fodu wali tips..
again an awesome article...hw u r always motivated n full of energy while writing such article...........
absolutetly r8...........
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