All About in Job Interviews

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ALL ABOUT IN JOB INTERVIEWS :

Interview or personal Interview (often abbreviated as P.I) is a face-to-face evaluation

process in which the selection committee (evaluators) hold an across the table talk &

discussions to judge the suitability of the applicant (Candidate) for a job or a position (orfor any other purposes as such). Interview is the final step of the recruitment process for

the various executive, managerial or higher level posts. All good companies necessarily

conduct interviews for evaluating the suitability of the applicant. There may be other prior

steps. In order to rate the candidates or to filter out (sort out) the capable ones from a large

number of applicants, the employer companies / corporates may conduct Aptitude tests

(General and / or Technical) and very often Group Discussions (GDs) or Group

Interviews before short-listing the few names for Personal Interviews (P.I.). Sometimes

some names may be short listed directly from resumes of applicants without going through

these other stages of the evaluation process, depending upon the suitability of the applicant

& his experience & background, and in light of the companys requirements.

The applicants / candidates are called one at a time; by the co-ordinator / secretary; (at the

announced venue & time where the applicants have collected as per notices / information

sent to them by the employing company or agency etc.); and they appear before the

selection committee (variously called as interviewing panel, selection board or similar such

names) & after an initial introductory talk to allow candidate to settle down; the selection

committee members(s) put questions and based on the answers & responses of the

candidate, frame on opinion about the suitability of the candidate (Applicant) in light of the

requirements of the jobs / vacancies they require to fill up. The panel may consist of the

technical expert, (the subject domain expert), the HR (Human Resource) Executive, the

Departmental Manager & invited experts etc. consisting generally of one to four members

some times even more, upto 10 in UPSC / SSB or Govt. / PSU Interviews. The interview

may last from a few minutes to any where upto an hour or as long as it takes the panel to

reach a clear cut decision on the candidates suitability, but for most entry level jobs (read

freshers) it may be generally of 5 to 40 minutes duration, though there is no hard & fast

rule.

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A FEW INTERVIEW TYPES:-

Interviews may be termed as preliminary or final; sometimes may be called HR Round,

Technical round & MR Round interviews; group interviews etc. Young students who may

not have heard these common terms previously often feel apprehensive, so it is clarified in

brief, so that students & fresh applicants can clarify their conception as to what these terms

mean or signify.

PRELIMINARY INTERVIEWS AND / OR GROUP INTERVIEWS:

The time of Senior Executives in a company is very costly resource & therefore important,

and generally, they can not be spared for routine work, though they are the authorised

persons to extend the approval to the offer of employment to be made to new appointees in

the company. Therefore the interviewing work is split into two (or some times three)

stages. Initial interview or preliminary interview may be carried out by relatively junior

level executives who evaluate the suitability of applicants on the basis of broad guide lines

provided by the company management & then pass on only the short listed candidates to

the senior executives panel for final interview thus saving their time & efforts. This

preliminary interviewing is very often also out sourced by big corporates to specialised

smaller companies; HR consulting firms, Placement Agents firms etc. who have well

trained staff to carry out the work on behalf of the parent / principal organization; & the

selection is later on reviewed & ratified by the Sr. Executive(s) of the Principal / Parent

Firm. Ma Foi Consultants, ABC Consultants, Price Waterhouse Coopers; Personnel

Network are but some such well known names who carry out not only preliminary but

even final executive searches & selections & the candidates receive approval nod from

the parent companies. Ma Foi evaluates entry level aspirants also while others concentrate

only on Senior Level appointments. However there are many more such agencies carrying

out the initial evaluation.

Group Interviews also called Panel Interviews very often replace group discussion for

initial short-listing from a large number of applicants. While in a Group Discussion; the

discussion is free to proceed & very often results in a Fish market scene with a lot of din

& chattering & many applicants speaking simultaneously & therefore many good students

may get left out in such a process; Group Interviews of 5 to 10 at a time are a controlled

exercise, in which an executive puts a question & invites answers from all applicants &

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judges relative merits / suitability. Thus the executive can put any questions of greater

relevance to the job requirements and every participant has the equal opportunity to answer

back & therefore to participate & be judged. Group Interviews are essentially preliminary

interviews conducted not one at a time but upto 4 to 10 applicants at a time to save the time

& effort of the interviewers panel.

TECHNICAL / HR ROUND / MR ROUND / FINAL INTERVIEWS:

For professional jobs e.g. engineering, technology, medical, law etc. the domain

knowledge of the applicant is definitely of great importance. Therefore either the interview

panel may contain experts in the subject domain along with other dignitaries or a separate

technical experts panel may first evaluate applicants on their domain knowledge &

professional skills & capabilities. Thus if it is an IT Job; IT experts would conduct the

technical round; if it is a marketing management trainees position then MarketingManagement experts would conduct & similarly for other technical & professional

requirements. After technically or knowledge wise an applicant has been found acceptable

he may be asked to appear for the next round i.e. HR Round. HR is the short for Human

Resources executives. In every company the work is classified & grouped into different

departments for smoother co-ordination & efficient execution e.g. Production or

operations, Materials Management & Stores, Quality Control / Assurance; Marketing &

Business Development, Finance; Human Resources etc. The Human Resources deptt. of

the company looks after all aspects of human resources (Manpower) of the company

including recruitment & hiring; wages & salary fixation & offers of appointment, pay

increases & promotions; administration; training; transfer & deployment of the manpower

& all related activities pertaining to not only managing the manpower of the company but

also setting of such policies as will encourage in creating healthy work environment for

brining out the best performances from all employees & executives of the company. Thus

once technically (knowledge wise) an applicant has been found acceptable the Human

Resource Executive would interview the candidate for judging his overall suitability e.g.

Attitudes, background; claims of qualification & experience; emotional maturity.

Behavioural & interpersonal approaches; communication skills; salary expectations of the

candidate etc. Generally if the applicant is well mannered; willing to accept the terms of

employment offered and with wholesome & balanced attitudes he/she would be approved

in the case of entry level applicants, it is essential that the marks / claims of qualification,

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training etc. that were made in the resume are correct upon verification & supported with

documentary evidence..

MR Round stands for the still higher level interviewing i.e. by the Management

Representative. Management in bigger companies does not consist of any one person but is

the collective responsibility of Senior Executives ; & officers. For the purposes of hiring

new talent the management may designate one or two persons as Management

Representatives to finally verify the Technical & HR Round selected candidates as being

fit to be made an offer of appointment. This is generally the final round of interviewing.

Sometimes where company stipulations so specify, a final interview may still be conducted

at the head office of the company before the MD or CEO (Chief Executive Officer)

depending upon the level of the post / applicant in question.

Very often the various rounds may not be conducted separately but one panel may have all

these people sitting together or only one or two persons combining all the above functions.

But where a large number of applicants have to be evaluated, separate rounds of

interviewing may be held. In smaller organizations one Senior Executive may do all these

evaluations & for bigger organization a group of experts & specialists drawn from different

departments may do the job more effectively.

INTERVIEW - UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS - CONCEPT & THE CONTENT:For success in an interview; one has to clearly understand as to what is sought to be

ascertained through the interview process and how exactly these evaluations take place.

Once an applicant understands the basics involved; the answers & responses are more

relevant & closer to the expectations of the interviewer & the chances of success improve

and also much of the fear & apprehension that young entry level applicants (read fresh

candidates & students) have about interviews, disappears.

Interviewing is a two way process. The interviewers representing the employer are on the

lookout for suitable candidates to fill the job vacancies that their company has & are thus

offering jobs and the applicants (interviewees) are out to lend their abilities on hire & thus

they are seeking the job. If the company did not need additional manpower to meet its own

targets & goals, they would not be wasting their time interviewing applicants therefore a

need exists for them as well to locate the suitable talented persons for the job. While on the

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other hand the applicant is also seeking a suitable outlet for his capabilities & desires to get

employed for an adequate compensation in lieu of the services he/she wishes to render & is

there as an applicant - & therefore here too a need exists for the applicant.

The interview is the basic evaluation process where the buyer of services (i.e. the

employer) wishes to evaluate the suitability of the sellers (applicants) as regards their

qualifications; knowledge, skills, attitudes & other enabling competencies, which the

sellers have to showcase through appropriate answers & responses to convince the buyer

that they are the ones meeting most closely the buyers (interviewers) requirements. It is

like any other buying selling process including financial negotiations (salary in place of

price) for experienced applicants but for entry level applicants it is more the employment

policies of the employer which they have either to accept or refrain from accepting in light

of some other expected offers negotiations are not involved nevertheless the buying

selling conceptual frame work applies and the need exists on both sides the employer is

just as keen to get talented personnel as the applicant is interested in getting the good offer

of employment those who fit well with each others expectations close the deal.

About their own expectations, persons (applicants, incumbents, students) would more or

less, have a fairly clear idea; though the expectations may not always be very realistic

especially with young & entry level aspirants who have little or zero working experience.

However this we shall discuss later separately in Part-III of the book, because here it will

detract us from the fours on skills pertaining to interviews. The interviewers expectations& evaluation for entry level applicants is essentially an evaluation of their knowledge

skills, attitudes & enabling competencies as already earlier discussed, and its fitment

with job competency requirements. In a typical situations, peaking broadly, the

interviewers impressions can be represented as given below in pie charts A & B.

Pie-chart A is the typical assessment for fresh incumbents not having any work-

experience.

TYPICAL INTERVIEWERS EVALUATION

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WHAT COUNTS HOW MUCH

A

40% ATTITUDE

TE

25% TECHNICAL

EVALUATION

C

25%

COMMUNICATION

10%

IMPRESSION &

IMAGE

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CHART A (A I C TE)-(read AICTE as mnemonic memory aid)

For Fresh / Entry Level Evaluation

CHART B (A I E-EE) read AIEEE as mnemonic memory aid)

For more experienced (2 to 5 yrs.) level

The above is a general (typical) evaluation that takes place during interviews. Remember

the company may have already tested your aptitude (General & Technical or Domain

Specific) and / or made evaluation of your interpersonal & communication & managerialcapacities through G.Ds before calling for an interview.

The code AICTE for fresh entry level aspirants

sums it all upA A attitudes..Typical Weight 40%

I Immage & Appearance 10%

C Communication (Verbal/Non Verbal) 25%

TE Technical Evaluation. 25%

The weight ages are notional; just to give an indication of importance attached to each

attribute/capability.

The code AIEEE sums it up the for case more experienced technical & managerial

executives.

A A attitudes.. 25%

I Immage & Appearance 10%

E Executive (& Business) skills 25%

EE Experience Evaluation 40%

(Covering achievements performance in previous job; technical knowledge & special

skills-level & suitability).

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WHAT COUNTS HOW MUCH

A

25% ATTITUDE

EE

40% EXPERIENCEEVALUATION

E

25% Executive &Managerial Skills

10%IMAGE &APPEARANCE

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As the Interview starts and an incumbent walks in- the Interviewers start forming anImpression (I) the initial impression is formed by the smile, facial expression &

disposition; enthusiasm & warmth, dress code, etc. and by that very important question

Tell us something about yourself. Thus this initial impression T notionally, carries a10% weightage. If you create a good initial impression-It is easier for you to buildup

through subsequent answers-if the initial impression I notionally, carries a 10%

weightage. If you create a good initial impression-It is easier for yu to build-up throughsubsequent answers-if the initial impression created is poorer-then it will clearest some

weightage from subsequent good answering i.e. you will have to do much better to erase &

compensate for this initial poor impression.

As the interview progresses-It is your communication skills (for fresh candidates) that

create the next weightage. It you are receiving the questions correctly; replying back in

good correct language your approach of mind & body language are observed & a notinal

25% more weightage gets created. This is C.How you reply back to technical questions, and the clarity of fundamental concepts about

your domain (if it is a skill based need requirement) is your Technical Evaluation (TE)

Their may be question on your projects, summer training preferred subjects etc. A largepart of if may be Aptitude Evaluation also for fresh entry level incumbents-likecreative

mindsets; situation ability testing through puzzles, cases or imporovsed questions &circumstances. Thus this technical & aptitude evaluation, which we call TE will accountfor another 25% wightage; the interviewer gives. Remember you may have already been

evaluated through technical Aptitude Test if technical knowledge is very important.

Through all the above questioning or thorugh more questions your Attitudes come out on

the surface- how enthusiastic you are about the job & are you positive & keen; yhourenergy level & confidence your as pirations; your sense of commitment; your general

opproach to work & curiosity to learn & acquire new knowledge & skills and enabling

competency evaluation e.g. your interpersonal capability or team work skills; adoptabilityto particular situations & your readness for certain tasks, the fit of your valuees with that of

the organisation & its expectations all this gets evaluated more seriously it your TE is

satisfactory and the interviewers would check on these Attitudinal aspects to determineyour final FIT with their requirements & your potential for future on job success. This is

A

-Which carries the maximum weightage for the entry level-a notional 40%.

To help you retain the whole process mentally-a mnemonic code of AICTE we havedeveloped which we feel are very helpful; like students could say.

An interview is basically an AICTE

When more experienced (say 2 to 5 yrs.) candidates are being evaluated the processchanges to AIEEE Attitudes 25%; Impresion & Image 10%; E (in place of () is the

executive or Business Skills evaluation & EE i.e. Experience evaluation (in place of TE)

signifying the nature & quality of experience, the knowledge skills & process abilities it

has generated in you as demonstrated by your on job achievements. This is indicated just incase some readers having experience happen to use this book.

From the applicants point of view it is all important to impress the interviewer

sufficiently to create a positive impression and get the nod of approval & that is what

success in the interview is. The applicant therefore must understand & interpret through the

information & hints available at hand, as to what the interviewer is looking for and then

showcase & project himself / herself to-fit-into those expectations. But to tell in advance

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with 100% accuracy what is in interviewers mind is not practically feasible unless, off

course, if one has already worked with the interviewer for a long length of time (such as

when one is an internal candidate from within the organisation); but in most entry level

openings it is the college students or those who have just completed their degree / diplomas

who are the bulk of applicants & thus are new to a job situation. In such cases a five step

strategy as indicated below is your best bet; because this is what is expected / useful in the

majority of interview situations :-

BEFORE THE INTERVIEW:

(1) Know the basic information about the company & its operations, products &

services offered, verticals served, yearly; sales & current turnover & market

goodwill, its policies, its culture & aspirations; its vision & mission statement to

understand what it values; the key personalities like the Chairman/CEO etc.

Access the company website, study its brochures & advertisement leaflets; or

its annual reports & find out from friends, acquaintances; current employees or

any Alumni / Senior Batch students who know about the company or are

working there; its past patterns of questioning etc. there will always be a

couple of questions such as tell us what do you know about us? Or why

would you prefer to work for us? Sitting blank faced when confronted with

such a question, would not be a favourable image build up. Even talking tostudents appeared earlier in a day long schedule can also provide valuable

information.

(2) Know about the jobs and the interviewers & their expectations : Almost all

companies deliver Pre-placement talks (PPT) interacting with students

(applicants) when they hire on-campus here you can ask the questions

intelligently to elicit as to what jobs profiles are they looking for; whether they

expect already a certain level of expertise & Skills or would they judge you on

conceptual / fundamental knowledge and train you up later; or about the

interviewers back ground & opinion as to how they will be evaluating your

candidature and also about the company. For example in the Question / Answer

session of the PPT, you may ask an innocuous looking question e.g. Sir /

Maam; we would like to know a little more about how you will be evaluating

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our candidatures; I mean the key factors or the key competencies you will be

looking for? Or Sir! Can you just tell what you or your company would rate

as Critical Success Factors in students just if you can elaborate a bit more or

Sir / Maam; as you just now said that basically you are looking for marketing

engineers so does that mean an extrovert outgoing type nature & good

communication skills will be valued or not? or simply Can you tell me a little

more about the position & type of person, you are seeking?. You can thus

collect a wealth of information about the things to come, as you know more

about the job & company expectations. Thus you can predict to a great extent

the approach of the interviewers. Generally the interviewers ask basic

fundamental questions judging the applicants conceptual clarity or questions

related to their current job portfolios which they believe are simple enough to

be answered by fresh applicant yet these prove to be the toughest for fresh

applicants who have little awareness of current industry trends & practices. In

the case of applicants with some experience the questions centre around the

work achievements related to their experience. In the case of fresh degree

holders the questions may centre around their projects, practical training etc. or

preferred subjects of the candidates choice or related to the domains the

employer is looking the candidates for e.g. Networking or Application

Programmer; or say production or Design Research & Development; as a siteengineer or marketing engineer etc.

(3) Practice the standard questions FAQs: There are about a 100 standard

general questions call these as FAQs-Frequently asked questions (supplied as

annexure to this write up) from which generally the interviewers may often ask

you a few to build up an opinion about you. It is not necessary that the

questions may be exactly alike but similar or ones with substantially the same

objectives are mostly asked to gauge the attitudes; background, emotional

maturity, & other parameters of potential for success on the intended jobs,

available with the company.

Therefore applicants, who have carefully rehearsed their answers, will find it

easier to recall words & sentences to appropriately provide replies naturally &

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without hesitations & fits & starts. Therefore ask these questions to yourself &

rehearse your answers aloud, standing in front of a mirror or walking around the

room we have seen young students fumbling & shaking-even though they know

the answers in their minds-the wards just do not flow out under the stressful

situation of an interview-so the practice that you have put in will through up the

answer throw up the answer material naturally & conveniently if you have

cared to rehearse earlier.& try to explore as to what the interviewer would want

to search from your answers & how to provide the best answer. Discuss with

T&P & PDP Officers about a few sample answers or the implications of each

question.

(4) Understand what exactly is evaluated: Different companies have different

guidelines for interviewing in some cases written & specified & in othersunwritten & unspecified, yet emerging out of the company culture & ethos;

Add to this the personal preferences & approaches of the interviewing

executives and you have the thrust of questions quite likely defined.

Understand that knowingly or unknowingly companies & interviewers

evaluate an applicant on the following four major counts:

(i) Knowledge (including concepts, related information & contextual

aspects-Technical)

(ii) Skills communication-verbal/non-verbal etc. for entry level &

Application skills & process abilities & executive / Business

Management Skills) in case of experienced candidates

(iii) Attitudes (Balanced, wholesome & winning attitudes, which show the

potential for on the job success as an employee / executive)

(iv) Enabling competencies (which support the claim for on the job success

e.g. good communication skills; emotional & behavioural maturity &

interpersonal skills, team working skills & attitude, sensitization to the

company work culture, clear vision, values & goals & good grooming &

presentability i.e. Image & Appearance)

(We have earlier too. discussed this in pic charts depiction).

The emphasis may vary from company to company but all the questioning is to

asses the above said overall competency frame work of the candidate. We have

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already talked about competency frame work consisting of Professional

Competencies and Enabling Competencies earlier, which adequately covers these

criterion for success; so we shall not repeat the same again, but request the reader to

revisit & refresh the chapter-II Understanding Corporate Expectations. However,

some observations are provided to help the student grasp as to how the emphasis

or thrust would vary from company to company, for entry level candidates. So

know the job profile clearly-break it down into JREs & then Job competency

expectations (JCEs) and then asses how you fit in with your own competency

profile.

(5) Understand Attitude Evaluation The Key Competency For Entry Level :

We the authors had the occasion of talking to the very Senior Executives of the HR

Deptt. of four of the top most Indian Software companies of the country to day vizTCS, INFOSYS, WIPRO, & SATYAM and they were unanimous in their approach

to entry level interviewing as listed above. Regarding knowledge it was evident

that fresh candidates from the college could be assessed on the clear grasp of their

fundamental principles or conceptual clarity of the subject studied by them (as

against the detailed domain knowledge & responsibilities shouldered for

experienced candidates related to the work done by them previously). Skills to

them were of secondary importance as most of the college students do not have

industry exposures. What weighed the maximum after conceptual knowledge was

the ATTITUDES. A wholesome, healthy & balanced approach as reflected by the

Mindset of the applicant was of greatest significance, such as, whether the applicant

had the commitments to stay with the company for at least 3 to 4 years so that the

cost & efforts incurred by the company on training is fully recovered? Whether the

applicant can persevere & work with tenacity of purpose to achieve results as a

member of a team? Whether, as a student the applicant has utilised his time

sincerely in academic, co-curricular or extra curricular activities while at college, as

the same behaviour at work will also follow? Whether the applicant has a balanced

& focussed approach to work & conduct or he / she will prove to be just of

nuisance value? Does the candidate has a learning attitude?

According to these very learned & competent executives the Attitudes

measured are only the proverbial 1/10 th tip of the floating iceberg showing out

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side the water; & the 9/10th being hidden within the candidates heart & mind and if

we can judge the visible 1/10th correctly at recruitment stage, then the same with

due training & guidance, this 9/10th part, will emerge out as a healthy, active

participant striving to contribute his best as an employee, and is most likely to

succeed in real job conditions too.The converse is also true-if slight negative

indication of negative & loosing attitudes are visible in the 1/10 th visible attitudinal

profile-the same negativeness 10 times enhanced will emerge & reflect in the job

performance in all probability. Thus Attitudes are the potential indicators to

success in future. Skills according to them can be acquired by training & exposure

to work situations and only minor differences arise on this account because sooner

or later most of the applicants acquire the skills with training. But Attitudes are

developed over a long period of family, cultural, personal, religious, social &

college influences & can not be altered in a work setting easily. Thus Attitude

evaluation is the most important part of their Search. Other enabling

competencies like communication skills; sensitization to work culture & work

norms, wholesome & balanced values & passion for achieving goals & good

grooming also play a contributory role in preparing the overall image of the

applicant in the mind of the interviewer.

6. Understand where & why Skills help? :- Slightly opposed & different to the

above view is the approach of the relatively smaller companies. Unlike these much

bigger companies, they do not have the training resources to take the recruits

through a long formal training schedule & thus they prefer Industry Ready

applicants and put more emphasis on knowledge & skills level of the applicants so

that the applicant becomes useful as quickly as possible, saving time & expense &

they evaluate therefore such proficiencies as in AUTO CAD / PRO-

E/UNIGRAPHICS or for IT applicant in. NET or J2EE or the like or specialised

Networking Training involving Network Security etc, or LINUX Administration

etc. i.e. their current area of need & demand. Therefore students who have done

beyond the curriculum efforts in acquiring some of these skills sets of current

industry demand, would benefit if such a company needing those skill sets calls

them for interviews. However, ATTITUDES & ENABLING COMPETENCIES

play important role hereto in determining the fit between the applicant & the job.

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7. Know Your Suitability For Special Job Profiles : There may be special job

profiles where more weightages may be given to one or the other criterion or

competency profiles.

For example a Site Engineers Job is very tough & demanding and when new

projects are started from a Greenfield stage the initial part is very demanding.

Thus besides engineering knowledge, a tough minded person capable of

undertaking such demanding schedules & responsibilities, would be better

suited Girls Candidates are most unlikely to be accepted. For a marketing

engineers position good fluency & communication skills, good grooming &

presentability and an outgoing extrovert mental approach, may definitely be

weighed more by the interviewer, as poor fluency or lack of good

communications is not going to lead to greater success as a Sales or Marketing

Engineer or help the candidate in achieving the expected results, rather it is

vice-versa. Where the sales or marketing efforts are across the counter or

through telephony girl candidates with fluency in communication would be

most suited.

Summing up remarks (1) to (7):

These remarks are intended only to help the applicant understand & face with a

certain measure of certainty & forecast what is likely to be evaluated when theyface the interviews & which jobs they should aim for keeping in view their

Strengths & Weaknesses. Keep in mind also the company profiles, the

Interviewing executive and the available information plus KSAE parameter

(Knowledge, Skills, Attitudes & Enabling Competencies) and practice

thoroughly on the standard questions and most likely more than 50% of the

questions will be on the expected lines, which you can answer with a measure

of self confidence.

DURING THE INTERVIEW:

The questioning may or may not be on the expected lines; but your preparation

will help you to understand & interpret more clearly the approach of the

interviewer as to which way is he aiming so LISTEN CAREFULLY.

Carefully consider the questions and its implications considering the

interviewers age, experience & status & job requirements of the company.

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Pause to think and then in slow & measured tone reply back to the best of your

knowledge & belief. Try to catch the hints dropped by the interviewers as he /

she talks but not be misled if you are confident & sure of your answer. Very

often to put stress & test the applicants confidence, interviewers may suggest

the wrong answer as the correct one or else some times they may also drop

some true hints to guide the applicant if they feel that the question is proving to

be too tough. The applicant therefore, should think carefully and then answer

back. If you are not sure of the question, you can put forth a query or counter

question to clarify before you answer back & there is no harm in being sure of

what is being asked, before answering. Thus you have to be alive to the

situation; confident and think for a while & answer back.

The most important aspect of Interviews:

From the above, it clearly emerges, that the key element to successful interview

is not only your experience, your academic scores, the classes that you took, or

your co-curricular, extra curricular achievements. Yes, these skills &

achievements are important but only if you can project suitably yourself

through the following two important viewpoints:

(a) What the interviewer is looking for & how you project and fit yourself into

his judgement. He is the buyer & you have to sell yourself to him. Do your

competencies & aspirations match his/her expectations? Or how closely

your answers are aligned to the expectations of the interviewer? This will

determine what impression the interviewer will frame about you. About

the expectation of the corporate interviewer and the competency Fit we

have claborated a great deal in the chapter-Understand Corporate

Expectations. We will request the reader to revisit the entire competency

fitment concept claboration therein & asses his/her preparedness to meet theinterviewers expectations What is to be understood through your responses

& answers is what sell as your suitability to the interviewer.

(b) It is your Attitudes which will endear you to the interviewer or repel you

away. Your Attitudes determines whether you will make the cut or be

discarded. Remember, there are plenty of competitors with the abilities that

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you have especially at the entry level where work achievements are not

there in your support for judgement. The way most employers differentiate

at the entry level is by candidates Attitudes towards the job they

remember & pick out the ones who were good in communication; proactive

and enthusiastic (Can do approach) sincere in approach & willing to put

forth their best efforts, or wanting to contribute their best for the company;

were aware & focussed not only on their needs but also of the companys &

employers need and appeared committed & dedicated to fulfilling there

personal needs through fulfilling & achieving company goals those who

have these overflowing attitudes & confident & tenacious approach stand

head & shoulders above others in evaluations.

Therefore incorporate the words positive attitude commitment,excellence, striving to be my best. I believe in giving my 100%

efforts etc. into your interview responses. Show by examples how these

words positively effect your life; & when, where & how you have put forth

extra efforts, or walked that extra mile to achieve the desired goals.

SOME TIPS ABOUT THE INTERVIEW PROCESS:

The above discussion was intended to help the applicants visualize the

Content of the Interviews. However the Process part also needs some

attention i.e. how an applicant Conducts himself during the entire process i.e.

the introductory courtesies, facial expressions & mannerisms or body language

as we so often call a big (+), warmth & enthusiasm (energy level) & well

groomed look or presentability presentation etc. The Content undoubtedly is

what matters more, yet, the Process adequacies help to create a good initial &

overall impression. As we have discussed 10 to 15% contribution is the

Image in overall assessment. How to conduct oneself through- this is listed in

the form of a few tips which the students should try to follow willingly &

intelligently, & which will be always of help to them:

1. Always reach 15 to 30 minutes early/ahead of the announced time-to avoid last

minute hassles. Maintain unruffled, cool & calm temperament.

2. Check & carry the call letter, hall ticket (if any) sent by the college or company,

and y9ur college ID Card or other identification.

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3. Carry with you two copies of neatly typed / clean photocopied Resumes or

(C.V), complete with your photograph (preferably coloured & Passport size-

or slightly smaller also will do) and two extra coloured photographs-you would

need it if selected. Remember to put signatures on the resume/C.V.; more than

80% of the students forget to sign the printout they submit.

4. Always be prepared for any aptitude test etc. announced or unannounced. Carry

HB Pencils (2 Nos.), sharpener, eraser, two ballpens and a support pad (Card

Board, or Hard Board or File Cover) to keep as underneath support beneath the

answer sheet if needed. For Analytical Aptitude Questions carry a fibre

colured pen set-the cheep ones which school students use for drawing.

5. Always come properly dressed. (See Annexure I Dress Code) Dress in formals

a little conservatively & professionally; and not casually or informally. Avoid

printed round neck T-Shirts, long unkempt hairs, unshaven faces. Use light

colured shirts preferably white or cream & darker trousers and neckties.

Harmony & sobriety should mark your sense of attire.

6. In most of the Group Compasses /Joint campuses; specially where requirements

an large stay into later hours may be essential up to 9.00 P.M. having started at

8.00 A.M. is COMMON and staying through the night upto 2.00 A.M. or 4.00

A.M. (next morning) is not very an common (specially for IT companies etc.).

So carry essential supplies-water bottle; snacks, cash to buy catables/tea/coffee& be prepared for almost a overnight stay. (we are talking of INDIAN

CONDITIONSbeing unplanned is part of our plans)

7. Fill out completely and clearly any forms given by the company. Use block

letters whenever writing any Names, addresses etc. If the company desires

details like name, address marks scored % etc. even through you have

submitted it on the resume even then fillup again on the form clearly & legibly

& write refer resume. Very often students are very negligent & many of the

scribbled fillings are illegible to the interviewer, creating very poor opinions,

about the applicant and his fickle minded approach. The interviewers are more

comfortable sometimes with Company Forms as these are structured &

habitually they have got accustomed, so the relevant information should be

available at both the places-the form you are asked to fill & the resume/C.V.

you attach.

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8. All your resume; certificates, testimonials etc. should be neatly stacked in an

easy to open folder or hand bag so that you can pull it out without fumbling or

quivering of fingers if asked for during interview; Especially keep the resume

on top & practice pulling it out & the other documents actually as a rehearsal

so that you can easily remember the order & actually pull it out & present it

when called upon to do so.

9. When your turn approaches- a feeling of nervousness (Jitters) overtakesit is

common when anyone is called upon to face an unknown situation & the stakes

are highthe defence mechanism unique to all personscreates its own

responses, mostly fear & nervousnessit varies from person to personsee

Annexure-II (Interview Jitters for more guidance). Take deep slow breaths &

relax-take a glass of water. Those following yoga & meditation cope-up very

well with such situations & overcome jitters naturally.

10. When called in; enter the interview room with a slight bow of head; in case the

interviewers are already discussing something, then you may seek permission to

come in, otherwise seeking permission is not essential. Sport a slight Smile

and wish the interviewers Good Morning Sir or Good Afternoon or Good

Day. Wait at the chair for a short while & they will invite you to be seated or

you may seek permission to take the seat. So for the courtesies.11. The smile should not be either a grin nor a hard stone faced look should be

carried. Look, alert, be warm, energetic & enthusiastic in your responses&

not dull or extremely non-chalant. Be in a state of RELAXED

CONCENTRATION & confidence (cool & focused & not arrogant or

apprehension) & Facial expressions & Body Language should support.

12. Make a direct eye contact & face the person putting questions, occasionally

looking around to others as if you are addressing an audience with your

answers. Do not give a fixed gaze. Occasionally keep shifting the focus;

looking around to other interviewers or change postures. If you find the eye

contact a little difficult, aim at the chin/lips/nose of the interviewer to avoid a

direct long gaze and as you answer back you can tilt forward (150 to 200) or

backward in a thoughtful mood etc- so that naturalness is maintained and with

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increasing involvement, emphasis will shift to question & answer contents in a

short while.

13. The first few minutes The first few minutes are very important as during

these few minutes the interviewers form the initial general impression about

you. If during these initial few minutes, you strike a rapport with measured

answers & an energetic & warm response; the correct answers on subsequent

knowledge, skills or competency questions will reinforce the initial impression

& create more positive impression; alternatively the initial unfavourable

impression may detract some merit from subsequent good answering. Therefore

BE LIKABLE BE ENTHUSIASTIC Remember people always prefer &

love to hire individuals who have potential for performance & yet are easy to

get along with and who are excited about their company and the job at hand.

So be professional yet show your interest & energy and gauge the expectations

of the interviewers & sincerely try to fit into their expectations if you really

want the job. Go well prepared-but appear spontaneous & natural in your

replies.

14. Give Definitive Answers & Specific ResultsWhenever you make a claim of

your accomplishments, it will be more believable and better remembered; if you

give / cite specific examples & support your claims with some facts or figures.Or else the interviewers will ask you for the same! So be ready with specific

examples.

In one interview-a student replied as his main hobbies Reading Novels &

listening to classical Music Further queried, as to which musicians &

novelists he listens or reads, he couldnt recollect even a single name of a

reputed classical singer or musician or a contemporary novelist. Naturally the

interviewer thought that the candidate hardly ever does what he is claiming & is

not a very serious minded person & rejection of such a person was forgone

conclusion.

15. Sell or Market your strengths in light of employers needs You must

impress the interviewing officials both professionally and as a person (attitudes,

personal likability-competencies) why you are a fit case to be offered the job.

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So interpret the employers expectations & project & showcase your answers,

your strengths accordingly. The strengths you have & the things you can do

well have to be brought out convincingly. You must confirm in the eyes of the

interviewers that you are likely to be both a productive (result oriented

professional) and personable (whole some attitudes, mature vision & likable

disposition) & thus stress your claims through the competency credentials &

attitudes (personality).

16. Dont be afraid to admit mistakes & weaknessesIf there are obvious

weaknesses (e.g. your poor English for an MNC job) you may admit it but

continuously stress your positive qualities and that how are you trying to

overcome this weakness and how you will turn a negative into a positive soon.

Do not be eager to unnecessarily divulge weaknesses, rather avoid it. Unless

pressed.

17. Provide Complete AnswersWhile very lengthy answers with lot of

extraneous & unwarranted matter is not likely to be received well, so also very

short yes or no answers. Give complete answers that show what you really

know about the question asked & its implications. The interviewers get to know

your capabilities only when you provide complete answers stressing major &

important points, & your understanding of the same. YET BE BRIEF &

PRECISE.18. Do not speak in MonotonesTry to vary the tone & volume of your voice

during the interview as you do when naturally talking on a subject. Many

students speak in so low a volume that one can hardly make out what is being

said. Extremely loud is also not acceptable but be sufficiently loud and clear.

Most students try to speak too fast and fumble for words & use Slangs &

create poor impressions. Speak at about 100 words per minute & after due

thought & consideration. The words will follow more easily & you will appear

more convincing. The normal speed we use is about 140-160 words minute, as

it they are in a great hurry to make their point & as if the time is running out.

You should cut down to almost half when answering interview questions. Most

young people are prone to speaking too fast, (this is a very common trait) or

using slangs or uncommon abbreviations-avoid this through careful practice-use

a stop watch or clock & time your speed in mock sessions of spoken words per

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minute, many of you will be surprised that you are speaking at 180 words per

minute & cutting down to 100 W.P.M. is quite on effort and only with several

efforts you could do it & that it sounds too slow & very unimpressive, but when

you will check up with some of those who hear you, it will be a surprise to

know it make you appear more serene, confident & knowledgeable and helped

avoid lot of fumbling, erro & oops!. Practice speaking in audible pitch and slow

measured tone-with a smiling and sometimes thoughtful disposition. Avoid

expression like err! Oops! you know like I said.. If you can record &

replay & re-hear; it will help you improve tremendously.

19. Keep a poised, gentle friendly tone, but not very intimate. Nothing should

appear to be artificial, overtly imitiative, odd (like too loud dominating or rigid)

in your demeanour. Remain your natural self, and a transparent and simple (as

apposed to very clever or cunning) person; and you will create the positive

impression.

PRACTICE MAKES FOR PERFECTION

Practice, Before you go through an actual interview, you should first go through a

couple of mock interviews. Request your College Placement Deptt. to carry out

such practice sessions. Sadly fewer than 20% of all graduating students take

advantage of the preparation in terms of communication skills Group Discussions

& Mock Interviews etc. And so it is not surprising that a full 80% end up stumblingthrough several evaluations & interviews before they develop a practical sense of

how they are doing but by then several rejections have started the demoralising

effect. And the outcome is neither discussed by the interview board nor they point

out to you in the starkest terms that why you failed to get selected.

The mock interview provides you with more than just a chance to work out & over

come your interview jitters. It is an opportunity to practice your answering style,

technique and answer alive & also to test your preparations. It is also a chance to

hear constructive feed back from someone who can guide you towards improving

your interviewing style & presentation.

Just a couple of mock interviews will result in a marked improvement in your skills

of getting interviewed. Why? For the same reason that a speech is not a speech, if it

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is in your papers or floating in your head ! When you deliver it verbally before an

audience then it comes out as speech. And the first time you try, it wont come out

anything like you initially hoped for ! It is the same with interviewing. It is not

enough to look at an interview question list & say oh yes I already know the

answer to that one ! You need to practice your answer Live & Aloud in front

of some one else. Practicing to talk to yourself in a mirror would be of some help in

initial preparations but seeking out a professional person putting questions at

random would give you a test as to how you actually responded. Ideally the

sessions should be videotaped. That way two opinions are available one coming

from the expert & the other through self-analysis. Remember that there is a totally

different perspective in listening to yourself saying something contemporaneously

versus the out of body experiences of watching yourself later on videotape. Just

as your voice sounds different on tape, so do your answers & demeanours.

Go through at least two or three mock interview; or preferably a couple of more.

For more effectiveness, review your answers every time, get a feedback & go

through another mock interview. Just in a few times you shall have gained the

confidence & fluency which will help you a lot in your first real interview.

*****

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Annexure II - About Interview Jitters

A strange kind of nervousness & fear syndrome overtakes, specially the young & less

experienced persons/students when they are first about to be invited to face interviews

and in some cases the nervousness symptoms may be very serious indeed-causing

trembling of fingers or creating so much of tension in the mind that the person feels

Jittery or Shaky hence the name interview Jitters. The heart starts palpitating &

mouth runs dry and the palpitation can be so deep as to be felt across the stomachthese

are called butterflies. This is not unusual -but usually occurs with all personsin some

cases minor so as to be unnoticeable in some cases so pronounced as to cause

butterflies. Whenever we as human beings come across tough & demanding situation in

life-where our stakes are high and the field is uncharted & unknown, the mental responses

or our defence mechanism automatically develops a fearful apprehension of theunknown-as to what is going to happen. Even very experienced artists when called upon to

give stage performances before large & distinguished gatherings or cricket batsmen when

going in to bat at crucial stages-experience similar pronounced symptoms. As soon as

you start playing yourself in & get accustomed to the proceedings the feelings

automatically die out. Therefore we can take steps to lessen itremoving it altogether may

not be possible-as it is our bodys natural reflex mechanism-but as one grows more

confident with more experience and practice-& the unknown element reducesthe

feeling reduces to manageable levels. Thus practice more-attend mock interviews-and as

you grow in confidence & you can anticipate to face the proceedings with greater surety,

the nervousness becomes that much lesser. The other is the stakes-the fear of failing. So

applicants must remember that there is a job for every one under the sun - and one

failure does not deprive you of other chances. Life is full of Challenges-and we shall strive

to take it as such and hope & try for the best, settling down eventually to our level of

capability & capacity & make a beginning howsoever humbleand through sheer

dedication & commitment grow & enrich our work lives & our selves. With this relaxed

carefreeness yet alert responses-that heavens are not going to fall if we fail & yet we will

be putting our best effort to seize the opportunity now available is the best mental

approach young applicants & aspirants should have. The moment you start viewing your

Stakes more realistically much of the fear is gone.

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As for immediate relief-take slow & deep breath & release slower than normal-and repeat

this often & you will feel instant relief. Students well versed in yoga, Pranic breathing &

Meditation find it very easy to exercise such controls & are unruffled by such eventualities.

Not only their confidence levels are much higher-their Aptitude capacities also register a

very noticeable improvement as memory & concentration & thought control improves.

Therefore all students not following any other sports/games/exercise shedule-must train &

practice yoga, pranic breathing & meditation. They will gain in a variety of ways; yet

regrettably very few students take to building up the physical & mental strengths regularly,

so necessary for todays competitive & stressful lives, because of a total lack of awareness.

Sipping a glass of water slowly also helps in removing the dryness & increases comfort

level. However it is the confidence generated out of Practice and realistic Stakeviewing with the correct attitude, which will help you control the nerves much better

alongwith Pranic Breathing, & meditation practice.

To give some idea to entry level students, we reproduce two slides from

NASSCOM (about what IT companies want from entry level aspirants

SLIDE A

What companies really, really want!

Todays IT-ITES organizations are on the look out for professionals that combine a range

of characteristics, including hard and soft skills.

They gauge professionals on the basis of their domain knowledge and technical skills

(gained through training, exposure to seminars, etc.) as well as the relevant formal

education (gained through the education system). On the soft side, companies require

people with special abilities and especial mental and emotional strengths.

In real terms these translate into the following entry-level, intellectural and personal

abilities:

knowledge of IT

communications skills

reasoning ability

analytical abity

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creativity

core discipline knowledge

emotional maturity

people sensitivity

situation sensitivity

drive and determination

initiative

ethics and integrity

physical and mental health

Typically companies, when interviewing candidates, rate them on their attitude, image and

appearance, communication abilities and technical skills and qualifications.

SLIDE B

ASSESMENT AT ENTRY LEVEL: TEN COMMANDMENTS

1. Energy, Drive and Initiative2. Education Performance Trend over Time (consistency)

3. Extra-curricular accomplishments to gauge Management and Organizational

Ability4. Problem Solving & Thinking Skills

5. Technical Competency & Potential to Learn

6. Team & Leadership Ability7. Schooling

8. Family Background

9. Character, Values, Commitment & Goals

10. Personality & Couture Fit

Documents

All About in Job Interviews