HOW TO MASTER THE ART OF INTERVIEWING

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Contents

Why Write This Book Introduction.............................................viiChapter 1 Why we interview- What are we looking for?........................1Chapter 2 Getting Started...................................................15Chapter 3 Where to Begin....................................................29Chapter 4 Interview formats.................................................65Chapter 5 How to Prepare For the Interview..................................81Chapter 6 Answering Questions during Interview..............................97Chapter 7 Referencing.......................................................115Chapter 8 Body Language.....................................................123Chapter 9 Thirty Common Interview Questions and Answers.....................137Chapter 10 How to survive your First 90 days in a Job........................159Chapter 11 Advice to Parents.................................................179Chapter 12 Putting it All Together...........................................195

Chapter One

"Your future depends on many things but mostly yourself." ~ Frank Tyger

A candidate in order to do well in an interview must understand why we interview and what we are looking for. The interview process concerns meeting with a lot of strangers, and selecting within a very short period of time, the right candidate for a position.

When we interview, we make judgments on candidates, based on the facts available on their rsums. And what do we try to judge? We try to judge the current performance of the candidate, the future prediction, and whether they will fit into the culture of the organization. When we select a candidate, it is like starting a new relationship. We all hope that this relationship based on mutual respect, high expectation and ethical behavior will be long lasting. If the relationship faces termination, we would expect that it will have a respectful and dignified ending so as to protect the interest of both the parties. To a recruiter, bad selection of a candidate costs a great deal of money, wastes resources, and disrupts the business.

Interviewing is a necessary and perhaps the only way to select a candidate. That is why the process of selection begins with its focus on fact finding. We search for key qualities and attributes that one must have, in order to be successful in any work environment. I have put some of these key qualities into a simple formula which is easy to remember.

If you look at a job description, you will notice that these key qualities have been mentioned time and again. The more you understand these qualities and prepare for the questions to come, the better success you will have. Simple preparation will increase your chances of a better interview and give you an edge over the more experienced or qualified candidates; the result- you getting the job.

FACECIA: The Key Qualities Needed for Succeeding in Interviews

The acronym FACECIA will provide you with a key to the essential attributes needed by an interviewee to succeed in an interview. The acronym FACECIA provides a deep insight into those vitals traits on the basis of which the interviewer would judge you. These key aspects of an interviewee that would make or break the interview process are as follows:

Facts Attitude Confidence Experience Communication Skills Interpersonal Skills Analytical Skills

Facts

During the interview your interviewer will try to find the facts about your background. These facts will represent an overall picture of you and will sum up your experiences, your character, and personality. Always be sure to get your facts straight.

The interviewer being a virtual stranger to you would obviously try to form an overall idea about you through the facts provided to him on your rsum. He will peruse through your experience certificates and academic credentials and try to verify the facts provided to him. That's why, it is all the more important that whatever information you provide to your interviewer, must be 100% true. Being Complacent is a cardinal sin for an interviewee. Even if you have the adequate experience and educational qualification to qualify for a job, then also you should never get complacent. Whatever facts and figures you provide to your interviewer, you should mentally prepare yourself to be challenged about those facts. You must be able to explain any gaps between any schools that you attended or any job changes.

For example, if you finished high school in 2004 and attended university in 2006, you must be able to explain a logical reason for the gap. What experiences did you gain during that period and how it made you better prepared for university? Similarly, if there is a gap between your total employment years, you must be able to explain the gaps and give accurate reasons for them.

It's inevitable that you would feel unsure and defensive, if you are grilled about the facts presented in your resume. If you have a gap between your employment years you should mentally prepare yourself for such questions as- "So, what was happening from July 2002 through September 2002?" Don't panic over any questions asked about the phase of temporary unemployment in your career.

If you were truly unemployed during a period in your career, you should try to keep your explanation about that temporary unemployment succinct and factual. You should endeavor to highlight the positive things that you learnt and did within that period, and gradually try to steer the conversation back to your qualifications and interest in the job for which you are being interviewed.

Thus, prior to an interview try to work with the facts of the resume gap, and craft a 2-3 sentence response to an anticipated inquiry. Your response needs to be honest, yet it does not need to include all of the convoluted details or the background stories.

The same theory applies to any gap that you might have had in your academic career. If you had left your studies midway due to any pressing personal issue and then resumed it later, you should be truthful about it. But try to present the details in such a way that you are not left looking too capricious and fickle minded.

Attitude

The interviewer will want to find out about your attitude towards work. He or she will want to determine your reasons for applying for a particular job. He will want to know how many places you have applied for already. Are they all over the place, or are they specific and targeted at their areas of expertise. For example, if someone applied for a sales position, during the interview it would become evident that in reality they do not like sales, but would rather prefer to do a clerical job. This would reveal that the person doesn't have the right attitude towards sales, and as a result may not be selected for the position that he/she had applied for.

Thus, your attitude, towards the job you have applied for, would give your interviewer an idea about your propensity and competency towards it. You might have enough educational qualification to apply for a particular job, but if you don't have the right kind of attitude required for the job you would never be able...