INTERVIEW

PROCESS OF PREPARING THE INTERVIEWAND HOW TO INTERVIEW

Qualifications for the Job

Suitability for the specific job is judged on the basis of:
• Academic preparation
• Work experience
• Job-related personality traits
When you’re invited to interview for a position, the interviewer may already have some idea of whether you have the right qualifications, based on a review of your resume. But during the interview, you’ll be asked to describe your education and previous jobs in more depth so that the interviewer can determine how well your skills match the requirements. In many cases, the interview will be seeking someone with the flexibility to apply diverse skills in several areas. Pre-employment tests attempt to provide objective, quantitative information about a candidate’s skills, attitudes, and habits.

Pre-employment Test

Three types of pre-employment tests frequently administered by companies are job skill tests, psychological tests, and drug tests. Job-skill tests, the most common type, are designed to access competency or specific abilities needed to perform a job. Psychological tests usually take the form of questionnaires. These tests can be used to assess overall intellectual ability, attitudes toward work, interests, managerial potential, or personality characteristics – including dependability, commitment, honesty, and motivation. Drug tests are not conducted in our country, however they are conducted abroad.

Preparing for a Job Interview   

For a success interview, preparation is mandatory. The best way to prepare for a job interview is to think about the job itself.  It’s perfectly normal to feel a little anxious before an interview. But good preparation will help you perform well. Be sure to consider any cultural differences when preparing for interviews, and base your approach on what you audience expects. Before the interview, learn about the organization, think ahead about questions, bolster your confidence, polish you interview style, plan to look good, and be ready when you arrive.

Learn About the Organization

Planning your employment search, you probably researched the companies you sent your resume to. But now that you’ve been invited for an interview, you’ll want to fine-tune your research and brush up on the facts you’ve collection.
Today’s companies expect serious candidates to demonstrate an understanding of the company’s operations, its market, and its strategic and tactical problems. Learning about the organization and the job enables you to show the interviewer just how you will meet the organization’s particular needs.

Planning for a Successful Interview

How can you practice for a job interview? What are some questions that you might be asked, and how should you respond? What questions are you not obligated to answer? These entire questions are important for interviews.

Think Ahead about Interview Questions

Planning ahead for the interview questions will help you handle them more confidently and intelligently. Moreover, you will want to prepare intelligent questions of your own.

Interview Strategies 

You may be asked the following questions.
1. What was the toughest decision you ever had to make?
2. Why do you want to work for this organization?
3. Why would we employ you?
4. If we hire you, what changes would you make?
5. Can we offer you a career path?
6. What are your greatest strengths?
7. What are your greatest weaknesses?
8. What didn’t you like about previous job you’ve held?
9. Are there any weaknesses in your education or experience?
10. Where do you want to be five years form now?
11. What are you salary expectations?
12. What would you do if……
13. What type of position are you interested in?
15. Tell me something about yourself.
16. Do you have any question about the organization or the job?

Bolster Your Confidence berfore Interview 

If you feel shy or self-conscious, remember that recruiters are human too. By building your confidence, you’ll make a better impression. The best way to counteract any apprehension is to remove its source. You may feel shy or self-conscious because you think you have some flaw that will prompt others to reject you. Bear in mind, however, that you’re much more conscious of your limitations than other people are.

Polish your interview Style

Staging mock interview with a friend is a good way to hone your style. Nonverbal behaviour has a significant effect on the interviewer’s opinion of you. Confidence helps you walk into an interview, but once you’re there, you want to give the interviewer an impression of poise, good manners, and good judgment. Some job seekers hire professional coaches and image consultants to create just the right impression.

Plan to Look Good

To look like a winner
• Dress conservatively
• Be well groomed
• Smile when appropriate
Physical appearance is important because clothing and grooming reveal a candidate’s personality and professionalism. When it comes to clothing, the best policy is to dress conservatively. Wear the best-quality businesslike clothes you can, preferably a dark, solid colour.

Interviewing for Success

Be prepared for the interview by
• Taking proof of your accomplishments
• Arriving on time
• Waiting graciously

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JOB INQUIRY LETTER AND INTERVIEW

 Job Inquiry Letter and Interview

Some organizations require you to fill out and submit an application form before considering you for a position. It is a standardized data sheet that simplifies comparison of applicant’s qualifications. To request such a form, send a job-enquiry letter. You can also go to the organization and pick up the form.

Organizations use this form for information about your qualification so try to be accurate when filing it out. Your care in filling out application form suggests to the employer that you will be thorough and careful in your work. When writing a job-Inquiry letter, plan for direct requests: main idea, necessary details, and specific request.

Application Follow-Ups

Even if you’ve received a letter acknowledging your application and saying that it will be kept on file, don’t hesitate to send a follow-up letter three months later to show that you are still interested. Look at the following.

 

Three months have elapsed since I applied to you for an accountant position, but I want to let you know that I am still very interested in joining your company.
 Please keep my application in your active file, and let me know when a position opens for a capable accountant.

 

Unless you state otherwise, the human resources office is likely to assume that you’ve already found a job and are no longer interested in the organization. Moreover, requirements change. A follow-up letter can demonstrate that you’re sincerely interested in working for the organization, that you’re persistent in pursuing your goals, and that you’re upgrading your skills to make yourself a better employee. And it might just get you an interview.

If your application letter and resume fail to bring a response within a month or so, follow up with a second letter to keep your file active. This follow-up letter also gives you a chance to update your original application with any recent job-related information.

 

Since applying to you on May 3 for an executive secretary position, I have completed a course in office management at ABC College. I received straight A’s in the course. Now, I am a proficient user of MS Word, including macros and other complex functions.

 

            Please keep my application in your active file, and let me know when you need a skilled executive secretary.

Understanding the Interview Process

It is very important to understand the interviewing process as well as the hiring practices of the big and small organizations. For this purpose study the following.

	Big Companies	Small Companies
Number and type of applicants sought	Consistently hire thousands of new employees each year; have relatively specific hiring criteria, depending on the position; tend to be highly selective.	Hiring requirement fluctuate, often looking for flexibility, versatility; often somewhat more open-minded.
Person or department in charge of recruiting	Handled by human resource or personnel department	In really small companies, the founder/top manager makes all hiring decisions.
General recruiting and interviewing style	Governed by formal policies and procedures; typically involves series of several interviews; approach is generally systematic, well planned, and well financed.	Conducted informally on an as-needed basis without a standard procedure; hiring decision may be made after first interview or may drag on for several months.
Where/how they advertise	Use national and local newspapers, trade journals, campus placement offices, word of mouth, online job banks, company websites.	Rely heavily on word of mouth and local newspapers
Use of employment agencies, search firms	Roughly 60 percent use employment agencies; whereas 40 percent use executive search firms.	Agency use varies widely among small companies; cost may be a factor.
Responsiveness to unsolicited resumes	Received hundreds of unsolicited resumes, which typically get less attention than resumes obtained through departments’ own planned recruiting program; most companies will scan unsolicited resumes into a database if they maintain one; best to send resume directly to line manager or potential co-worker in department where you want to work.	Receive relatively few unsolicited resumes, so they pay close attention to them; however, given limited hiring needs, chances are slim that your resume will arrive when company has a corresponding opening.
Reliance on campus recruiting	On campus recruiting programs, relatively small in number	The smaller the company, the less likely it is to recruit in this manner.
Best way for candidate to approach company	Use campus placement office to schedule interviews with companies that recruit on your campus. If company does not recruit on your campus, call the person in charge of college recruiting, explain your situation, and ask for advice on best way to get an interview.	Check with campus placement office; try to make direct personal contact with owner/manager or department head; get names and addresses from chamber of commerce, business directories, send resume and application letter.

Understanding the Interview Process

An employment interview is a formal meeting in which both employer and applicant ask questions and exchange information to learn more about each other.

           

Dual purpose

1. The organization’s main objective is to find the best person.

2. The applicant’s main objective is to find the job best suited to his or her goals and capabilities.

Organizations hiring hundreds of new employees every year take a more systematic approach to the recruiting and interviewing process. Adjust your job search according to the company’s size and hiring practices. Start seeking jobs well in advance of the date you want to start work. Begin job search as much as nine months before. During downturns in the economy, early planning is even more crucial.

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