Secret of Success

Interview Techniques

•   Make a good First Impression: Always be prepared with a professional looking outfit and make sure you’re well groomed. Meet the interviewer with confident smile and shake hands. Avoid being late or always reach 15minutes before your interview schedule.
•   Do research about the company and employer before your interview: Start by checking out its website, social media profiles and other literature available online. Get a picture of the company’s goal and their product or service and what it stands for.
•   Sell your skills and abilities: As the competition is fierce, you have to demonstrate why you’re the best candidate for the job. You need to know your CV and the job description inside out. Pick examples of your experience or education that demonstrate not only about why you’d be successful in that particular role but also for the company and its values.
•   Use the STAR Method: Illustrate your skills with a support of an example to prove to the interviewer that your skills are genuine. These are the four stages of a STAR technique:
  •   Situation – Here, give some content to the story you are about to narrate, outline where you were and why you were there.
  •   Task – Then, reveal the task and also the challenges whilst doing it.
  •   Action – Next, explain the actions you took to complete the task and how you tackled the challenges you faced.
  •   Result – Finally, reveal outcome of the task while demonstrating your skills, what you achieved and also anything you learnt from the situation.
•   Aim to be calm and confident, so be aware of your breathing throughout. If you begin to feel stressed, take a few subtle deep breaths. Listen carefully to the interviewer and focus on the answers you’ve prepared.
•   Build rapport with your interviewer as an individual and not just as another candidate. There are few ways to follow.
•   Listen carefully to your interviewer because that will allow you to pick up on anything they might say about their hobbies or interests that you can refer to later in the interview or when you follow up.
•   Research the latest trends about your particular sector and start in depth conversation about it. Try to turn your interview into more of a conversation than a interview-style Q and A.
•   End your interview on a positive note: Be sure to thank them for taking the time to meet you and tell them that you look forward to hearing from them soon. Make sure you ask for feedback and do Exit on a handshake.

Book to Read For Interviews:

These book talks about how to create an eye-catching résumé, cover letter and how to improve your networking, interviewing, and negotiating skills, and on how to find your ideal career.

•   What Color is Your Parachute? – Richard N. Bolles’
•   How to Win Friends & Influence People – Dale Carnegie’s
•   Success in Interview – Written by Anand Ganguly and published by RPH
•   The Art of the Interview: The Perfect Answers to Every Interview Question – James Storey,
•   60 Seconds and You’re Hired! – Robin Ryan