Best post i ever read from a blog named My World From My Specs.
How to crack that interview
The best advice given to me by one of my friend was that anything can be achieved with practise and preparation. It was the moment when I wasn't selected in an interview and was feeling very low. The future seemed to be dark and success in an interview seems impossible. The steps I took to come out of that dark phase and become more powerful and successful in life are described below
Preparation
 |
| Preparation is key |
I took the challenge very seriously. I searched on internet what a company, which I am targeting, expects from an employee of my experience and what skills are required. Then I made list of all the topics that I had to study. The list was quiet big but I tackled one topic at a time. I found the material and also the most probable questions related to that topic which is asked in the interview. Once I was done with all the topics, I had a master list of interview questions that could be asked. I studied the material and all the questions again and again till I felt that I was technically ready for the interview.
Practise
"I fear not the man who has practiced 10000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10000 times". Practise, practise, practise. If you have a difficult task in hand just practise. If everyone says you cannot do it -practise. If nobody in the world has ever done it - practise. Practise can do wonders. Right from our childhood whenever we made a leap in learning, in expanding our context, in achieving that impossible task, all has been a result of practise. It may be learning to walk , learning to write or cracking a difficult exam. Have you ever imagined if we stopped trying to walk after we fell for 100th time, then what would have happened? If then we depended on practise why not now. Do you remember class tests, unit exams, pre-boards. These are all practise for the final exams.
Once my preparation was over and I was well versed in the subjects, I started looking out for the ways to practise. I gave my friends a sheet of questions and asked them to ask me randomly any questions throughout the day. In the evening I use to ask them to take a formal interview. Taking advice on how I performed and improving daily was my main objective here. I have seen people doing interview practise in front of mirror, recording their answers in cell phones and hearing it back to listen how they answered and how it can be improved. Even my friends go for interviews in the companies where they never want to join. Their logic is that you don’t want to join that company anyways so there is no fear of rejection and you get real time practise of interview. Whichever way you may choose, but practise is the most important thing.
Resume
Build your resume carefully. It is the first impression that you are presenting before the interviewer. It should be in proper form, easily readable, free flowing and divided in different sections. Never write anything in your resume which you have never done and don’t know about it. If you want to write some skill or technology then do prepare about it thoroughly. Believe me it’s the most embarrassing moment when you are not able to tell that what that particular skill is doing in your resume when you don’t know even the basics about it. It’s simply a big No. Keep it simple but also keep enough points which can lead to enough discussions. Remember you are not there to escape from questions but to answer as many questions as possible. The only thing is that you can give the interviewer topics of questions through your resume or he will have to ask you questions of his own choice.
It's a conversation
Do understand interview is basically a conversation between the interviewer and the candidate. It’s always a win-win scenario in an interview. He is just there to know whether your skill matches to that of what his company requires and you get to know what the company's vision is and it aligns with what you have thought for your future or not. Make that conversation as easy as possible.
Many a times I have seen that a candidate doesn't give interviewer enough information about themselves in an attempt to avoid questions. It’s actually a wrong strategy. I would suggest a totally opposite one. Give enough points, subjects so that a good conversation can be established. Also if you give your interviewer the subjects you want to discuss, you can prepare for it and be comfortable discussing it.
Utilize the last question
Mostly the interviews end with a question that candidate can ask if he has any. Do try & utilize it. If your interview went well, you can ask about the company, what your role and responsibilities will be or anything about the interviewer. If the interview didn't went well you can ask how you can improve yourself or an answer for the question which you were not able to answer. I have heard this last conversation leaving a positive impact lot of time.
Once one of my friend was asked difficult technical question on subject which he didn't prepared well. When it came to ask the last question he said that I applied for this job because in the job description a particular technical skill was required. Is it not the case? The interviewer then understood that he was asking him wrong questions. He asked him the relevant question and he was selected.
Another one I heard when a candidate asked the last question that how can you judge whether a person is good or not in just five minutes of conversation? Interviewer had written him off but was impressed by his confident and gave him a tough puzzle to solve. He did it successfully and was selected.
Patience
Rome wasn't built in a day. Maybe you will crack the first interview you face or it may take twenty. You need to have patience and try relentlessly to achieve your aim. Just prepare, practise and never loose hope. As is said in one of my favourite movie-
“Chance is never last, it’s always second last. There’s always another chance waiting somewhere.”
Enjoy
Enjoy these days. Believe me you will be telling the story of your struggling days for years and years. These are the days when you learn the most about work, world, life and mostly yourself. Once you are through this phase, believe me you would be a much better person. Equipped with proper preparation, practise and confidence I was successful in the interview. I enjoyed the conversation and felt always in control during the interview.
Family and Friends
Keep your family and friends close at this time. They can be such a morale booster in struggling days, you cannot even imagine. Sharing your stories of success and failure with them make the life so much more meaningful.
I had a great party later, and gave my first income to my parents. One of the best moment of my life was when I gifted my mom a saree and we all had tears in our eyes.
What is life without a bit of struggle and difficulty? These are the things, which is source of all inventions and innovations. It had made the world what it is today. Remember "Courage is not the absence of fear but the triumph over it".
No comments: