TIPS TO HANDLE JOB INTERVIEWS
TIPS TO HANDLE JOB INTERVIEWSI only came to the interview to confirm my feeling that I should never have been called for the interview” - job applicant during a sales interview. His gut feeling was confirmed. The company never asked the candidate to return! Have you too ever left a job interview knowing you blew it? Suddenly all the painstaking pre-interview research went down the drain. Your grades in school, your dazzling resume, and your cover letter- everything took a backseat. You lost your dream job only because of that one single mistake in your interview. Preparation is the key in leaping over the interview hurdle. In reality the prospective employer wants to know only three things through his questions: Can you do the job? Will you do the job? Will you fit in with their organization? Here is the list of 50 traditional questions asked by interviewers across the world. Armed with research about the company, its products and reading up your specialization, it is vital that you prepare the answers to the following questions before going for the interview.WORKPLACE RELATED
* Suppose your boss got angry with you for no fault of your own. How would you handle that?
* How will you deal with a boss belonging to the opposite gender, whom you find difficult to handle?
* How would you handle a subordinate in your team who is pregnant and cannot put in 100% in the office?
* What qualities do you consider most important in a superior?
* What should be the most important qualities in a team member?
* If you had to change one thing about your company, what would it be?
* What parameters would you use to rate a company as a prospective employer?
* Do you carry work home on weekends?
* If ‘no’ is this because you are not working hard enough?
* If yes is this because you are so inefficient that you have to carry forward your work to the weekend?
* Tell us about your work experiences in your previous employment.
* How did you contribute to the organisation where you were employed?
* Why do you want to leave your job?
* How would you handle a co-worker who is not getting along well with the team?
BACKGROUND RELATED
* Tell us about your subjects in school and college?
* What was your favourite/ least favourite subject at school and why?
* Tell us something about yourself that is not mentioned on your CV.
* Tell us about your family background.
* What is your father’s profession?
* Tell us briefly about your academic background.
* How did you take decisions at each stage of your life?
* Do you feel that your grades are an adequate indication of your academic years? If not, then why not?
* Tell us about your extra curricular activities.
PERSONALITY RELATED
* Where do you see your career 5 years from now?
* Tell us about problem you faced in your previous organization and how did you overcome it?
* What are your job expectations?
* What will you do if you don’t get this job?
* What are your strengths and weaknesses? Give examples. Will your weaknesses impede you in the job? How do you plan to tackle them?
* Give examples of your failures. What have you learnt from them?
* What values do you consider most important? and how will the value system help you in this job?
* What has been your greatest accomplishment?
* If you were asked to describe yourself in three adjectives what would they be?
* Why do you want to join this company?
JOB SKILLS RELATED
* Give an example from your previous employment to demonstrate your skills in handling people.
* How would you handle a boss who is younger than you?
* How would you handle labour management problems?
* Give us reasons on why you are the perfect candidate for this job?
* Do you have any questions to ask?
SITUATION RELATED
* If you are stranded on a desert island, what are the three objects you would need most?
* Your boss takes credit for your work, what do you do?
* You are supposed to co-ordinate with a team of people who are neither responsible nor accountable to you, to complete your project. How would you do it?
* You are posted abroad and an your family members call you home for an emergency. You have an important meeting the next day. How would you tackle the situation?
* One of your colleagues is inflating the expense statements. What would you do?
* You have to bribe a government official to get major contract. If not you then the competitors would bribe him and get the order. Would you do it?
OTHER QUESTIONS
* If there were one sentence that you could say to ensure your selection, what would it be?
* How do you think you have conducted yourself during the interview?
* If selected, how soon would you join?
* Why do you want to join this company?
As Dick Bolles, author of the best-selling job guide, ‘What Color Is Your Parachute’ says, “The more time you spend in preparation, the less time you spend on the pavement.” So the next time you answer that question about your weakness, prepare beforehand.
Remember! your job depends on your answer…
Here are 6 great tips you can use:
1. Awareness of your own interaction with other people is the first step in improving your communication skills.
Learn to identify which types of situations make you uncomfortable and then modify your behavior to achieve positive results is a critical step in improving your communication skills.
You can learn to become aware of behaviors in other people that prompt you to respond in negative ways and modify your own behavior to turn the situation into a positive experience.
2. You must accept responsibility for your own behavior and do not fear apologizing for errors in judgment or insensitive actions.
Asking others for honest feedback about the way you interact with others can be very helpful. Accept the negative feedback along with the positive and make changes accordingly.
3. Your non-verbal communication is equally as important as the things that you say. Positive body language is extremely important in your interactions with other people.
If your words and your actions do not match, you will have a difficult time succeeding in social situations.
4. In order to learn how to improve your communication skills, you must become a great listener. You must fight the urge to respond immediately and really listen to what the other person is trying to communicate.
Offering suggestions or criticism before you are certain of the other person’s intent can only lead to frustration for both parties.
5. Improving your communication skills is a process and cannot be accomplished overnight. Trying to improve or change too many things at once will be counter-productive.
You will become discouraged and overwhelmed if you attempt to change your entire personality all at once. Choose one or two traits at a time and work on those over a period of time. Learn to take advantage of your personal strengths and make a positive impact on others.
6. Maximize your positive personality traits and use them in your interactions with others. Good communication and great listening skills are the most important tools you can use in improving your communication skills.
You can learn how to improve your communication skills by developing excellent listening skills, learning to resolve problems and conflicts, understanding body language, and accepting responsibility for your own negative behavior.
Determination and self-awareness will make your desire to improve your communication skills a reality.
You can change your life and now is the time to start.
Exceptional communication skills can be Learned…and Mastered!!!
