Interview Hack Series

INTERVIEW HACK SERIES

Interview hack series is a series in which I share 15 tips on a weekly basis, which can help any fresher to get rid of fear of interviews. These tips will help the candidate to know everything you need preparation. It will also tell about the necessary requirements for a job interview.

I have conducted this series in my VIP community which is only for my internal members. If you wish to be part of it, just click on the link.

Check the following tips:

BE TRUE TO YOURSELF

You need to really true to yourself as if you are true to yourself and choose the right career option.

So how to chose your career.

Just ask 4 questions to yourself:

Firstly, what do you love doing?

Secondly, what you are good at?

Thirdly, what you can be paid for?

Lastly, the most important of these are our fourth question which is What the world needs?

The most common option which is in all four should be your career option. You also should do take this as a career option as the probability that you are going to flourish in this is more.

BE NATURAL

Natural in our behavior – At the place of the interview be natural in your behavior. Moreover, the way you walk, sit, or stand should be your own regular way which will help you be confident and keep your focus not distracted. Moreover, if you behave differently, you may sound fake, unreal. Also, your focus will be more on the way you are behaving then your interview.

Natural the way we speak –The speaking style or communication style needs to be natural and your regular way. As if we pretend or also speak differently, we would look fake, not real. Further, it will result in non-trust. Moreover, communicate in the language in which you are comfortable which will help you be confident. It will also make sure that you are able to put your thought to others.

Natural the way we dress – When we go for the interview, we need to make sure that we dress the way we do regularly only keeping in mind the formal aspect of the attire and dressing sense. Don’t try something new for the interview as you may be conscious and most of the time you will concentrate on how you are looking. Your also focus deviates and rather than concentrate on the interview you focus on the dress.

So, be natural when you go for the interview.

Research well

Research for the company

When you get to know about an interview you should do your research properly.

You should know

Firstly, what is the company all about?

Secondly, who are the people

Thirdly, who started the company?

Additionally, what is the mission?

Further, what is your growth plan with the company?

Finally, how did you get to know about the job interview?

You also need to know the venue and the transportation time it will take for you to reach the venue.

Further, Will it be feasible for you in the long run to manage?

This all needs to be known in order to prepare and also get rid of distractions because of this.

When you know all this you can focus on the main interview and the results can be good for you.

KEEP DOCUMENTS PROPERLY

Documents are the real thing that helps you to prove who you are? What you have?

What documents are needed?

The documents which need to be kept are:

a.) Firstly, Resumes or CV – 2 copies (tailor-made).

b.) Secondly, Academic proof – 10th, 12th, graduation and post-graduation documents, copy (current to backorder).

c.) Thirdly, Experience proofs – Experience certificate, offer letters, appreciation letters if any, during the working time period (current to back).

d.) ID Proof – Aadhaar card, Pan Card, Passport copy.

e.) Further, Any additional appreciation certificates which you would have received in your working time period, school, college, or from any other independent organization.

f.) Finally, Passport size photographs.

When you need them

When we need every time you go for the interview, meet employers, and also during your service time in short they need anytime. So, they also should always be available to you. Further, if not the physical copy, then the soft copy or scanned copy on the mail.

How to keep them?

You need to also keep the documents in two formats

Firstly, Photocopy

Secondly, Scan Copy in your mailbox

Have a well-maintained resume

We need a good resume:

For the first good impression, to reach the potential employer, also highlight skills/expertise/value, demonstrate your potential, increases your chances of selection and help to get the position of choice.

The contents of good resume are as following:

Firstly, Full name
Secondly, Contact Information including Phone number, Email address, and Address.
Thirdly, Education including Academic, Professional, and Technical in the order of current to back.
Further, Detailed experience, highlighting your day to day new works and achievement in the order of current to back.
Finally, Competencies/Skills which highlight the key positives you have which others do not have.
Achievements in extracurricular activities or any other special participation.
Personal details, including DOB, father’s name, etc.

The websites we can use for free designing of your resume are https://www.hloom.com/, https://coverlettersandresume.com/, https://resume2022.com/, https://www.super-resume.com/.

PREPARE WELL

Prepare well yourself with the knowledge which needs for you further in your career.

Though our education system does not prepare us for everything so we need to take extra effort in order to prepare ourselves.

Intellect & Knowledge

This is the first thing that needs to be prepared if you want to be confident and work in the industry. It includes skills which relate to Digital knowledge, field related knowledge.

Behavioral skills & Communication skills

This was considered to be an additional skill, but now it is one of the mandatory skills which is needed when you go for an interview, meeting, or for any other purpose.

Behavioral skills include interpersonal skills, leadership skills.

Communication skills includes the way you communicate with others orally and in writing.

Aptitude skills are the skills that play a vital role in your performance and your growth. It relates to analyzing your ability, interest and inclination towards some profession.

Have a magnificent first impression

What all to take care of the great first impression?

Wear a smile – The first and foremost thing to consider is the most positive and most confident asset a person can have.

Remember “A smile can make or break things”

Arrive early –You should reach the venue for the interview at least 10 minutes before the interview, but not more than 15 minutes before the interview.

Remember “Time is everything”

Dress to impress – Next thing to take care of is having a formal and impressive dressing style. It should be formal, impressive and at the same time, you should be comfortable wearing them.

Remember “Not to wear something for the first time to the interview as it may make you conscious.”

Confident & courteous body language – When going for an interview or for any formal meeting make sure to have a confident and courteous body language. You can have this

By maintaining straight postures

Do not fidget or play with pens, hairs or anything.

Maintain eye-contact for showing interest

Use positive gestures for better connectivity and courteous body.

Communicate to connect

While you are in the preparation phase you need to make sure that you prepare well for communication as this is going to be one of the ways through which you can have your network.

The bigger and powerful the network is, It makes it easier and better for us to get good interviews, selections, and salaries.

The first thing is to prepare yourself for communication which can help you establish yourself as a brand. Make a Social media network

Have a social media profile on various social media platforms like Linkedin, Facebook, etc.
Make sure you have all the things properly mentioned in your profile which tells about your skills, abilities, experience, and your personality.
Align all social media profiles with each other like the profile picture, photos on that, and content.
Tag people in relevant posts and if you are tagged in some inappropriate post then untag yourself.
Post only relevant stuff that can help you to establish yourself as skillful and positive.
Be consistent in posting and engage with people to have a network.

Have a great network

If you have a great network you will get more opportunities and you will have to be focused on only giving interviews.

Growing the network is important for:

1.) Enlighten with knowledge

2.) Learning

3.) Expertise exchange of knowledge

4.) Awareness of market scenario

5.) More testimonies

6.) More opportunities

You need to take care of a few things while developing your network which are:

1.) Be helpful – when you connect you need to be helpful so that people are willing to connect with you.

2.) Build a reputation – Connections cannot happen in a day, it is a time taking process and for this, your reputation is really important.

3.) Be visible – You need to be really persistent and create your visibility on all the platforms to be among the network.

Be energetic

Energy – It is always said that your energy is transferred to the person around you. If you are high on energy and reflect positivity the environment around you will also be positive and good.

What is the correct level of energy you should maintain?

Positive energy, adequate tone, the right pitch, enthusiasm is the correct attributes you should portray. For this, a few things which we can do are

Have a sound sleep so that you are fresh on the day of the interview.

Have a diet that includes fiber rather than a fat-filled diet.

Have lots of fluid.

Just close your eyes for a few minutes before you go for the interview and recall the incident when you were happy, you received some appreciation because of your good work. The energy at that time will be transformed into you through your thoughts.

You can also have a playlist of songs that provide you energy.

Have the skills to impress

The qualities which are the minimum needed:

Punctuality, Honesty, Modesty, basic digital skills, Basic communication skills, Strong work ethics, courteous approach, Knowledge regarding the job profile.

Additional skills are like toppings and if they re-added they will enhance your resume and make you more likable by employers, You increase your chances of getting selected.

And who does not want this?

This includes skills like time management, Goal planning, Leadership skills, problem-solving.

The types of skills which a person can possess are

Knowledge skills – Minimum needed, which includes basic digital skills and profile related knowledge.

Interpersonal skills – few skills of interpersonal and minimum needed like communication skills, rest if you have it will be added on.

Aptitude skills – These are the assessments that are done to know if your skills, the inclination is in accordance with the job profile because if it is so it will help to have desired results.

Have confidence and showcase it

Confidence cannot come in a day or cannot come just by saying. But if the following things are done, then confidence can surely be embraced.

1.) Have complete and proper Knowledge – When you have complete knowledge about all the skills that will be interviewed in the interview, then you are more confident and your fear regarding the interview is reduced. You need to have full information about what skills need to be prepared, What will be the process, and what is the demand of the job.

When you are aware of all this then you are fearful of the interview.

2.) Practice as much as possible – This is again very important as when we go for an interview. If we have practiced enough, then we will get familiar with the situation and we will get rid of fear.

3.) Reach well before time – It helps you to be familiar with the place and helps you to be confident.

4.) Just be yourself – This is a must thing as it will help you get rid of the stress. Just be yourself and do not think what the interviewer will say whether you will be selected or not.

Give 100% when giving the interview

During the interview is the time that can be called “DO or DIE situation“. It is the time for performance and if you perform well then there is no way to look back. Just pull it off well by being confident and present-minded. You need to take care of the following things:

Present well during the interview.
Have proper body language which means having a smile and eye contact during the interview.
Answer all the questions in a simple and concise manner.
Have an open-ended conversation and keep the conversation two-sided.

Once the interview is done, then that is the time to analyze your performance and if something needs to be improved then start working on the same. In the end, you can also ask for feedback from the interviewer if you wish to.

Answer the interview questions

How many questions would be asked?

This is purely dependent on what profile you are going for the interview and the organization.

How long should be the answer?

The length of the answer depends but try to have short and simple answers which are to the point. It is better to have 3 to 4 points.

Type of questions

There are various types of questions that can be asked in the interview including

Questions related to you – The questions which relate to you and what you have mentioned in the resume.

General knowledge related questions – The questions which relate to General knowledge.

Behavior related questions – The questions which relate to your behavior on a day to day basis.

Technical questions – The questions which relate to your profession and technical knowledge.

Thought process-related questions – The question which relates to your thought process in a particular situation.

Make a human connection

Every interview is different and so is every interviewer. So, treat them and prepare yourself differently for all.

When you go for an interview make sure that you are prepared for the unexpected, but at the same time be aware of your personality and the place, job profile you are going for an interview.

The person taking an interview is a human being, so more than what you have on your resume, it is what connections you develop in your conversation. This connection can be developed if you understand that the interviewer is for selecting the most desirable person for the vacant position.

Do give importance to the initial 1 minute of your conversation because that is the time when you get your impression created on the person in front of you.

I will again reiterate for any job interview, skills give you confidence, but the way you present at that moment is what lets your selection or rejection.

So, remember to be in the moment and give your 100 % at that point. Present your best keeping in mind the person sitting in front of you. Your body language matters the most so as it has been told many times. Try to maintain positive body language which we have already discussed in one of the tips.