Interview Skills                Second Interview


I. Useful Advice and Tips:
  • You should be prepared – the more prepared you are, the higher your chances are to successfully deal with difficult questions.
  • You should prepare answers to some common questions that might relate to the qualities the employee is looking for, stated in the job ad.
  • You should sketch your answers beforehand and make sure you know how to start them, what examples you would bring up to sustain your point of view and how you would finish them off.
  • Don’t memorize your answers, but try them out on a friend or someone from your family, because that is the best way to test whether your answers are credible and good or not.

Structuring your response to interview questions:
As interviewers usually ask you to respond to questions about your experience in relation to the selection criteria, the following structure may help you and it works with about 80% of the questions:
  • Introduction: you might want to rephrase the question in relation to why it is important.
  • Body: provide examples following the model:
    • Situation
    • Task
    • Action
    • Response (how did others respond, for instance peers, clients, supervisors)
    • Conclusion: concluding remarks.
Example:
Question: Customer service is very important in this role. Tell us a situation where you have been proud of your customer service skills?
Response: I believe delivering exceptional customer service skills provides an organization with a leading edge. Two important skills besides your attitude and manner are providing customers with alternatives and displaying empathy. Recently I served a client who was very frustrated at not being able to access information because of a technology problem. I offered to take the customer’s name and details and telephone him when the problem was rectified. After I had followed through with this he was very appreciative and wrote a formal compliment to the organization, thanking me for the service I provided. This example illustrates my attitude of providing friendly, value added customer service.

Things to consider:
  • You should give yourself time to formulate an answer, because you don’t need to give your answers very quickly. So, don’t hurry!
  • If you sense that you started talking about something else, it would be a good idea to say that you took the wrong approach and start talking about the right one. If you correct yourself on the spot, the interviewer may acknowledge your skills.
  • If you feel you have nothing left to say, you should signal the end of your answer (“Yes, I think I have covered everything.” or “That would be all.”)
  • In case you need more time, don’t hesitate to say so, but remember to be polite: “Do you mind if I have a moment to compose my thoughts?”
  • It is very important to be confident and to highlight your achievements – illustrate your proficiency to the interviewer by giving specific examples when you succeeded in something important. You should refrain to the role you played in that situation, so it would be a good idea to use “I”, but you should also refer to how you interacted with your colleagues.
  • You shouldn’t criticize your current or former employer. You should give yourself time to formulate an answer, because you don’t need to give your answers very quickly. So, don’t hurry!
  • If you sense that you started talking about something else, it would be a good idea to say that you took the wrong approach and start talking about the right one. If you correct yourself on the spot, the interviewer may acknowledge your skills.
  • If you feel you have nothing left to say, you should signal the end of your answer (“Yes, I think I have covered everything.” or “That would be all.”)
  • In case you need more time, don’t hesitate to say so, but remember to be polite: “Do you mind if I have a moment to compose my thoughts?”
  • It is very important to be confident and to highlight your achievements – illustrate your proficiency to the interviewer by giving specific examples when you succeeded in something important. You should refrain to the role you played in that situation, so it would be a good idea to use “I”, but you should also refer to how you interacted with your colleagues.
  • You shouldn’t criticize your current or former employer.

The Final Summary:
In the end interviewers usually ask you whether you would like to add anything else to what has been said. This is a good opportunity for you to finish on a positive note, so you could state why you think you are the best person for the job. You could also refer back to something that you failed to mention before. However, it is important to keep your comments short, because you want to make a favourable impression.

Sample interview questions:
  • 1. Customer service is very important in this role. Tell us some situations where you have been proud of your customer service skills?
  • 2. Tell us about your skills in using technology to present information in a professional manner?
  • 3. Describe some circumstances where you have administered or coordinated complex projects?
  • 4. What is the basis of your team skills?
  • 5. How do you cope under competing demands and tight deadlines?
  • 6. Can you give some examples of where you have had to think laterally to solve problems?
  • 7. Tell us about your suitability to work with people from different cultures?
  • 8. Why did you apply for this position?
  • 9. Why do you believe you are the most suitable candidate for this position?

10 Rules of Interviewing:
Before stepping into an interview, be sure to practice! “A job seeker going to a job without preparing is like an actor performing on opening night without rehearsing.”

Keep the following ten rules in mind:

1. Keep your answers brief and concise – if you are not asked to develop on one of your answers, you should not take more than three minutes to answer.
2.Include concrete, quantifiable data – one is always more convincig if you include measurable information (percentage) or specific details, than talking in general!
3.Repeat your key strengths – you should be confident and aware of your strong points, don’t be afraid to state them (backing them up with examples, because then you are more credible)!
4.Prepare five or more success stories – you should make a list of your skills and choose one or two instances when you used them successfully.
5. Put yourself on their team – ally yourself with the prospective employer by using the employer’s name and products or services. For example: As a member of ___ I would carefully analyse the ______ and ______. Show that you are thinking like a member of a team and will fit in with the existing environment.
6. Image is often as important as content – pay attention to what you wear and what gestures you use. Studies have shown that 65% of the conveyed message is non-verbal: gesture, physical appearance and attire are highly influential during job interviews.
7. Ask questions – you should prepare the questions you want to ask and wait for the right moment to ask them.
8. Maintain a conversational flow – you should not keep up a monologue, but try to use feed back questions or voice intonation at the end of your answers to keep up a lively conversation.
9. Research the company, product lines and competitors – you should be informed about the background and interests of the company, because you might need to use it during the interview.
10. Keep an interview journal -- you should write down the essential points of your interview, so that you know what you should focus on or work at the next interview.




Interview related links


JOB INTERVIEW TIPS
Some job interview tips are given below, please go through it, that will help you a lot. Preparation and confidence are very important tips. Good preparation always creates confidence. So the important thing to an interview is to be well prepared .

DONT'S
As we have to consider the positive things while interview, also we have to consider the worst interview blunders.

STRUCTURE OF SCREENING INTERVIEW
The screening interview is arranged so that the greatest exchange of information can take place in the least amount of time

HOW TO GIVE JOB-WINNING ANSWERS TO INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
Human Resources personnel, professional recruiters and various other career experts all agree: one of the best ways to prepare yourself for a job interview is to anticipate questions, develop your answers, and practice, practice, practice.