User:VIJAY VP

Interviews are best learnt as a practiced skill and the more you practice the better you get!

⊗ Research the company that has called you for an interview. Look up the websites, research media articles, analyst reports, and leverage any people network you have to find out more.

⊗ Put your thoughts in order about the company now, that is what the interviewer will be interested in. Not in knowing that you have read up about them.

⊗ Rehearse your thoughts.

⊗ If there are others that you know that have attended interviews in the same company or for similar profiles in competitors, talk to them and find out the kind of questions they have faced.

⊗ Assess your skills and abilities and rehearse how you will deal with your negatives in a positive way. Develop positive incidents about team work, leadership and successful projects handled by you and rehearse these for presentation.

⊗ Reach 10-15 minutes earlier than the designated time.

⊗ Carry extra copies of your resume.

⊗ Understand that how you present yourself will state volumes about you as the first impression when you walk through the door. So look at formal, tidy clothes. For men a tie is recommended. For women watch necklines and hemlines.

⊗ Keep your phone switched off.

⊗ Body language is of prime importance right through the interview. If at any point you convey disinterest or arrogance or ignorance through it, the HR person will note in bold. Eye contact and body posture need to be right.

⊗ Never criticize a former employer.

⊗ Do not steer the discussion to salary or perks in the first round.

⊗ Expect the unexpected.

⊗ After the interview it is essential to seal it with a ‘Thank you note’