Interview can be the turning point in any jobseeker’s life. Even when a candidate possesses all the essential skills and abilities, if he fails to perform upto the mark during an interview, he will never get a job. It is thus essential that you prepare well for a job interview.
Things to Say in an Interview about Yourself:
In a job interview, some of the questions asked for all job profiles remain the same. An individual should be well prepared to make the best use of such opportunities. These are questions where you can prepare an answer well before heading for the interview. One such common question is ‘Tell me about yourself’. Read to know the different ways in which you can answer to this question so that you impress the recruiter and bag the job.
Use it to Highlight your Skills and Abilities:
Yes, this is really the best time to tell your interviewers what skills and abilities you possess. Make sure you speak of skills that are relevant to the field you have chosen. Recruiters won’t be impressed or willing to hire a civil engineer who is good at singing or an interior designer who has a craze for dancing. You need to understand your trade and pick skills you possess that may help the firm grow or help you handle a certain job profile.
If you are heading for a job interview to be a developer, you may reveal your superior logic or your inclination to solve logic related puzzles. If you are planning to be a fashion designer, you can tell them about your expansive knowledge of continually changing fashion trends. If you are applying for the position of a creative writer, a fad for writing or greater imaginative powers are great assets and you need to tell your interviewers about these when you tell them about yourself.
Focus on Aspects that May Be Relevant to the Job:
Freshers often do not know the impact of their answers in interviews. That is the reason why they often come up with answers that may appear churlish and irrelevant. Such answers work against his chances of getting a job. When you are asked to speak about yourself, you must make sure you speak of things that are relevant to the job.
Avoid speaking about friends, pets or personal things that do not hold any relevance in your job. You are not just wasting your time but also losing out on a great opportunity to canvas yourself. You may surely speak of personal incidents when your leadership skills proved to be an asset in school years. You may speak of the initiatives you have taken or the tasks you have achieved. You may also speak about projects or presentations that you have made and how you performed in these.
Do not Give Answers that May Invite Unwanted Questions:
When you head for an interview, the first thing that you should bear in mind is that the interviewers are waiting to ask questions and dig out facts. You need to be very precise and to the point while answering questions in an interview. If you are too talkative or are used to expressing things in more words than required, you may actually invite unwanted questions in the process.
Like for instance, if you are asked why you left the previous job, make sure you do not reveal any personal conflict of interest or lack of understanding with colleagues. This will give them an impression that you will go against the management if the policies don’t please. This fact may work against you during the job interview. Being succinct and precise helps you avoid such problems.
Answer to Divert Interviewers to Questions For Which You Are Prepared:
This is yet another trick that most of the experienced candidates know to use effectively. If you are a fresher, you may not know well how to use this tactic. This is usually done by trying to bring up a topic on which you want the interviewer to dig deeper. If you are asked how was your relation with your boss in the previous firm, you may use this chance and say he likes you more because of your leadership skills. The interviewers will then ask you about your leadership skills.
It is really a skill to be able to divert an interviewer to ask you the question you want to answer. If you tactfully insert the topic, you can get the interviewer to get to the topic without suspecting your intentions. The best part of being asked questions like these is that you know exactly what answer will impress the interviewer.
Things not to Say in a Job Interview About Yourself:
The interviewers always ask you about yourself and very often freshers blurt out answers that reduce their chances of getting selected. Here are some things you should never say when you are asked about yourself.
1. Don’t Answer About Your Social Outlook:
Your social life and your professional life are completely different. These two things can never mix. You need to make sure that you do not speak of your family or your personal life in an interview. A brief overview is ok but do not get into details that are not required. You also must avoid stating your personal viewpoint regarding social issues. These usually do not matter in a job and it is better not to speak about it.
2. Don’t Answer About Your Political Ideology:
Every individual believes in a certain political ideology. While some think that democracy is a saviour of nations, there are others who strongly believe in socialism. Communism is liked by few others. These are all personal opinions and do not hold significance in professional life. Unless you are asked, it is best to stay mum about your political ideology. Even when you are asked questions like these, try to give a neutral answer that won’t hurt anyone’s sentiments.
People often wonder how revealing their ideology or mentor can affect their chances of getting a job. The fact is that many people are very ardent followers of a particular political system and if they hear views contrary to their own views, it may cause them to be prejudiced against you.
3. Don’t Say Answers that Point to Your Religion:
Religion is another sensitive point that you need to keep away from your conversation during a job interview. The world has many diverse religions and till we learn to be tolerant and secular in our outlook, things can never work out well. You should not speak or religious beliefs, rituals or thoughts during a job interview.
4. Don’t Say Answers that Point to Your Gender:
The world today believes in gender equality. While even today women do enjoy certain rights for being the weaker sex, do not expect these concessions during a job interview. Answer questions like any other candidate and do not let gender make you expect for concessions.
Interview Tips for People in Different Professions:
1. Sales Professional:
A sales professional needs to be extremely patient with his customers. He should be able to take stress. The skills that may help him are negotiation or bargaining skills.
2. Marketing Professional:
Marketing professional has to market his products to the customers. A convincing ability is a skill that marketing professionals must possess.
3. Interior Designer:
Interior designer helps to transform an empty house into a home that is livable. Superior imagination and creativity are ideal qualities for an interior designer.
4. Graphic Designer:
Graphic designers have to use the different softwares to create impressive images. A good aesthetic sense and knowledge of different designing softwares can be helpful here.
5. Engineer:
An engineer should have knowledge of different technical aspects. An ability to use the laws he has learnt in college to sort out issues can be particularly useful.
6. Accountant:
A person who is planning to work as an accountant needs to be good with figures. A good memory can be a skill recruiters seek in accountants.
7. SEO Executive:
An SEO Executive needs to conduct extensive research and needs to keep track of the latest updates on search engines. An ability to study well or be thorough with the research is what most recruiters look for in their candidates.
8. Fashion Designer:
A fashion designer has to come up with new designs for dresses and attires. He or she should know what the buyers are seeking. A good choice of dresses or a superior dressing sense may act in your favour for this profession.
9. Blogger:
A blogger needs to have good writing skills and a flair for writing on many different topics. Variety in writing and the ability to adapt to fresh styles can help your resume to get shortlisted.
When you speak about yourself in the interview, make sure you carry a professional attitude. The recruiters or interviewers should not get a feeling that you are boasting or bluffing. A negative impression during the interview is difficult to amend.
