How to prepare for an interview Archives

How to Ace that Skype Interview – Virtual Interviews – II

by sincera | Feb 8, 2015 | Interview

Virtual interviews are the norm today given the globalization of the world of work. We have put together a few pointers on acing telephonic or Skype interviews for you.

Skype is a largely preferred medium for interviewing in the current times. Here are some interview tips for getting the process right!

1. Your Environment: It doesn’t matter whether or not you believe in being orderly and organized when it comes to your surroundings. You have just got to pull up your socks (well, in this case pick them up too!) and tidy up the room you choose for your video interview. The last thing you want is for the interviewer to get distracted by the sight of last night’s stale pizza on your bed or the unconquerable pile of clothes on the chair. Your safest bet is to sit against the background of a blank wall, if at all possible. Choose a spot which has good lighting and minimum distraction.

2. Take care of the noise: Have babies? Put them to sleep. Dogs? Leave them at the neighbor’s. Spouse? Make sure you’ve done all your chores! The microphone really does pick up a lot more background noise than you would think and is extremely distracting.

3. Dress up suitably: You might be giving the interview at home, even then, a t-shirt and boxers would be absolutely inappropriate for the same. Wear a suit or at least formal clothing for the call. Yes, it does make a big difference!

4. Your Skype Name, Display Picture and Status

a) Change your skype name to something professional if it already isn’t. You don’t want your prospective employer to be talking to “ZombieBethany” or “HunyBunch4U”. Or do you?

b) It is better to have no display picture at all than a curiously distracting one, you know the kinds we mean!

c) To avoid getting other calls at the same time, make sure to put up a DND/Busy status for your profile.

5. The Basics: Adjust the webcam/camera. You don’t want to be too close or too far away from it. Make sure you have a good and steady internet connection which doesn’t break off every few seconds. A “can you hear me now?” every now and then is very distracting!

6. Body Language: Remember to treat this just like a personal interview. Your body language would certainly count. Remember to not gesticulate a lot and remember to smile! Maintain a good posture and appear relaxed. These things always score you brownie points! Also, remember to look at the camera, and not at the screen. It might be tempting for you to shoot glances at the screen to see yourself, but avoid that. If it was a personal interview, maintain eye-contact would’ve been a must. Same goes for your Skype interview.

7. Practice Makes Perfect: Once again, a mock skype call with a friend or a colleague will give you an idea about how you appear on video, how stable your internet connection is, the body language you use and the sound quality. Go over the predictable questions you might be asked during the interview. Based on the feedback you receive, work on what didn’t work for the mock interview.

8. Unforeseen tech glitches: Even after all the preparation, there might be some technical glitches and here is how Forbes Magazine suggests we deal with it:

“When you’re relying on video or phone equipment, there’s a good chance you’ll experience a technical glitch: a weak connection, interference or garbled signals.

You may hesitate to draw attention to the problem, but you don’t want to give an inaccurate answer because you didn’t understand the question. A simple “excuse me?” works fine. But if the problem persists, bring it up.

If you’re getting too many blips, it’s good to stop the call (and redial). The future employers may take away that you’re a problem-solver, and you would provide top-quality service if employed by them. Not to mention that fixing this kind of issue is just plain polite.”

9. On screen distractions: Close all web browsers, or any other program that might have been running prior to the interview. We would also suggest you putting up a blank wallpaper so that you have absolutely no distractions on screen and the interviewer has your complete attention.

10. Follow up: Send across a thank you letter post the interview (the next day) and enquire about the course of events to follow.

All the very best !

Preparing for an Interview – The Day Before the Big Day !

by sincera | Jan 21, 2015 | Interview, Office Etiquette

When appearing for an interview, most people hardly ever plan out for the interview before the big day. This is a tragic mistake for we all know preparedness is the key. When you go prepared for your job interview, it speaks volumes about your professionalism and your enthusiasm for the job. Here are a few pointers that you can use to groom yourself before that big day of the interview.

Practice makes for perfection

Plain and simple, you cannot be good at something if you don’t practice—and this goes for interviewing as well. It is helpful to review potential interview questions a day before by yourself or with friends and family members so that you are confident during the interviews. In addition, the more prepared you are, the better equipped you’ll be for interview success.

Do your research

Before you go on any job interview, it is extremely important to find out as much as you can about the company, the position, and the person/people who will be interviewing you (if possible). In other words, put in the time to research. Google the company and read up as much as you can about it. Understanding the company’s mission and history can not only help you in determining the sorts of questions to ask, but can also help you decide whether it’s the right place for you.

The more you know, the better equipped you’ll be to give an intelligent answer. You can also strike up a conversation with the interviewer and calmly describe how you fit in with the principles and agenda of the entire company and how you can help the company grow if you’re given the job. To start preparing questions to support your application, try and take out the job description, details about the interviewer or any other material you have and see if you can find something in those to ask cracking, awesome questions.

If not, think like an interviewer. What would you love to be asked about the job or role if you were interviewing?

Go back to the job description and ask yourself, what problems are they trying to solve with this position?

Dress to impress

Clothes count. Appropriate attire is not only respectful, but refreshing. So what’s the appropriate dress code for an interview? Dress code may vary depending on the formality of the workplace or the job. If you’re not sure what to wear, it’s perfectly acceptable to check with the person scheduling the interview. You want the first impression you make on your potential employer to last. So, deciding on an appropriate attire is important, so don’t forget to spend some time planning your outfit accordingly. Avoid non traditional clothing, heavy jewelry, strong perfumes and loud colours.

Ammunition

Bring in the heavy guns! You’ve practiced your interview answers, done your research, and prepared a series of questions, what’s next? Now is your time to shine. Make a list of your skills, certifications, abilities, experiences, and professional or personal qualities that are critical to the position, and review your list, and the job requirements, prior to the interview so that you are fully prepared to share with the employer your qualifications.

Everyone loves a good show-and-tell. If you have concrete examples that demonstrate what you can do for the role, like a personal website you designed, or a business project you created in college, definitely share it! You can try and tailor examples of your qualifications to the company and the position you’re applying for, like preparing a simple audit of the company site and preparing a list of recommendations the company can use for improvements. The more specific these examples are to the position, the more the hiring manager will see that you have the skills needed to do the job.

Know your way

Such a simple concept, yet many of us still manage to get lost on our way to our interviews, which is totally understandable. You might get delayed or even lost looking for the office and the clock ticking down on your scheduled interview time, Not the best situation to be in, but an avoidable one at least, if you know your way. That is why it is recommended reading over the google map directions and writing down the number of the front desk (or anyone within the company willing to help if you are lost) before you head out of thedoor. Being late even before you join the workforce isn’t a good sign. Also, do carry a bottle of water, its life saving potential is under rated!

Lastly…

Smiles are contagious. Go into your interview with an enthusiastic and positive attitude, and sure enough your interviewer will feel the positive vibes. Your resume gets you through the door, and the ability to communicate your skillsets and personality gets you hired. So don’t forget to be your inherent awesome self!