7 Surefire Tips to Ace your Interview

Your resume has made it to the shortlist and you’ve got that precious interview call. You’re excited and nervous and eager to sail through. How can you convert the interview call into an offer for employment?

To make a success of the interview, you have to start hitting the right notes from before the interview. Here are a few interview tips for you.

1. Get to know the organization you are interviewing for. Visit their website, check on their mentions in the news. This will ensure that you choose a good workplace for yourself and also let the interviewers see that you are sincere about taking on their offer.
2. Arrive on time.
3. Carry information about whom you have to meet – the name, department, telephone number.
4. Bring a copy of your interview call letter, multiple copies of your resume (don’t assume the interviewers will keep them handy on their own, though they should!), and any supporting documents that may help with the interview – certificates, letters of endorsement, etc. These may or may not be asked for during the interview but it’s better to err on the side of caution.

Now for the actual interview.

1. Listen carefully, and answer exactly what is asked

Some interviewees, either due to nervousness or in an attempt to cover that they don’t have the answer to the question asked, say things tangential to the interviewer’s question. And then don’t stop unless cut off.

Avoid falling into this trip. If you do not know the answer, say so and mention the topics that you do know well.

If you have been asked an open-ended question – “What is your favorite feature in Oracle?”, for example – take a moment to think before you reply. If you’ve been asked for one favorite, mention one only and not an endless list.

2. Do not oversell

It is a common mistake to exaggerate your achievements, experience and skills in order to land a job. Some interviewers ask “How will you rate yourself on a scale of 1-10 in Oracle?”, and you feel pressured to answer 9 or you think you won’t stand a chance.

The truth is, if you make claims that you cannot back with your interview performance, then you are worse off.

Show yourself in the best light, highlight your achievements – but let it be real.

3. Adapt to the interviewer’s style

Just as interviewees come in different packages, so do interviewers. Some expect you to talk loquaciously, question, have a conversation, contradict them if needed. Others expect you to answer to-the-point, without contention, then stop.

Gauge their style if you can, and respond appropriately. (Of course, you also need to consider if you want to work at a place where the second sort of people abound.)

4. Prepare yourself for stock questions

There are some questions that you will probably come across in any interview. Here is a list – think through the answers for them before the interview:

• Why do you want to quit your current job?
  Tip: Don’t go into heavy-duty criticism of your current organization, managers or peers. Be positive.
• What are your expectations from this role?
• Describe a recent project that you have worked on and your contribution to it.
• What are your strengths and weaknesses?
  Tip: You have to walk the tightrope here, you don’t want to mention weaknesses so major that you lose the job! But then, I hope you don’t HAVE any major job-repelling weaknesses, do you?
• Are you willing to work overtime? Late evenings, weekends, night-shifts?
  Tip: Be honest. Do not make a promise at this stage that you will not live up to.

5. Don’t dodge those “riddles”

Occasionally you might get asked the famous Microsoft-style brainteaser questions: “How many birds are there in Chicago?”, “How will you build a search engine better than Google?”

The point of such questions is not to get an accurate answer but to see how you think. Do not shrug and say “I don’t know”. Give it thought, attempt it.

6. Handle written questions the right way

When you’re asked to write down a SQL or PL/SQL, or design an ER diagram for a given application, you need not sweat over getting every comma right. A mature interviewer will want to evaluate the logic, not the syntax.

Think over the structure of the code before putting the final version down on paper. This will also avoid rework and messy crossings. If it is a complex task, ask if you can first prepare a draft before the final version.

7. “Any questions for us?” If you have none, don’t ask one

Ask, at this point, questions about the role being offered and the organization, to augment the knowledge you’ve gathered through pre-interview research.

By the time this comes up in the interview (towards its close), the interviewer has usually made up his/her mind about hiring you. So, unless you really have a question to ask, don’t go into agonies thinking of a brilliant question. You will not be rejected for saying “None, thank you.”

Photo by Lew57