I personally want to be on the Asking Question side as that gets we more information and I am really very curious!
Like many professions, my job as a trainer/coach and guide involves Asking questions… well of course I also need to answer the questions asked from me by my many learners who come to us for ‘conversations in English’ classes at our personality development center in Noida.
What are Jobs where the main task is to ask Right and Powerful questions? Some of the Answers we routinely get in my class include: Doctors, Journalists, Lawyers, Students, the Boss, HR or Interviewer and some people even comment that they really get a lot of Nagging questions from there wives ;-)… We have answer them all and most difficult ones in English
Life is about Asking the right questions even from myself… I need to ask more and more powerful questions: In my next post, I will discuss what are Powerful questions and is it an Art or is there some Science in asking right questions at the right time…
Till that time, Keep asking questions whenever you have one… Never say I have NO Questions when asked at the end of the Interview. “Do you have any Questions for me?”
‘How Do I prepare for my Interview?’, ‘When do I start the Preparation?’ There are many questions in (confused) Rohit’s mind plus he also needs to know if there are any tips that can help him to GET SELECTED. Similar questions do crop-up in your mind after you graduate, so you need an uncle like I had in 1994 or a big brother like Shashank for our friend Rohit. His concerns are: he may NOT be late to start preparing, what if he gets Rejected in the Communication and/or HR round; what if it takes more than 2 Months? what about the gap year?
Interview Preparation Tips
Back in September 1994, when I passed out with a Computer Science Degree in hand – not many companies had computers or EDP Department as they were called. There were no Information Technology or Knowledge jobs to apply for; As I got a letter calling me for an interview (it was a letter as email came much later). I went to meet my uncle- a GM in a Public Sector Bank, in order to get some tips on ‘interview preparation’. He gave me a few words of advice, I still remember his valuable words, “how you dress and address or say good morning etc. leaves your first impression as a professional – this makes all the difference.” He continued to tell me, ” dress decently, address the interviewer with a smile, use polite language and don’t worry you will get it”. I must have done well in my life’s first Job interview at DCM-Shriram group that I Got Selected as an Executive Trainee or ET (same as the alien character in a Hollywood movie ET). In a staff of over 250 people in their HO I was the first and only EDP person or computer literate! After some confusion in the HR, I was placed in the MIS-section as only they had a computer. With zero knowledge of MIS it was as if I had landed at USHA like an extra terrestrial 🙂
Are you a final year student of B.Tech, BE or MBA? Do you have Similar Questions? Who is the big brother you have in the industry to help you? Read the post for some tips from communication experts as you prepare to appear for an interview – in-campus or outside the campus.
Competition is intense and Preparation is a must!
Now, we get a a series of questions from many graduate, post-graduate students who are looking for the right career opportunities to work in Delhi/NCR and many of those who look for ‘better prospects’ after some years of work experience. We get these questions everyday by email, on phone or in person as people come to meet us at T.r.i.c.k.s – Personality Development and English Learning Center. We answer all your questions on How to: make ‘a good first impression and stand-out in the crowd’.
‘Common Sense’ approach still remains the best – always will!
So, coming back to your curiosity on what is happening in HR circles, how are hiring managers finding the right candidates, why would they take you. I need to know more about you, I do it with some questions, I ask them in face-to-face counseling or consultation with each of my students before I answer their Interview related questions. WE Need to Know:
Are you a final year student, if yes from where: A) private institutes that is well-known; B) government aided college; C) top rated college?
No, I have passed out last year (2012) or last to last year (2011); I have experience and I am doing a course in networking/web-design
Does your Collage hold ‘campus-interviews’ A) yes, they are being announced and I will get an interview; B) Yes, BUT we don’t get many companies only top students are given the chance – I am not there; C) Yes, we are assured 100% placement by our institute.
Are you good in your English and are updated on the current events?
Yes, I read the newspaper in English everyday and know what is happening on: Aadhaar card, story of -an alleged Rapist Godman etc.
No, but I have good English and will catch-up on the current affairs after submitting my project report, i have two months
How much time do you have A) No time to prepare for interview – just give me quick tips; B) I have 2 months but can spend extra time, if needed
What are your concerns regarding your Communication skills A) difficulty in answering tough questions in the personality round; B) cannot clear group discussions; C) I have been rejected earlier so I need to re-build my confidence… remove my hesitation.
The reality is that the Job scene is getting tougher and competition is intense, your chances to GET SELECTED depend 100% on How much well prepared and confident you are for you Next interview. Come and meet me or my counselor in Noida, if you need tips to succeed with you Interview and or a BOOST of confidence. Tips given by T.r.i.c.k.s are absolutely free (as I also got them from my uncle). We only charge for the Skills that we impart!
I am afraid to say, that there are centers in India, that call themselves ‘interview prep’ but actually run cramming workshops…they may suit you for some jobs that are standardized in nature
Times have changed, HR people are smart to pick the right people. NO standard answers could serve your need; but there sure are some Tips that work for most people!
Some Common Sense Tips we give to our candidates who go for interviews to get hired in a professional company or an MNC Job are:
Review the company’s strengths and goals: It is always important to know what the company wants to achieve. The more you already know from website/brochure, the more impressed the interviewer will be.
Have some information on the Job role (KRAs/KPIs for experienced people). You don’t want to go into an interview knowing nothing about what are expected to do. You can read the JD and ask around to understand more as you clear the rounds: technical-communication
What to wear for an interview: Do wear your Smile 🙂 and keep a positive attitude On clothing most experts agree that formal is best. This means wearing a full-sleeve shirt and good professional looking tie- if you can carry it well. Shoes should be clean and in good condition – color matching your belt. Women should wear closed toed without heels and formals with well tied hair. Be sure to look clean, neat and nicely groomed. Your interview attire should look great to leave a positive first impression.
Preparing for interview questions: Questions can range from your education and background to your personality. We could give you many standard questions as we get them from the engineering/MBA students who appear for the interview. And I have also gathered some from my HR friends. We also take Mock-Interviews (and pretty tough ones – with my own experience as a GM)
Answering Questions: We at T.r.i.c.k.s give you suggestions on how to answer a particular type of question and in other cases the standard or best answers for a particular situation job/role or a profile. We discuss the interview outcomes one-to-one in a friendly manner almost everyday. But Cramming does not work for any Knowledge related Job that an engineer/MBA would need… you have to be very lucky for it to work!
Memorizing of standard answers may be okay in certain type of Jobs like Domestic BPOs where a given script needs to be delivered. I repeat: cramming answers does not suite Engineering or management jobs profiles where you need to talk to natural speakers of English like software developers, web-site developers, mechanical engineers, team leaders, project managers or any kind of sales and marketing jobs: Such professions by the nature of the Job itself need good communication skills or ability to express themselves in Business English.
My most important Tip: DO Ask Back an Intelligent Question When the interviewer says ‘Do you have any question for me?’We cover asking powerful questions in our Conversation Skills program, we call the program GET SELECTED
Beware:Don’t pay any money to recruiting company. Any company asking for Money may not be the right place for you to work.
As you GET to join a professional set-up at the right role you will come to realize that communication is life! And By the way, Rohit was rejected once, but in the 2nd attempt after working well on his communication skills, he got a job offer of Rs. 2.4 lac. pa!
We only charge for the Skills we impart under the GET SELECTED program – which covers communication in English, Mock Interviews and Personality Development. We do get many calls from HR asking for good people, we don’t charge for placement support – we are corporate trainers not placement providers!)
If you need more of Tips from our communication experts at any time during the interview process – or need to prepare well , you can drop in an email with some more information on your back-ground…..All the best for GETTING PLACED WELL and well in time!
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