1. Introduce yourself: Introduce yourself to all the interviewers present there in the room. Say your first and last names clearly.
2. Give a firm handshake: A firm handshake is very important to show that you are confident. But don’t break the bones of the interviewers.
3. Keep a smiling face: Don’t put a face as if somebody died. Many applicants (understandably) do not like interviews but that does not mean that you spoil the interviewer’s day.
The interviewer does not expect you to glow his/her day but the most minimum thing you can do (in your own interests) is to make the environs happy with your smile.
A smile is as worth as the interview. Nobody wants to see a sad or serious face. Put a natural smiling face. Don’t fake it. Give a smile from the peon to the President of the company. You never know who is what.
4. Eye contact: Eye contact is important to give an impression that you are interested in the conversation. Do not look towards other sides or into the ceiling.
5. Be polite and courteous: Be polite and courteous to everyone you see, including the receptionist. Don’t sound rude or demanding. If it is a telephonic interview, you have to modulate your voice so that you sound soft and courteous.
6. Don’t fight where you are weak: Very rarely do the job applicants fit 100% for the job. There is always something lacking. Trained interviewers know this point. Hence, they try to find out the weaknesses of the job applicants. But they concentrate on finding out if your weaknesses are a major hindrance in performing the job. Having weaknesses is neither a sin nor a crime. The organization is not going to fall apart if you have certain black-spots. Hence, don’t get bogged down if the interviewers skillfully find out your weakness.
7. Understand the question clearly: Listen to the questions posed by the interviewers attentively. If you don’t understand the question clearly, ask the interviewer to repeat it. Don’t feel ashamed or hesitant. It does you more harm if you give a wrong answer to the right question. Right answer can be expected only when one understands the question rightly.
8. Answer should be straight and related to the question: Some people have a tendency to give an unrelated answer. Some have the tendency to touch all the topics on the world. Some beat around the bush. Some drag the answers.
9. Don’t give ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer: Trained interviewers use behavioral-based questions. They want to know more about your personality than past experience. This is where lots of job applicants get stuck.
10. Assure the interviewer that you are a fast-learner: It is quite possible that you don’t have a skill that the interviewer is looking for. Hence, assure the interviewer that you are a person who always wants to learn new things and can learn quickly. If you had really learnt something in the past, tell the interviewer about it.
11. Express yourself: You have to explain all your traits and skills explicitly by giving the proper examples of instances where and how you have used the skills and how it had benefited the team.
If you don’t express explicitly, the interviewer cannot automatically understand what type of skills you posses.
12. Do not speak in general terms about your experience: Give specific examples and narrate the story. When you speak in general, the interviewer is confused as to how exactly you can contribute to the job.
For example, instead of just saying “I am a good team-player’, back it up with examples as to when and how you used ‘teamwork skills’ and how your team got benefited by it.
13. Do not repeat what you had written in the resume: This really irritates some interviewers. The interviewer may have already read your resume ten times. It is of no use to repeat the same sentences again.
What you need to do instead is to expand on those sentences you wrote in the resume. Tell your success stories or learning experiences. Give examples on how you accomplished things.
14. Give guarantee about your performance: You must give assurance that you would surely make a difference if you are given the job. If your induction into the organization is not going to make any difference to the employer, he might as well not recruit you.
15. Link your skills and experience to their requirements: Find out first as to what kind of skills and experience the employer is looking for. Then, concentrate on linking your skill and experience to their requirements and expectations. This is a good strategy to win the heart of the interviewer.
16. Be aware of the interviewer’s time constraints: Majority of the interviewers do not have enough time to interview all the candidates in detail. Hence, it is important that you give the best impression within the time given to you.
17. Beware of your body-language: It is important to follow certain body-language rules during the interview. Don’t lean back. It shows that you are too relaxed and uncaring. Lean some what forward.
Your posture can also convey self-confidence. Keep your body upright to convey confidence. Be natural and relaxed.
