Interviewing Do's & Dont's

What To Do....

• Do express yourself clearly with a strong voice and good diction and grammar.
• Do pay close attention to your personal appearance; dress to your advantage.
• Do make concrete goals in planning for your career.
• Do offer a firm handshake.
• Do look the interviewer in the eye (but don't stare him or her down).
• Do fill out applications neatly and completely.
• Do have as much knowledge about the industry, employer, and position as possible.
• Do take criticism gracefully.
• Do equip yourself with a strong knowledge of the company.
• Do have prepared questions about the employer and position.
• Do display a sense of humor.
• Do display self-confidence.
• Do bring a pen and small notebook with you to the interview.
• Do remember the interviewer's name and use it during the interview.
• Do take time to think before answering difficult or unexpected questions.
• Do take an extra copy of your resume and a list of references with you to the interview.
• Do follow-up with a thank-you note restating your interest in the position.
• Do contact the employer by phone if the interviewer does not contact you one week after the time from which he or she indicated you would be notified.

What Not To Do....

• Don't be overbearing, overaggressive or conceited.
• Don't show a lack of interest or enthusiasm.
• Don't emphasize money as your main interest in the job.
• Don't expect too much too soon - be open to the idea of starting at the bottom and working your way up.
• Don't make excuses for unfavorable factors on your record.
• Don't condemn past employers or institutions of education; keep comments positive.
• Don't display a marked dislike for schoolwork.
• Don't be indecisive.
• Don't display intolerance or prejudice.
• Don't interview unless you are interested in the job...don't just "shop around."
• Don't be late to the interview.
• Don't state specific geographic restrictions.
• Don't contradict yourself in responses.
• Don't take notes during the interview - jot down your notes immediately after the interview.
• Don't forget: YOU control the content of the interview.
• Don't glorify your past experiences - getting into a job for which you are under qualified is not recommended.
• Don't assume that all employers will be delighted to hear of your plans for graduate school.
• Don't smoke, chew gum, etc. even if offered or if the interviewer does so. 

 Source:  http://www.acetheinterview.com/interview/othertips.php

The Interview Process

Once you have sent your resume to a company and survived the weeding out process, your resume typically gets passed along to the hiring manager.

Phone Interview 

So why do companies conduct phone interviews? Phone interviews give the company a chance to get a feel for your skill-set, interests, desired compensation etc., and see if there is a match between their needs and your strengths. If there is enough common ground, then the phone interviews are almost always followed-up by an in-person interview. Phone interviews are generally conducted in two steps. The first step is with a recruiter in Human Resources. The second step is a technical interview, usually with one of the people you would be working with. Technical phone interviews are usually only conducted for people living outside the geographical region. This is done because the company wants to have some level of confidence in your technical abilities before they decided to spend the money to fly you in for an in-person interview.

In-Person Interview 

 

If you survived the initial phone interview, the next step is probably an in-person interview. Every company has their own way of conducting these interviews. Some prefer to have "panel-like" interviews, while others prefer one-to-one interviews. Expect to interview with three to four technical people (most likely the people you will end up working with) and maybe a group manager. The entire interviewing process can take anywhere between 2 to 6 hours. If the interview overlaps with lunch hours, the company will usually arrange for lunch. Expect a wide variety of questions that range from common personal questions to very challenging technical questions relevant to the job you are applying for. Remember that the whole point of this exercise is for the interviewers to determine if you have the skills to do the job you are interviewing for, and if you are someone they would like to work with.

How to choose your dream career

Finding your dream career is a process, there are no quick answers for finding a dream career. How lengthy selecting your dream career depends on how sincere you are with yourself. It also depends on how much you are willing to sacrifice in pursuit of your dream career.

Do you know what you want? The toughest part about finding your dream career isn’t about finding the dream career. It is about finding yourself. This is the first question you need to ask yourself for choosing a perfect dream career. It is a seemingly easy question many answer by mentioning what they Don’t Want instead of what they Want. But that is not the answer that will ensure you to find your dream job. Knowing what you don’t want does not mean you easily arrive at what you want. Unfortunately, the process of elimination does not work in finding your dream career. You can go through a thousand “don’t wants” and still not hit it.  Start by knowing what you want.

Start by knowing your values, if you feel a little lost with finding what you want; ask yourself, what do you really value?  If your Answer is – Time then that’s a common answer we get from any one and that’s a good one too. We all want more time for ourselves and family. So, if you value time then you know the dream career you are looking for must offer more time.  List a set of values you treasure. Then things will begin to fall in place.

For a perfect dream career Know How Much You Are Willing to Sacrifice. Do you have the knowledge and skill set that fit the needs of your dream career? If you do not, how much are you willing to sacrifice your time in order to add those skill set in your Resume. It is always easy to find your dream career, How much you are willing to sacrifice in order to achieve it is tough to answer.

Source:http://www.tipsoninterview.in/how-to-choose-your-dream-career

Job Interview Tips

Looking for a Job or want to make a move in your career? If yes, then are you well prepared for the interview?
These are some of the questions that come up in the mind of a job seeker. We, here on Learn Interview Tips help you to get prepared for any kind of job interviews. We can divide the interview tips into 4 parts, like pre-interview grooming; tips on the visual aspect of the candidate; conduct during the interview and lastly tips on writing a test if required.

Pre-Interview Grooming

First thing, your Curriculum Vitae need to look professional. There are professional CV writers available whom you can hire to write your CV.  Now, before you go for a senior level or a entry level interview you need to gather as much information possible about the organization. The person should have the figures ready in hand as to the turnover of the organization; the total employee strength; the year in which the organization started up etc. This gives the interviewer a positive vibe that the candidate is serious about the company he wants to work with.
Along with the organization details the person needs to have a clear idea about the specific role for which he would be interviewed. Incase he has not applied for any specific role then while going for the job interview he should have some specific role or roles in mind. The skill set and qualification required for the job needs to be well understood. Before the interview day the candidate should do a mock interview with anybody in the house to gauge himself. Lastly the candidate should reach the interview place at least 15mins before schedule.

Tips on the Visual Aspect of the Candidate

The person should be in formals and well shaved on the job interview day. If you are a female candidate you can wear a moderate make-up. Before going for the job interview the person should not have tobacco in any form or should not chew gum while giving the interview. Incase you choose to wear a perfume; do take care it should be a tone down perfume so that the interviewer does not choke when you enter the room.

Conduct During the Interview

Firstly, after you reach the job interview room request permission to get in. Once you enter learn the name of the interviewer and shake hand with him/her, also remember to keep an eye contact while shaking hand.
The question put forward needs to be well understood and the response should be prompt. Do not panic or fidget with your ring while answering the questions. The answer for each question has to be “to the point” in proper and simple English, punctuate when necessary. Maintain an eye contact with the interviewer while replying his/her questions and while he is talking to you. Once the interviewer is through with his/her turn ask questions regarding the common challenges of the company, how the process quality is monitored and the work flow of the process. One most important point is that when it comes to your previous company never point out anything negative regarding the company or the people with whom you have worked. This would put you in bad books with the current employer.
Now the final stage of the job interview is to provide references, make sure to contact the references you would like to provide and seek permission from them in advance. Be confident that the references provide would be positive for you and mention their name, designation, contact details and the organization they are currently working with.

Source: http://www.learninterviewtips.com/job-interview-tips/

The Interview – Don’t Become a 10 Second Victim

A job interview is the most crucial pat of a job search and it is the one that decides the success of your job hunt. When you are preparing for your job interview you must follow some basic interview tips that will ensure that you face the interview successfully. There are certain basic interview tips that you must follow while getting fully prepared for your job interview. There are many factors that decide the outcome of the job interview. Some of these factors are very basic and can be easily taken care of by you as an applicant for the Job.

There is a familiar concept called as the 10- second victim in a job interview parlance and it chiefly refers to the failure on the part of the person to be interviewed to impress the Interviewer with his initial impression and appearance. This may be due to the fact that the first impression is the best impression and the person appearing for the job interview miserably failing in this vital aspect of preparation for the job Interview. There are certain preparations necessary for attending the job Interview and these relate both to the physical and mental aspects of your personality.

When you are not able to impress the Interviewers with your initial appearance during the job interview and it is so out of place and radically shows you completely out of shape for the position applied, then this 10- second disaster happens to you. You become the victim of the initial job interview bias, and you lose the opportunity that might have changed your life, or given you the expected career growth. When you have missed some of the basic interview tips this happens and the failure is due to your reason for omitting to get prepared properly for the interview.

The 10- second disaster is one of the worst-case scenarios that can happen during a job interview process. During a job interview the Interviewers are instantly influenced by some factors as soon as you enter the room. They can get prejudiced negatively based on your appearance, apparel you are wearing, your way of grooming yourself etc during the job interview. The body language you use and the way in which you handle yourself at the initial seconds of the job interview will play a major role in its outcome.

A job interview is a place where you are expected to market yourself, and for this occasion you must be in a marketable shape or at least in a presentable form. If your appearance is too much out of place so as to look extreme or radical you give the interviewers every reason to get prejudiced against you and the job interview will last only for 10 seconds. So understand the importance of your appearance and your initial impression during the job interview and avoid being the next 10-second victim in your job search.

You must understand that the Company that wants to recruit through the job interview is image- conscious, and project the same to its clients. As a part of Company’s marketing strategy, it is very important that their staffs are all well groomed, and have a professional image to show to their clients and to the general public. If your appearance at the time of the job interview shows that you may not conform to the Company’s Image, there is every possibility that your interviewer will be prejudiced against you. The job interview will become a failure for you and you will be the Victim of the 10- second prejudice.

Source: http://www.learninterviewtips.com/the-interview-dont-become-a-10-second-victim/

IT Interviews Exposed -- Tip #3

we're back with the third interview tip!

In the second edition of "Programming Interviews Exposed", we
talked about the need to "sanitize" your online profile. This
is even more true now, as recruiters make it a habit to search
for information about job candidates. They're looking for red
flags, clues that the person they're interviewing isn't who
they say they are or isn't a good fit for the company. That's
why you'll want to ensure that you use the right privacy
settings for your Facebook profile, that you remove potentially
offensive pictures, and so on.

But you can also do stuff online to improve your chances. One
of the easiest things you can do is participate in online
forums or Q&A sites like StackOverflow. For example, I recently
joined StackOverflow and answered some questions like this one:

Sample StackOverflow answer

Smart answers to questions that others have can go a long way
to convincing others that you're the real deal. (Of course, the
corollary applies: dumb answers -- or even worse, dumb questions --
will likely harm you.) Especially good are answers to questions
that rely on some specific expertise you've developed.

It's not something you can do overnight, of course. It takes
time to find and answer questions. So you'll want to start it
as soon as you can. And you'll want to use a name and picture
that clearly identifies who you are -- otherwise how will the
recruiters know it's you? (If you're a very private person,
this may not be something you want to do. At least, though,
you're probably not doing anything online to harm your reputation,
either.)

Anyhow, something to think about!

IT Interviews Exposed -- Tip #2

We're back with another interview tip!

Perhaps the worst thing you can do during a job interview is to
be quiet. Here's an example. One of us recently interviewed some
students. When asked to describe his favorite school project, one
of the interviewees said that he didn't have any favorites, and
just stopped talking. It was a big strike against him, because one
of the things that employers look for in technical interviews is
passion and interest in programming. Not every programming task is
enjoyable or memorable, but if you're a keen programmer there's
something you did somewhere along the line that will have piqued
your interest.

You need to be able to talk passionately and expressively about
a programming project you did, whether it's something you did on
your own, at school, or in a previous job. If you've NEVER had such
an experience, either you haven't programmed enough or you're in
the wrong field. And good technical interviewers will figure that
out pretty quickly.
  

All your talking shows an interviewer that you know what you're doing and gives them insight into the way you'd approach real-world problems if you were working for them.

Talking is hard for some programmers, this we know. But it's really
important. Don't just limit your talking to answering the problems
you're given, though. If you're given the opportunity to talk about
yourself and what you've done before, don't waste that opportunity.
Show them that you're a good programmer who takes pride in his or
her work. Tell them about the programming-related books you've
read lately (you do, don't you?). Don't hide in your shell. Talk!