Job Interview : Some Tips

A job interview is a stressful situation because the stakes are high. If

you really want the job, or need the job, it's important to put your best
foot forward. Here are 10 ways ( Tips ) to the situation for positive
results.
1. Know how to manage your emotions.
Developing your emotional intelligence skills will benefit you in every
area of your life. This will help you to manage the emotions inherent in
any interview.
2. Know yourself – who you are, what your values are and what
you have to offer.
The cornerstone of emotional intelligence is self-awareness. Without
this, there can be no emotional intelligence. You can't get what you
want if you don't know what you want.
3. Maintain your integrity.
Know what's important to you and why. Know what your values are.
Set your priorities. If you enter a company culture that's opposed to
your own, the results are going to be negative. If you go just for the
money, you will be disappointed. Integrated self means knowing how
you feel about things emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually,
and authenticity means remaining true to these.
4. Know your strengths and weaknesses and look for a position
that will allow you to work in your areas of strengths, and a
manager or boss who understands this concept.
They're the ones you were born with and will die with. The closer you
can work to your innate strengths, the happier you're going to be, the
better your chances of reaching your potential, and the less strain you
will feel.
5. Prepare yourself emotionally before the interview.
Anxiety, fear and anger can cloud your ability to think. It's important
that you be able to think clearly so you can present yourself well.
Practice relaxation techniques. Work out before you go, so your nerves
are settled and you're calm. Understand that in the last analysis, all
that's required of you is to dress, show up, do your best and then go
home.
Studying emotional intelligence as soft skills will also allow you to read
the nonverbal communication and emotions of the interviewer which
will allow you to steer things in a direction beneficial to you.
6. Work on your nonverbal communication.
90% of what we communicate at any given time is not through words,
but by nonverbal communication such as expressions, gestures, and
posture.
7. Expect the best.
Your self-talk is very important all the time, and particularly in an
interview. Remember it's YOU who puts the thoughts into your own
head. (If someone else has done this and you aren't mindful, get some
coaching. It can be changed.) If you go into an interview thinking, i.e.,
saying to yourself, "I'll never get this job," or "no one would ever hire
someone my age," or "here comes another rejection," you are setting
yourself up for defeat. Instead, program your thinking for success.
8. Be mindful of your attributions. They will color your
expectations and influence your ability to succeed.
Learned optimism means attributing bad things in a way that isn't
personal, permanent or pervasive. If you don't get the job, attribute it
to something not personal ("That interviewer doesn't know a good
candidate when he sees one"), not permanent ("Well, I'm sure I'll get
the next job"), and not pervasive ("Not getting that particular job
doesn't reflect on my abilities or the rest of my life").
9. Claim your successes.
When you do get the job, and you will, celebrate. This is crucial to
your self-esteem and personal power. Attribute it to things personal,
permanent, and pervasive. In other words, don't say it was just luck,
or the fact that no one else applied. Tell yourself it was because you
were the best candidate, this is a fact of your life, and applies to your
life in general. You got the job because you deserved to get it. It is
crucial that you celebrate your successes in order to build resilience
and manage your self-talk.
10. Get out of your own wake.
If you've been on a cruise, and looked at the stern of the ship, there's
a lot of commotion going on back there. The bow of the ship is
thrusting cleanly through the water, but behind the ship there's
churning water that even smart fish have the sense to keep away
from. It isn't necessarily bad, and there isn't always anything to learn
from it. It's just what the ship has to do to go forward. If the outcome
of one interview was bad, just keep going forward. Don't look back.

All the best !!

Compiled by :

Prof. Gautam Roy

Visiting Professor , IIBS