INTERVIEW

The term interview means to ‘view each other’. It is an activity during which a conversation
takes place between two people or more, where questions are asked to a person to get the
required responses or answers.
Therefore, an interview is based on oral enquiry and oral response. It has a well-defined
purpose and structure- a beginning, a middle and an end. Interviews are used for qualitative
research, journalism, media reporting, employment, promotion, counselling and so on.
There are several kinds of interviews. The type of interview depends on the purpose of the
interview. They can be formal, semi-formal or informal in nature.
Tips for the interviewer:

• The interview should be fixed for a time and place that is convenient. It should also be
fixed well in advance.
• The interviewer should find out as much as he can about the interviewee- his/her
background, area of interest, experience, and even his/her views on the subject which
is to be discussed. On the basis of this research, the interviewer should prepare a list
of questions.
• Depending on the situation, the list of questions may be handed over to the
interviewee before the interview, as it may help the interviewee to give more
thoughtful answers. However, this cannot be done in some situations, for eg. A job or
promotion interview.
• Questions should be open-ended. The questions should begin with why or how so that
the interviewee has the chance to give some background, details or express an
opinion. Questions that are close-ended receive a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ response and very
limited information is shared as a result.
• When the interviewee is speaking, do not interrupt or give your observations. The
interviewer should listen attentively and only nod and smile.
• Greet the interviewee politely at the beginning of the interview and thank him or her
at the end of the interview.
• Make notes immediately at the end of the interview.

Tips for the interviewee

• The interviewee should greet the interviewer politely and thank him or them at the
end of the interview.
• The interviewee should listen and understand the question properly before
answering, without interrupting. Allow the interviewer to finish asking the question
before replying.
• The interviewee should give a brief, concise answer that should be specific and not
deviate from the question that has been asked. During job or promotion interviews,
the candidate should not be vague and should give specific answers.
• The interviewee’s answers should be rational and logical. If he/she does not agree
with the interviewer upon some point, then he/she should politely and logically
present his viewpoint.
• If the interviewee does not know the answer to some question, he/she should admit
that instead of giving an incomplete or incorrect answer, as this will reduce the chance
for success, especially during job and promotion interviews.
• The interviewee should speak and express his/her thoughts clearly
• The interviewee should display a positive attitude even when he/she is asked difficult
or probing questions by the interviewer.

Job Interview
• Bob Adams (hiring manager): Susan Smith, I assume? I’m Bob Adams, pleased to meet
you.
• Susan Smith (job candidate): Good to meet you, too!
• Bob Adams: Thanks so much for coming in to see us today! I was very impressed with
your resume. Oh, and I noticed that your last job was just a few blocks from here? You
must like this area?
• Susan Smith: Why, thank you, and thank you for seeing me. Yes, I worked right up on
State Street. I find it a good area to work in, and an easy commute for me.
• Bob: So, it appears from your resume that both of your last two jobs have a lot of
similarities with the position we have open?
• Susan: Yes, they do. I feel very well prepared for this opening. I’ve had solid experience
in all dimensions of the job.
• Bob: How would this job seem to be different than your current situation?
• Susan: While the job function is pretty similar, I think the company situation would be
quite a bit different. In my present job, I feel stifled in that I need to strictly stay within
the bounds of my job description. I can’t really interact with people in other
departments, for example, without going through my boss. She’s not a bad person.
But there are limits to what I can and can’t do on the job.
• Bob: Any other things that you would hope would be different?
• Susan: I’ve performed well in my job and contributed a lot. But promotions and pay
increases are slow at my current firm. It’s really an environment where seniority
matters at least as much as performance. I’d hope to get a better compensation
package.
• Bob: What level of compensation are you looking for?
• Susan: I don’t have an exact figure in mind, but to move from the current situation
that I am very secure in, it would have to be attractive.
• Bob: Could you tell me what you are earning now?
• Susan: My base pay is in the mid-90s, plus my bonus can easily run another 15 percent
or so.
• Bob: Beyond the day-to-day client servicing, could you tell me about any particular
initiatives of which you are particularly proud in your current position?
• Susan: More than anyone else in my office, I have led my clients aggressively into
alternative investments. This has not only led to slightly higher returns, but it has also
 decreased their volatility, and I think more importantly, tightened my relationship
with them and built their trust with me. I have shared this success with a couple other
managers in my office and they have started to follow this model.
• Bob: You mentioned earlier that you felt somewhat—perhaps the word is “stifled”—
by your current boss. I wonder if you could compare or contrast this to your previous
bosses. And I wonder if you could describe how you feel your boss could get your best
work from you?
• Susan: My previous boss was great. I met with him a lot and learned from him a lot.
He gave me specific objectives and goals and would always be there when I needed
him for advice, but unlike my current boss I didn’t feel that he was constantly checking
up on me. He also was very comfortable when I interacted directly with other
departments; he wasn’t at all territorial that way. But I did keep him informed of
substantive issues and any interactions with other departments that might matter. So
I would say this previous boss was an excellent model on how to get my best work out
of me.
• Bob: Can you tell me about your approach to clients? How does it differ from people
around you? And has it changed much as you have changed employers?
• Susan: I am working with a high-income, highly educated clientele, and I respect them.
Unlike some of my colleagues, I don’t feel that my job is to sell them new products.
Instead, I feel my value added to them is to educate them about new products and
then let them decide whether it works for them. Each client situation I view as being
unique. Each one has a different risk/return profile. And each one takes a different
amount of time and education to get used to considering a new product. I don’t push
products. But at the same time, my adaption rate of alternative products has over time
become the highest in the office. My clients respect me and I respect them. My high
referral rates underscore this.
• Bob: Susan, I know you need to go; you are here on your lunch hour and need to get
back to work. But I really like what I have heard. I think that your style could fit in
exceptionally well and you could be very happy here. I’ll be back to you shortly to set
up some time for a follow-up meeting with some of my colleagues as well.
• Susan: Sounds great. I have heard positive things about your firm.

Exclusive Interview with Sania Mirza

For Sania Mirza, 2011 has been a fairly good year. The Indian climbed from no. 160 in
the singles rankings to the top 100 and also reached the top 10 in doubles, making the
semi-finals of Wimbledon and the finals of the French Open with Russian Elena
Vesnina. Sportskeeda.com caught up with Sania as she was training in Mumbai during
the off-season to speak to her about the recovery from her knee surgery and her plans
for the 2012 season, among other things.

Interviewer: How is the recovery from the knee surgery going and are you pain-free these
days?

Sania Mirza: It’s been going good. It’s been about 8 weeks now and I’m recovering well. You
know sometimes there is some swelling but I’m getting better. I’m taking all the precautions
that I need to be taking. It’s improved a lot better than what the doctors had thought. I have
a couple of weeks before my I play my first tournament and hopefully, I should be a lot
stronger by then.

Interviewer: You’ve had several serious injuries over the past few years. That must’ve been
very frustrating for you as an athlete to have several starts and stops in your career..
Sania Mirza: You know, today tennis is a sport where injury has become a part of our life. I’ve
been unfortunate to have three major surgeries before I was 25, but there are a lot of players
who are injured all the time. But that’s how much work is required of our bodies. It is
frustrating but that’s something every athlete has to deal with. We have to try to manage it
as well as possible; try to come out strong and try to avoid having major injuries. My injuries
were all accidents, kind of, so there’s nothing you can do about that. So, yes, basically it is
frustrating but you just have to accept it.
Interviewer: What is your next immediate goal in tennis?
Sania Mirza: My immediate goal is obviously to be as healthy as possible for the Olympics and
obviously have a full year of good health. I had an almost full season and then I hurt my knee
at the end of the year. I’d like to have a full season hopefully without any major injuries.
Interviewer: Are there any technical aspects or specific areas of your game that you have
been working on in the off-season?
Sania Mirza: Yes, there are some things. I am trying to make my defense better; trying to
incorporate that a little bit with offense because the courts have become a lot slower than
before and the balls have become heavier. It’s very difficult to hit outright clean winners. You
need to build up every point. Physically you need to be prepared to work really hard. Already
coming back from knee surgery, I was doing 5 hours of rehab. More importantly, you need to
be physically a lot stronger in today’s tennis than you needed to be ten years ago maybe.
Interviewer: Have you finalized your mixed doubles partner for the Australian Open?
Sania Mirza: No, we’re not sure yet. We’re still talking and whenever we know we shall let
everyone know as well.
Interviewer: Are you considering participating in the women’s doubles at the Olympics next
year if that’s possible?
Sania Mirza: I don’t know yet. 8 months is a long time in a tennis player’s life. A lot happens.
We’ll just have to wait and see. In tennis, it’s not like you get a direct entry like you do in other
sports. We have to play the tour to get to play there. So, let’s see how it goes.
Interviewer: Do you see yourself staying involved with the sport after you quit? – coaching,
academy, or commentating maybe?
Sania Mirza: Yes. I mean I can’t see myself away from the sport because it’s something that
I’ve done all my life. And it’s something I love and it’s my passion. So definitely yes. There
could be a few things. Having an academy, even commentary for that matter. I haven’t
actually thought about it very specifically to be honest. But all the doors are open.
Interviewer: What happens when a famous tennis star and a famous cricket star stay under
the same roof?
Sania Mirza: (Laughing) Nothing happens. It’s nice in a way sometimes, you know, because
him playing at the highest level in his sport and me playing at the highest level in my sport,
there’s a lot of things that are understood and that don’t really need to be explained. If we
have a bad day at the office, we know we shouldn’t be talking to each other. It’s stuff like that.
Small things matter. But otherwise, it’s good. We understand each other’s lives and we’ve,
kind of, lived each other’s lives separately. So, it’s actually very nice and very relaxed. When
we’re both off, we both like doing the same things. And when we’re training, the focus is
completely on that.
Interviewer: Has marriage changed your attitude or perspective in any way towards your
profession?
Sania Mirza: No, not on my profession. Maybe it’s changed me a little bit as a person but not
really towards my profession.
Interviewer: It has been more than seven years since you broke through on the international
circuit. We haven’t seen any other Indian woman in the top 500 also. Do you have any
thoughts on why that’s so?
Sania Mirza: Honestly, I don’t know why. I wish I did because if I knew why, then I could try
to do something about it. I actually don’t know. It’s very sad. Today, the opportunities are a
lot more. There is much better infrastructure. Tennis is more recognized now than when I
came on the tour and when I started playing. There’s a lot more things that the young aspiring
tennis players have today. So, I don’t know. It could be a lot of things. It takes a lot to be a
professional tennis player. But I can’t pinpoint on any one thing. I really hope we find a way
to break that barrier and try to have another player doing well on the tour as well.
Interviewer: Any young Indian junior girls that you have seen that you feel has a lot of
potential?
Sania Mirza: I was in Delhi and there was a Fed Cup camp going on which I was in. I was there
for about six days. There were a lot of young girls which I hadn’t seen before. But young, as
in they were 16, 17, 18 years old which is not that young when it comes to tennis. They were
all hitting the ball very well. They were trying and they were working very hard. They’re doing
the right thing. It’s just about waiting for the next step to happen, whenever it does happen.
There was a girl, I think she was 15 years old. Her name is Vaishnavi, who I thought was hitting
the ball really well. But they need match practice. Not try to ‘practice’ for 8 hours a day. But
try to play as many matches as possible. That’s what will help them in the long run.
Interviewer: Saina Nehwal is top 5 in badminton, Dipika Paliwal is top 20 in squash – yet Sania
Mirza remains by far the most recognized and famous sportswoman in India? Why do you
think that is so?
Sania Mirza: I don’t know. I actually don’t look at it that way. Obviously, as you know, tennis
is a very global sport. Over 200 countries play the sport. Tennis is played on a very large scale.
It’s played in 3 to 4 different continents. There are thousands of people who play the sport.
That could be one of the reasons. To have women sportsperson like this coming out from
India is a very good thing. The perception of women’s sports changes with it. Whether it’s
tennis, badminton, shooting or squash, it really helps. Whatever positive we can take out of
it, I think we should. The only reason I can think of is that tennis is a more global and
recognized sport.
Interviewer: It has been recently reported that you are writing your autobiography. What was
the motivation behind doing so?
Sania Mirza: Well, I think I’ve had a long journey. I’ve been through a lot on and off the court.
There’s not been many times that my side of the story has been told. Even when I was asked
a lot of things, it was always portrayed in their opinion.
It’s not just about the problems. It’s about everything. From how I started to play tennis to
the end. So yes, I’m quite excited about it.
Interviewer: Is there a tentative release date for the book?
Sania Mirza: No, not really. We’re still writing it so there is no specific date yet.
Interviewer: If a movie was to be made on your autobiography, which of the current actors
would you like to see play you and Shoaib’s role?
Sania Mirza: I don’t think I would allow anyone to make a movie on it (smiling).