Developing Interview Skills

Developing Interview Skills
Ranjit Das
Introduction
• Your life and career depend upon
getting and keeping jobs in which you
can express your abilities and obtain
personal and material satisfaction
• You may not naturally be good at
presenting yourself in the best possible
light in an interview situation
• A small investment in improving your self-
presentation skills can produce a
disproportionately large increase in the
end result
E:info@prajita.org 2
What are
Interviewers
Looking for?
The following factors are assessed most
frequently during interviews
– Assertiveness – Humility
– Emotional stability – Interest in people
– Enthusiasm – Leadership potential
– Good personal – Long-range plans
appearance and objectives
– Good educational – Motivation
record – Oral communication
– Honesty and moral skills
standards – Self-confidence
4 E:info@prajita.org
Interviewer’s Criticisms
• Poor preparation
– “I can’t really remember”
– “That’s a bit tricky for me to say….”
– “I can’t answer that. I’ve never really thought
about it …”
• Making negative value judgements
about yourself and your experiences
– “I find getting on with people a little difficult”
– “I had a personality clash with ….”
– “I’m only a shelf filler in Safeway”
– “My project was fairly simple”
• Making derogatory remarks about the
organisation, the interviewers or the
procedures and showing bitterness
towards others
– “In my opinion psychological tests are
unimportant”
– “I would have thought that my CV says it
all…”
– “I was hoping to see someone more
senior”
•Build understanding of:
What will they ask?
• Interviewers complain that candidates
fail to prepare.
– You have not thought about yourself, the job,
the company you are applying to,
• Your CV provides a skeleton that
interviewers wish to flesh out
– what they do not have is an explanation of
why you did what you did [i.e. your
motivation]
– your work experience and you as an
individual
• Interviews typically ask about:
– your early life
– education and qualifications
– occupational training
– work experiences
– interests outside of school and work
– how you match up to the job
specifications
• Your early background
– “Tell me about your family/early days”
• You should have a clear idea about what you are
going to say, be prepared to say something
positive and interesting [unusual birthplace, family
name]
– “How did you feel about these early days”
• Life is full of ups and downs. Show how you have
learned from the downs and managed to pull
yourself up.
• These questions are used to establish your
personal values, motivation, ability,
relationships with others
• Education and Qualifications
– “Talk me through your education and
qualifications”
– “You don’t seem to have done so well at
school”
• You may have a genuine reason for it. If not,
play down any negative aspects. Try to select
things which went well and try not to mention
things which did not. Jump to subsequent
achievements
• Further Education
– “Tell me about your time at university”
– “Your results look somewhat disappointing”
• Was there a reason? Perhaps you did better than
you originally thought? If you could have done
better, what lesson[s] did you learn?
• These questions are used to understand
your motivation, self-discipline, organising
ability, inter-personal skills, ability to cope
under pressure, direction of career
aspirations
• Work Experience
– “Tell me about your present/last job/vacation
work”
• You should pick out those parts of your work history
which mirror the role you are seeking. Talk about
your achievements, contributions, what you have
learned.
• Your work experiences can provide
evidence of interest, motivation,
interpersonal skills, creativity, supervisory
skills, organising, planning and problem-
solving skills.
• Interests Outside of Work
– Activities away from work might throw light
on the extent to which your outside activities
support or hinder good job performance
– Outside interests give clues about you as an
individual
– “What do you do in your spare time?”
– “It seems to me that you might have difficulty
in maintaining that interest because of the
nature of our job”
Making a Good
Impression
Making a Good Impression
• Clothing • Verbal
– Dress smartly
Communication
Checklist
• Hair – Speak clearly
– Keep it professional – Slow down if
looking necessary
– Avoid talking in a
• Jewelry ‘thick’ accent
– Keep to a minimum – Don’t use jargon
• Cosmetics – Ensure your
pronunciation is
– Keep to a minimum correct
Body Language
• Up to 90% of • Try to open up your
communication is body
non-verbal • Eye contact is good -
• Touch is important. but not too much
Start with a good firm • Let your face come
handshake alive.
• When walking or • Use your head to
standing, keep indicate you are
reasonably erect listening,
• When seated, don’t understanding, being
lean too far forward attentive
or backward • When thinking, look
up to your right or left

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