
INFOSYS POWER PREPARATION
Great interviews
arise from careful groundwork. You can ace
your next interview if you:
Enter into a state of relaxed concentration.
This is the state from which great basketball
players or Olympic skaters operate. You'll
need to quiet the negative self chatter in
your head through meditation or visualization
prior to sitting down in the meeting. You'll
focus on the present moment and will be less
apt to experience lapses in concentration,
nervousness, self-doubt and self-condemnation.
Act spontaneous, but be well prepared. Be
your authentic self, professional yet real.
Engage in true conversation with your interviewer,
resting on the preparation you did prior to
coming to the meeting. Conduct several trial
runs with another person simulating the interview
before it actually occurs. It's the same as
anticipating the questions you'll be asked
on a final exam.
Set goals for the interview. It is your job
to leave the meeting feeling secure that the
interviewer knows as much as he or she possibly
can about your skills, abilities, experience
and achievements. If you sense there are misconceptions,
clear them up before leaving. If the interviewer
doesn't get around to asking you important
questions, pose them yourself (diplomatically)
and answer them. Don't leave the meeting without
getting your own questions answered so that
you have a clear idea of what you would be
getting yourself into. If possible, try to
get further interviews, especially with other
key players.
Know the question behind the question. Ultimately,
every question boils down to, "Why should
we hire you?" Be sure you answer that
completely. If there is a question about your
meeting deadlines, consider whether the interviewer
is probing delicately about your personal
life, careful not to ask you whether your
family responsibilities will interfere with
your work. Find away to address fears if you
sense they are present.
Follow up with an effective "thank you"
letter. Don't write this letter lightly. It
is another opportunity to market yourself.
Find some areas discussed in the meeting and
expand upon them in your letter. Writing a
letter after a meeting is a very minimum.
Standing out among the other candidates will
occur if you thoughtfully consider this follow
up letter as an additional interview in which
you get to do all the talking. Propose useful
ideas that demonstrate your added value to
the team.
Consider the interviewer's agenda. Much is
on the shoulders of the interviewer. He or
she has the responsibility of hiring the right
candidate. Your ability to do the job will
need to be justified. "Are there additional
pluses here?" "Will this person
fit the culture of this organization?"
These as well as other questions will be heavily
on the interviewer's mind. Find ways to demonstrate
your qualities above and beyond just doing
the job.
Expect to answer the question, "Tell
me about yourself." This is a pet question
of prepared and even unprepared interviewers.
Everything you include should answer the question,
"Why should we hire you?" Carefully
prepare your answer to include examples of
achievements from your work life that closely
match the elements of the job before you.
Obviously, you'll want to know as much about
the job description as you can before you
respond to the question.
Watch those nonverbal clues. Experts estimate
that words express only 30% to 35% of what
people actually communicate; facial expressions
and body movements and actions convey the
rest. Make and keep eye contact. Walk and
sit with a confident air. Lean toward an interviewer
to show interest and enthusiasm. Speak with
a well-modulated voice that supports appropriate
excitement for the opportunity before you.
Be smart about money questions. Don't fall
into the trap of telling the interviewer your
financial expectations. You may be asking
for too little or too much money and in each
case ruin your chances of being offered the
job. Instead, ask what salary range the job
falls in. Attempt to postpone a money discussion
until you have a better understanding of the
scope of responsibilities of the job.
Don't hang out your dirty laundry. Be careful
not to bare your soul and tell tales that
are inappropriate or beyond the scope of the
interview. State your previous experience
in the most positive terms. Even if you disagreed
with a former employer, express your enthusiasm
for earlier situations as much as you can.
Whenever you speak negatively about another
person or situation in which you were directly
involved, you run the risk (early in the relationship)
of appearing like a troubled person who may
have difficulty working with others.