Module 7: Interview Skills

An interview is a structured meeting in which interviewer(s) asks you questions to see if you are
suitable for a job or a course. Generally, through the discussion, the interviewer wants to know
the following:
 Is the candidate able to articulate his or her thoughts?
 Is the candidate able to handle the job responsibilities?
 Does the candidate have positive outlook?
 Is the candidate willing to adapt himself/herself to the existing team and working culture
of the organization?
 Will the candidate do the job?

If the candidate succeeds in convincing the interviewer that he or she is the candidate who will be
able and is eager to satisfy the expectations of the employer, likely are the strong chances of
selection.
.
Types of Interviews

 Telephonic/Skype: Interviews over telephone or through different web platforms are

generally done for short listing candidates for face to face interview. However, many
organizations now use Skype or other platforms to finally select the candidate for the job.
 Face to Face: In a face to face interview the candidate has to travel to the venue as
decided by the prospective employer. A face to face can be in the form of one to one or
many to one.
 Meal: The purpose of a meal interview is to see how the interviewee interacts or
functions in given social setting.
Depending upon the feasibility, employers may have/develop their own way of interviewing the
candidates.

Pre-interview Preparations

 Research: Research about the company, its working style and ethics, its business
strategies job profile and job responsibilities, etc. will help you tailor your resume as well
as your responses in the interview as per the needs and interests of the company.
Company’s website and online business databases may help you do your pre-interview
research. You may also talk to the company’s employees, if you have any in your contact
list.
 Know yourself: Assess yourself and see which strengths and areas of expertise of yours
suit the needs and interests of the company- see what data/information you have gathered
about the company and the nature of the job and then tailor your resume and articulate
your skills, strengths, accomplishments, and career goals in the interview accordingly.
Ask the following questions to yourself:
What are the job responsibilities and the job and what key skills are required?
What skills do you have similar to the ones required for the position?
How will you contribute to the company’s growth?
Why are you a better choice than others for the company?
 Focus on the related skills and strengths:
Makesuretohaveexamplesreadytodemonstratethesekeyskills.

During the Interview

 Greeting& Introduction: ‘First impression is the last impression’, say people. Here you
really get the chance to impress your interviewer(s).How you dress, how you enter the
interview room, how you greet- these things matter. If you do not take permission before
entering the room, if you are not in formal attire, if you do not make eye contact, if you
 do not look poised and confident, you are likely to be taken with a negative approach
during the interview.
 Body Language: Use your body language to make points. Unnecessary body movements
should be avoided. Given below are some forms of gestures and postures and their
conventional meaning:
Traits Gesture/Posture Meaning
Positive Leaning forward interested
Eye contact confident, willing to learn and focused
Smiling friendly and adaptive
Head nods attentive and alert
Negative Unnecessary body movements nervous or bored
Crossed arms defensive
Lack of eye contact untrustworthy
Leaning backward feeling uncomfortable

Given below is the link of a good video that demonstrate different body postures and their
meanings. Watch and learn:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RH5pKs3h-9Q
 Focal Point: Emphasize and focus on the job related skills and strengths which you can
control. Putting the energy into controllable things certainly influences the outcome of the
interview. Researching the company, job profile and responsibilities help you prepare the
expected questions and their answers.
 Courtesy and Positive Attitude: Experts say that companies hire the people with
positive attitude and of polite nature. Skills are secondary. Skills can be improved but it is
almost difficult to change the attitude of people. Hence, be polite and show positive
attitude even if you are asked unethical or irritating questions. Irritating questions are
generally asked in interviews so as to check the temperament of the candidate.
 Be Precise: Your answer should be specific and ideally it should not take more than one
or two minutes. Longwinded and verbose expressions should be avoided.
 Ask for Clarification: In case you could not hear or understand a question, politely ask
the interviewer(s) to repeat or clarify.

Don’ts of Interviews

An interview is a formal discussion; hence the followings should be avoided:

1. The use of filler words like ‘you know’, ‘um’, etc.
2. Phrases like ‘according to me’. ‘I guelss’, ‘I think’ ‘probably’
3. Manipulation of facts
4. Bluffing the interviewer(s)

Now watch the following sample videos of interview. Type the URLs given below, watch and
learn:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0I3iOD2Ycg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhd_oEKDT6I
Based on your learning so far, prepare the tailored answers of frequently asked questions given
below.

Frequently Asked Questions

Introductory Questions: Interviews generally begin with the questions which help the
interviewer(s) know educational background, work experience, career goals etc. Here are some
sample questions:
1. Tell me about yourself? / Introduce yourself.
2. What are your strengths?
3. Do you have any weakness?
 4. What are your hobbies?
5. What are your short and long term career goals? / Where do you see yourself in five
years?

These are typically open-ended questions. Researching about the company will help you tailor the
answers of such questions. Care must be taken in preparing the ready-made answers of these
questions as they generally lead to further course of discussion.

Behavioral Questions: Behavioral questions are generally asked to know the personality types
and traits of the candidate. They give the interviewer(s) an idea of the candidates thinking
process, analytical skills, communication skills, teamwork, leadership, decision making ability,
etc. Following are some sample questions:
1. Did you ever have to make a difficult decision?
2. Did you ever work under pressure/ under a deadline?
3. Did you ever fail to meet a deadline? What were the consequences? Did you learn
something?
4. What do you do when a member of your team does not cooperate?
5. Did you ever made a mistake(s)? What did you learn from it?

It is obvious that the above questions focus on the interviewee’s past actions or behaviours. Since
past behaviour gives significant clues to future actions and behaviour, care must be taken while
answering such questions. To answer these questions you need to master the art of storytelling;
identify some situations and experiences to describe or illustrate the job related skills and
strengths. Support your answers with examples.

Character Questions: In almost all kinds of interviews some questions are asked to know what
morals and values the candidate gives importance to. These questions answer personality types
and traits of the candidate. Here are some sample questions:
1. What are your core values?
2. Who do you think is a good businessman?
3. Have you ever dealt with a difficult person?
4. In addition to your contribtuiton to the growth of the company, how do you plan to help
society and the environment?
5. What will you do if you find the organization you are going to work with is rife with
bribery and corruption?

Skill-based Questions: Skill-based questions are job specific. They help the interviewer assess
the candidate’s theoretical and practical knowledge of the key skill(s) required for the job. For
example, if you are being interviewed for the post of ‘Progammer for Google Search Engine’,
your knowledge of C++, in addition to other things, is certainly going to be checked since Goodle
Search Engine’s algorithm is MapReduce, which essentitially stems out from C++.
To prepare skill-based questions, do a research of the company, find out which project(s) the
compay is woking on and see what key skills are required for the project/job you are applying for.
Prepare a list of expected questions and have their ready-made answers. And then practice,
practice, practice!

Miscellaneous Questions:
1. What do you think is your weakness? Did this weakness affect you negatively in any time
of your life?
2. How will you define success?
3. Who is/are your role models? Why?
4. Do you intend to do further studies?
5. What is the last book you’ve read and would you recommend it?
6. I see a two-year gap between your intermediate and graduation– what were you doing
during that time?
 7. If you were an education minister, what would you change about your education?
8. What kind of boss do you prefer?
9. If you could be a superhero, what would you want your superpowers to be?
10. How would you describe your sense of humour?
11. What do you do in your free time?
12. What do you know about our company?
13. Do you like working in a structured environment?
14. Why led you to choose our company? How can you contribute to the company?
15. Why should we hire you?
16. What are your salary expectations?
17. Are you ready for relocating?
18. When can you start?

To know more about interview skills, see ‘Sample Interview Transcript’ developed by the experts
of University of Essex, UK. Type the following link, read and learn:
https://www1.essex.ac.uk/careers/essexinterview/documents/Essex_Interview_transcript.pdf