An interview may be defined as a formal discussion between an applicant or candidate and recruiter or employer, typically in person, in which information of the candidate is exchanged by the candidate himself, with an intention of establishing the applicant’s suitability and qualification for a position. A job interview is a process in which a potential employee or a candidate applying for the job is evaluated by an employer or the selection staff for prospective employment in their company, office or organization. During the process of the interview, the interviewer hopes to judge whether or not the applicant is suitable for the job and possess adequate levels of education and skills required for the job.
Importance of Interview
A job interview is a chance for a candidate to show an employer what kind of employee they will get if he/she is hired. That is why it is essential to be well prepared in advance and give out the best during the job interview. Preparing for an interview means researching about the industry and type of work the company is involved in, the employer, and your skill that can be utilized in that particular organization. Interview generally means paying attention to small but very effective details like personal appearance, the way you present yourself, your attitude and punctuality.
The interview is the most important aspect of the selection process. In today’s competitive world there are many possessing the same educational qualifications but on totally different scales of success in their professional lives. Every year lakhs of students complete their studies but it is only the best that walk away with good jobs. To get a job you just not need your qualifications, but also good skills and confidence, and these are all checked in your interview. Hence interview is an important aspect for entering the professional life where you have to unleash knowledge you gained your whole life in about fifteen to twenty minutes.
Process of Interview
The process of interview usually varies from company to company and the post needed to be filled. A normal job interview usually involves a single candidate being screened by one to three interviewers representing the employer; the potential supervisor of the employee is usually involved in the interview process. A larger interview panel will often have a specialized human resources worker. While the meeting can be over in as little as 15 minutes, job interviews usually last less than two hours.
Multiple rounds of job interviews may be used where there are many candidates or the job is particularly challenging or desirable. Earlier rounds may involve less staff from the employers and will typically be much shorter and less in-depth. A common initial interview form is the phone interview, a job interview conducted over the telephone. This is especially common when the candidates do not live near the employer and have the advantage of keeping costs low for both sides.
Types of Job Interviews
Every firm sets up interviews according to their needs and follows a certain process for the recruitment of the staff. Interview process depends upon the post need to be filled up and to select the right person suitable for the job. There cannot be the same interview procedure for the post of a typist and a software developer, though both of them are to work on computers still there is a completely different process need to be followed. Hence depending upon these requirements, the interview process can be dividing into different types, each serving a purpose of their own. Hence different types of interview are:
- Screening Interview: the First interview for a particular job is often known as the screening interview. This is usually a verbal interview, and maybe with someone in the human resources department. It may take place in person or over the telephone which is a very cost-effective way to screen candidates. When in person the candidate will have a copy of their resume in hand and the authorized person tries to verify the information written on it and can be like an open book exam. The human resources representative interviewing the candidate will want to find out if the candidate meets the minimum qualifications needed for the job. The resume must contain everything about your academic life, your skills, training reports, the job description, a list of references and other relevant stuff from the job point of view. If the interview is on phone make sure that you have positive and polished answers with energetic tone and inflexion and sound confident. If everything is found to be satisfactory the candidate is passed on to the next step.
- Individual Interview: the Individual interview is the most common type of interview and often known as a personal interview. It typically involves a one-on-one exchange at the organization and this cannot be telephonic. The length of the interview can usually range from 30 to 90 minutes or may even take longer if it involves any kind of practical work that the authorities concerned may like to see, to judge candidate’s ability for the job. If the interview is 30 minutes that it is advisable for the candidate to be to the point and answer exactly what has been asked with a high impact. If the interview is 60 or 90 minutes then the interviewer would expect answers in much more depth examples for supporting the illustrations made.
- Selection Interview: After the screening and personal phase right candidates who are thought to be suitable for the job are selected for the next round, which may or may not be the final selection round. The selection interview is the step in the process which always makes people most anxious and nervous. By this time the employer knows that the candidate is well qualified to do the job. A candidate may possess the skills to perform the tasks that are required to do the job but the employer needs to know if you have the personality necessary to fit in or not. A candidate who is hesitant to interact well with management and colleagues may disrupt the functioning of an entire team which would ultimately affect the company's overall performance. Many experts feel that all these qualities can be determined within the first few minutes of the interview. However, more than one person being interviewed for a single opening may appear to fit, in which case candidates are invited back for another round with different people before a final decision is being made on the selection of the right candidate for the job.
- Group or Committee Interview: In the group interview or committee, several job candidates are questioned at once by a group of members having an equivalent role in decision making. This is a stage where the candidate will meet with several decision-makers at once and this can be an intimidating or frightening experience if the candidate is not prepared well. It’s an efficient way to interview candidates and allows for different interpretations or perceptions of the same answer. During a group interview candidate must try to make eye contact with every interviewer, no matter whoever is asking the question it’s really important to establish rapport with each member of the interview team because everyone plays a unique and important role in decision making. Try to find out the names and job titles of the participants too. Since any group naturally stratifies into leaders and followers, the interviewer can easily figure out into which category each candidate falls and who would be really suitable for the job. In addition to determining whether a candidate is a leader or a follower, the interviewer also tries to figure out whether a candidate is a team player. One should always try to be natural during the interview in his own interest. Acting like a leader if you are not one or acting of possessing any quality that you don’t have may get you a job that is inappropriate for you and would be a big waste of time and energy for both in future.
- Behaviour-Based Interview: The theory behind the Behavioral Interviewing is that past performance in a similar situation is the best prediction of the future performance of a person. Behavioural interview proves to be much effective than the conventional interviewing techniques. Candidate should be well prepared by thinking of specific examples that demonstrate their capabilities in core behaviours such as teamwork, problem-solving, communication, creativity, flexibility and organizational skills which would be useful for the organization in future. Candidates may have to describe any particular situation stating their answers in terms of the situation, the task, what action they will take, and what would be the result or outcome.
- Practical Based Interview: There are many jobs where along with qualifications some practical skills are also desirable, for such jobs it is very important to select the candidate possessing sufficient application skills. There is also a test of these skills at the time of interview and such a test may be a part of the practically based interview. This is a problem-solving interview where the candidate will be given some exercises to demonstrate their creative and analytical abilities. Interviewers may candidate to take a short test to evaluate their technical knowledge and practical skills and along with that, sometimes a presentation to a group is necessary to determine your communication skills. Try to relax as much as possible and focus on strengths rather than being afraid.
- Stress Interview: The stress interview is not a very nice way to be introduced to the company that may end up being your future employer. It is, however, a technique employers sometimes use to weed out candidates who cannot handle adversity. During this rare type, the interviewer tries to bait you, to see how you will respond. The interviewer may try to artificially introduce stress into the interview by asking questions so quickly that the candidate doesn't have time to answer each one. Another interviewer trying to introduce stress may respond to a candidate's answers with silence. The interviewer may also ask weird questions, not to determine what the job candidate answers, but how he or she answers. The objective is to find out weaknesses of candidates and test how they hold up to pressure. Such tactics as weird silences, constant interruptions and challenging interrogation with antagonistic questions are designed to push your boundaries. The question you have to ask yourself is? Do I want to work for a company that treats me this way even before the offer is made? Rethink the corporate culture.
Preparation for Interview
- Be Well Prepared and Thorough with Your Resume: Before a job interview, be prepared for yourself. To effectively answer questions during an interview, you have to know a lot about yourself and know how to present effectively that information to an interviewer in an organized manner. To prepare for answering questions about yourself start by listing your attributes. Try to stress much on the points about what you can bring to the employer and how effective you can be. To help you come up with your list, talk to your family, friends and former co-workers with whom you worked closely. Ask them to list some traits about you that they most admired — work-related, of course, and make sure to present those effectively during an interview.
- Practice: Practice makes a man perfect. You then need to focus on how you will sound on the interview day. To be sure, you should, at the very least, interview yourself in the mirror a number of times, using the written materials you have prepared. You need to be honest about how professional, credible and friendly you are. Practice your answers until they meet the level you will require on the day of the interview. Make note of points where you hesitate, practice dealing with difficult moments such as when you forget what you are saying. Think about the structure of your answer - it is normally helpful to have a clear beginning, middle and end, with the end summarizing about what you have just said. Think carefully about your body language and use of gestures. The pitch, tone, clarity and volume of your voice are all an important aspect. Interview nerves can affect all of these areas and need to be controlled by practising, so just being aware of them can help you control them and therefore be more effective on your final day.
- Remember First Impression is the Last Impression: Almost half of the decision is made within five minutes of entering the room. The first that you give determines the interest that interviewers would show. Interviewers are put off by weak handshakes, a lack of eye contact, poor body language, non-formal clothing, poor posture and a grim demeanour. Most of the recruiters make early judgments about a candidate’s trustworthiness, attitude towards work, likeability, competitiveness and professionalism and spend the rest of the interview confirming these opinions.
Conclusion
Today at time of such high level of competition, it is very difficult to secure a job even with high level of qualification. The need of the hour is to develop overall personality and a positive attitude towards the job and life, which are determined in a candidate by the process of interview. Hence interview today is very important for a person to clear to find a reasonably good job. The interview is a process where along with academics, overall personality is also determined, hence be prepared for it rather than being afraid. Overcome your fear an prepare well, nothing is impossible.
