A job interview is a process of selecting right candidates for the job in which a potential employee is evaluated and assessed by an employer or the group of interviewers for prospective employment in their company, organization, or firm. During the process of the interview, the interviewer hopes to determine whether or not the applicant is suitable for the role and he would be able to adjust to the environment of the company or not. The job interview has become an extremely important part of the selection process these days. Earlier there were just written test for the selection process, but with growing competition and some potential giants entering Indian markets and recruiting staff from here has led to a complex interview forms where it is not only necessary to pass a written exam but others aspects also.

A job interview is aimed at making the hiring decision much more practicable and accountable. The interview is used to evaluate the candidate on his academic as well as general skills and personality. The interview is usually preceded by the evaluation of submitted resumes from interested candidates depending on these resumes suitable candidates are shortlisted and are called for interviews. Then a person or a group designated for interviewing candidates screen these selected ones on every aspect of their knowledge levels, practicality and their way of handling problems. Interviews were never like this before, but today everyone wants the best staff, which has led to complicating the process for a job. These days your mark-sheets are not enough for you to get a job until and unless you have the skills to apply your knowledge and confidence to achieve.

The job interview is something that has been continuously scaring away the job-seekers, even if a person is fresher or experienced everyone fears interview. You generally get 10-15 minutes to prove yourself and show your skills in an interview which at times makes candidates really nervous. Potential job interview opportunities also include networking events and career fairs. The job interview is considered one of the most useful tools for evaluating potential employees by means of multiple rounds aimed at judging the overall capacity of the candidate and his confidence level. It also demands significant resources from the employer, yet has been demonstrated to be notoriously unreliable in identifying the optimal person for the job in some cases as there is a possibility that few people shy away at the right time or are unable to control their anxiety and often ends up messing things. An interview also allows the candidate to assess the corporate culture and demands of the job.

Interview Mistakes

It has been observed that despite suitable skills and academic qualifications there are candidates who are not able to get a job, even if they performed really well during an interview. There are a few mistakes that a lot of people commit while in an interview. Interviewers are trained professionals who meet hundreds of candidates in a month. They are really good at assessing people within a few minutes by his traits and expressions. We all must have been in an interview at least once in our lifetime and might get nervous also. But there are few mistakes that most of the people make and generally interviewers take a sharp note of these common mistakes to judge the right candidate. Few commonly committed mistakes are:

• Excessive Talking: Problem with most of the candidates is that they do not know when to stop and go on singing their songs without even realizing that there are other people also present in the room and it is important to listen to them also. Talking over your interviewer is the biggest mistake that interview candidates don't realize they're making which usually arises out of nervousness, but as a result, the candidates outtalk the interviewer and don't engage in active listening, which at times can prove to be a big blunder. Be careful and leave space for the interviewers to respond. It is often advised that the candidates should not talk too much and at the same time you should also not remain quiet throughout, the idea is to be vigilant about your words and speak only when required.
• Bad-Mouthing about Ex-Employer: A very common question that is asked during an interview includes the reason for leaving the previous job, to which most of the candidates fell prey of and start bad-mouthing their ex-employers or ex-bosses. This is a common mistake that a lot of candidates make. Bad-mouthing about your previous employer gives a really bad example about your attitude and interviewer may think that you would even bad mouth about then once you got to some other place and you may end up getting rejected. Be creative enough to come up with a tactful reason as to why you're leaving. Otherwise, there is a huge red flag that you're not mature enough to know not to do it.
• Don’t Repeat Obvious Facts: Some responses are generic for a reason; they've been used over and over to the point where an interviewer may be numb to them. Every candidate comes to them and tells them that they are honest, hard-working, punctual etc. which at times make them sick. A better idea is to come up with something new and persuading. Your interviewer wants to be wowed, so responding with a run-of-the-mill quality like good work ethic may not bode well for you. Come with some interesting facts and qualities about you. For example, if you have some achievement in sports make sure you mention that or if you were in designing department and one of your design went on to cut products cost then do mention this thing which can be very impressive and something that most employees are seeking.
• Messing with Outfit: Candidates these days have become smart enough to realize that formals are important for an interview but at times people do mess up with their formals. Your physical appearance reflects who you are. If you show up dishevelled or inappropriately dressed, your interviewer may not think you're professional enough for the job. At time candidate dress up in formals and end up messing things with wearing heavy studs or any other accessories which may give out a wrong message to the person interviewing you. Also if you have a tattoo on your arms then don’t forget to wear a full sleeves shirt. In addition, not dressing well may seem like you don’t care about the organization or the job certainly not the impression you want to convey.
• Boring Interview: After the interview, about 50% of the candidates report that their interview was really boring and the interviewers were really bored. This is not your fault and not even interviewers fault. Interviewers are likely to go through hundreds of applications and meet with many candidates in a single day; there may be a case when you approach after 80 candidates have already been screened. It is very obvious that by the time you reach interviewers would be really tired and bored as well. And if you repeat the same old dialogue that you are hard-working and honest they would get even more bored. To avoid this create a game plan to stand out from the crowd. This can range from bringing up a funny anecdote to producing a creative resume. Whatever you decide to do to impress them, make sure you do your best to nab the interviewer’s attention from the beginning and don’t end up messing things for yourself. The interviewer will be much more enthusiastic about your prospects at the company if you really show them your ability to make a boring conversation interesting.

Myths about Interview

The interview has become an important part of the selection process these days. Earlier interviews were meant to check only your academic qualifications but these days the procedure has seen few changes and interviews have become really complex. These days interviews are not only aimed at checking the academic qualification but a lot more than that. Interviews are aimed to check the general ability, knowledge, personality, communication skills, manners, etiquettes as well as quick thinking of the candidates. When you’re going in for an interview, you’ve probably got some preconceived notions about how the interview will go. There are a lot of things going on in your mind about the interview. Unfortunately, there may be a case that your perspective may be dominated by some of the most popular myths about interviewing that still persists today. Few of those myths are:

• There's a Right Answer to Every Question an Interviewer asks: This is a common myth that everything that an interviewer is asking you has a prescribed right answer for his question. This not true, as at times there can be cases when you are given a hypothetical situation or a question for which there is no answer just to check your presence of mind. Sometimes how you approach your answer is far more important than the answer itself. If you're presented with a hypothetical problem and asked how you would resolve it, try to think of a comparable situation from the past and tell what you did about it. Also if you feel that there is no answer for the question, then don’t hesitate to say that it’s a trick question and doesn’t have any answer because a lot of times interviewers try to confuse candidates with such question.
• Always keep Your Answers Short: A lot of times you will come across people advising you to speak less during an interview which is not true. During an interview make sure that you display your whole knowledge in your answers don’t make your answers inappropriate, but if the answer is long then going on and showcase your complete knowledge and does keep in mind that you give them space to respond and never outtalk the person interviewing you. Don't be afraid to talk at length, partly because it will spare the interviewer having to come up with another question for you and partly because, in a good interview, you should be talking about two-thirds of the time and display your knowledge and skills in your words to them.
• Most Qualified gets that Job: Yet another myth about the job interview is that the most qualified applicant gets the job which may be true in a few cases but not every time. The main aim of the interview is to check out the candidate at every level. The interview is carried out with an aim of determining the actual personality of the person, to explore his communication skills, practical abilities, manners, problem dealing attitude and other aspects necessary for the job. Besides having necessary academic qualifications those who fulfil all these criteria’s surely gets the job. The final hiring determination can come down to personality rather than qualifications.
• Good Resume will get you a Job: A lot of candidates believe that making an attractive resume is all that you need to score a job, they think that once you walk in with a nicely presented resume they will get hired which is far from reality. Your resume simply opens the door. A resume is your first interaction with the interviewers and they get to know about you and your academic achievements through your resume. The way you answer interview questions, connect with potential colleagues, present yourself and follow up after the interview all have much more bearing on whether you might get the job or not. A resume is meant to be a document giving academic, professional and personal details about you and the most important thing that matters to your selection is your performance during the interview.
• There is no way to Prepare for the Interview: A lot of time we can hear people saying that there is probably no way of preparing for an interview and everything that is asked during an interview depends upon your general knowledge and ability as well as your overall personality. It is very important to prepare well before an interview so that you have a confident approach towards your interview. Before an interview, it is very important to be prepared with an attractive resume and also make sure you are through with whatever you have written in your resume otherwise you may end up in an awkward situation if your words are different from what you wrote. Also before an interview, it is advised that you should prepare with the expected questions, check out the website of the company and their process whatever they are dealing in and gather some information about it from the internet.