20. Interview before the actual interview Your goal should be to get an opportunity for a personal meeting. Paint the perfect picture on phone Keep Smiling on phone.
36. Why were you rejected? A few typical reasons: 1. The company decided to hire an internal candidate. 2. The company hired someone who was referred to them. 3. The hiring manager hired his friend, family member or a relative. (nepotism) 4. The company ignored the agency you have gone through. 5. The company decided to hire someone cheaper than you.
Companies hire people they like: All things being equal, companies hire people they like. Obviously, skills are important and you are not likely to get a job just because you’re nice if you don’t appear able to do the job. But given a qualified candidate who comes across as likeable and an equally qualified candidate who gives the hiring manager the impression that they are going to be a problem, the hiring manager will undoubtedly hire the likeable candidate. It seems fairly obvious to state this but the question is really: What makes one person come across as likeable and another person come across like a jerk? Some people are just naturally likeable and immediately come across as such. Some people give the impression of being aloof especially if they are quiet or detached and are perceived to be socially inept and as a result, not likeable. Some people are good actors and can appear to be nice when they want something. The point is that you make an impression during the interview process and the people you interview with make assumptions based on how you act and what you say. When interviewing, always remember the following: 1. The hiring manager is determining not only if you can do the job but if you have the personality to get along with the other members of their group. 2. Being overly talkative during the interview might make you come across as being desperate or aggressive. 3. Being too quiet during the interview might give the impression that you are distant and aloof even if you’re not. This is an especially important point if the job you’re interviewing for requires a “talker.” 4. Nobody likes desperation. If you appear really enthusiastic to the point of being desperate, most good interviewers will notice. No one wants to hire a desperate person. Enthusiastic, yes. Desperate, no. 5. Understand the difference between confidence and arrogance. One of the biggest turnoffs for most hiring managers is arrogant interviewees. On the other hand, you need to be confident of your abilities and you need to sell yourself during the interview. Walk a fine line between exuding confidence and arrogance. Likeable (and qualified) people get jobs, it’s really that simple. Likeable people are those who act naturally and let their true personality shine through. Likeable people don’t try to be something they are not and they are comfortably confident but not arrogant
What is your biggest weakness? This is one of those difficult interview questions that interviewers ask from time to time. The way you handle your response to the question might be as important if not more important than what you actually say. The question is how to answer the question without making it look like you have a weakness that might prevent you from getting hired. At the same time, you don’t want to mention a weakness that isn’t really a weakness and simply tell the interviewer what you think they want to hear. Trust me, an experienced interviewer has heard every clichéd answer to this question and will know when you are feeding them a line. The purpose of asking this question is firstly to see how you handle a stress question and secondly how you actually respond to it. Here are some guidelines for responding when an interviewer asks what about your biggest weakness: 1. Answer the question honestly. It’s always best to answer any interview question honestly (obviously) but this is an especially important one. Making up a weakness that isn’t really a weakness will most likely be very noticeable to the interviewer. If they think you are lying, they may ask you for another weakness which will cause you even more trouble trying to think of one off the top of your head. 2. Don’t mention a big weakness that could cost you the job. Your goal here isn’t to lie of course, it’s simply to present yourself as best you can. We all have weaknesses but it doesn’t mean we tell an interviewer everything that we do wrong. If for example you are interviewing for a project manager job, it’s probably best not to mention that you have trouble getting along with people since you’re going to be constantly working with others. 3. Don’t evade the question. Don’t try to avoid answering the question. Also be careful about giving a clichéd weakness (ie. I work too hard) and then quickly stating how you deal with it. That looks too scripted and the interviewer has probably heard it one million times before. Admitting a real weakness but then stating what you are doing to improve yourself is preferable ie. “My presentation skills are not as strong as I’d like so I signed up for weekend presentation skills classes and also joined a Toastmasters club.” Remember that the specific job you are interviewing for will help to determine how you answer the question. 4.Keep your answer factual and brief. Typically, stress questions such as these that put us on the spot tend to cause us to ramble on and speak for longer than we should especially if we’re nervous. The best way to answer the question is to be well prepared and to know how you are going to answer the question before the interview. This will avoid you trying to think off the top of your head and saying more than you need to which could hurt your chances of getting the job. 5. Be careful about using “my biggest weakness is my biggest strength” as your response. Saying that “I’m a perfectionist” or something like that is another of those clichéd answers that people often give to this question. It will probably come across as being scripted and the interviewer will most likely determine that you got the answer from an interview tips book.
Job interview questions differ according to the work structure of a company. But most of the job interview questions asked by the companies are related to the three categories. In the first set, the interview asks about the candidate’s family background, education, and interests. The second set comes with question meant to assess the technical knowledge of the candidate. While the last is to judge the candidate’s personality – his/her nature, decision making capacity, ideology, and ability to solve problems.
Saying, ‘Hey I can do this job- give me a chance and I’ll prove it’ is not enough any more. Today you have to prove your ability and suitability. Itemize your skills, qualities viz a viz the requirements of the job. Then recall an incident to illustrate each of those skills. When you have done, you will be able to justify your ability and suitability to the employer. This will set you apart form the vast majority of other candidates. The interviewer wants to gauge your capacity and willingness to walk an extra mile. Can you take the rough with the smooth? Can you make coffee or tea if required? Think of a time when you did. Now rehearse the story until you can tell it in 90 seconds.
If the interview feels that you are tensed, he cannot judge clearly whether you are fit for the job or not. When the interview is done in a tensed manner, you will also be not able to answer all the question correctly as you may forget many answers because of the tension which remains in your mind. This is the main reason why interviews ask many funny questions to you.