4 Steps For Fresher To Ace An Interview

4 Steps For Fresher To Ace An Interview

An interview is basically seen as a question-answer round by many fresher who get nervous thinking about their performance. But it is actually not so. With some smart preparation, any fresher can turn it into a good opportunity for learning and ace the interview with flying colors.

Some of the steps that you need to take are:

Step 1 Know About The Skills Required V/S The Ones You Have

Every company requires a certain set of skills for a particular position and what they need is a person who can easily fit into their criteria. The most common skills that companies look-out for are Flexibility or Versatility, Analytical/Problem Solving Skills, Skills in time management, ability to take initiatives and also work as a team and communication skills. Also, be prepared for answering questions about your strengths and weaknesses, short and long term career goals, preferred work environment, what you can offer to the employer in terms of your skill-set etc.

Step 2 Research About The Occupation

You can do this by asking the recruiter, understanding the job description, updating yourself on the industry news or asking someone who is working in that line. It will give you a better idea on how to present your skills in a convincing manner about the job-fit.

Step 3 Take Interest In The Organization

You should know everything about the company beforehand. The internet is a good option to read about the company's origins, location, industrial position, organizational structure, industries served etc. It comes across as very positive to the interviewer if you know these facts.

Step 4 Ask Questions At The End

An interview is not a one-way process where you'll be answering questions. Interviewers appreciate it when you ask about the responsibilities of the job, opportunity for growth in the company and most importantly when you will expect them to revert about your results.
By following these simple steps, you not only make it easier for embarking on this journey but also make a wonderful first impression. So just go with full preparation and most importantly carry your confidence with you wherever you go.

5 Rules To Keep In Mind While Writing Cover Letter

 

PURPOSE

A cover letter is the job seeker's introduction to the employer or recruiter. It can also be a marketing device. It highlights a few specific points in the job seeker's experience and skills that match or exceed the requirements of the job. As you begin your job search, you will find that many employers will not only request your resume, but will expect a cover letter as well. Many people overlook the importance of a cover letter, and instead only focus on putting an effort into their resume. However, the cover letter is just as important in getting an employer to call you for an interview. In considering how to write a cover letter with resume it is appropriate to first consider what must be written into your cover letter. First, your cover letter should state what job you are applying for,as well as, the qualifications you possess to do this job. The cover letter should leave the employer wanting to know more about you, and cause the reviewer to call you for an interview.

Another factor to consider beyond the content of the cover letter is its presentation. When learning how to write a cover letter with resume, the applicant should use quality paper to print the cover letter and resume.. Not only should the cover letter be printed on quality paper, it should look professional without any creases, stains or smudges. 

The reason it is important to put as much effort into learning how to write a cover letter with your resume is the fact that the cover letter will speak for you first. Within this letter, you will briefly provide the reasons why the employer should consider hiring you. The cover letter is an important tool in making your resume stands out from the other resumes that the employer will receive.

5 Rules To Keep In Mind While Writing Cover Letter

1. Put Yourself in the Employer’s Shoes 

Never forget who your audience is and why you are writing this letter, it should be employer-focused. In your first paragraph, you need to quickly and clearly answer the employer’s unspoken questions

:

“Who are you?”

“Why have you contacted me?”

“Why should I be interested in meeting you?”

To answer the last question, you need to do some research on the firm. An effective cover letter will

(a) Highlight skills and abilities of most interest to the specific employer reading your letter based on your

knowledge of their needs

(b) Demonstrate that you are familiar with their particular organization.

2. Don’t Re-State Your Resume

Your cover letter should not re-hash your resume. The cover letter is an opportunity to make explicit how the skills you developed previously will be beneficial to this particular employer. The second paragraph of your letter should articulate explicitly where your characteristics and experiences meet their needs. Your introductory sentence or two can assert accomplishments, e.g., “I have developed strong writing skills” or “solid analytical abilities,” but you must have examples that support your claims or conclusions (awards, commendations by employer, professor). If you cannot think of any experience or award that demonstrates this quality or attribute to support your proposition, don’t make the claim. It cannot just be your opinion.

3. Style

A successful cover letter is concise, quickly absorbed, sounds genuine and rings sincere. Don’t write complex, convoluted sentences, or use obscure words in an effort to sound sophisticated and highly educated. Instead, you will come across as pompous and insincere and your letter will be discarded before the reader gets to the signature line. Confidence and competence will be best conveyed through simple, straightforward language. Don’t use outrageous superlatives. Remember that you are a law student building your legal career on a solid academic and practical foundation. Avoid phrases such as “I’m the perfect candidate for this  position because…” or “I am confident I will exceed your expectations in every way.” Blunt statements like these rings hollow. Make plausible claims and be sure to support them with credible accounts from your experiences

4. Lying – Don’t! 

Don’t manufacture a story, or embellish an experience or credential to impress a prospective

employer. One lie begets another and, typically, you get caught somewhere along the way and the results will be devastating. Integrity is critical in this profession. You want to begin developing a reputation for being trustworthy and honest now.

5. Avoid Typos and Grammatical Errors 

Your sentence structure, punctuation and spelling should be flawless. Don’t give the employer a reason to toss your application in the “reject” pile. Does the inside address match the salutation?

Always address your letter to the person responsible for legal hiring, not simply “Hiring Partner.” Make sure the right letter goes into the right envelope. These things may seem intuitive, but many qualified candidates are immediately rejected for seemingly “minor” errors. Attorneys will cut you no slack for a simple typo or, even worse, letters that are sloppy, reflect poor editing or proofing. Nor should they! If you can’t produce a final product that is flawless about yourself, why would an attorney trust you to competently handle client matters? Don’t rush to get them out or prepare the letters when you are too tired to be aware of mistakes. Take the extra time to do the job well and you will receive a better response to your letters. 

"THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT COMPANY BEFORE JOB INTERVIEW"

 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT COMPANY BEFORE JOB INTERVIEW

1. The Company’s History 

This kind of research is one step further still (and a lot more difficult) – discover what you can about the company’s history!

Learning the history of the company (things like take-overs, business partners, past News stories and recruitment drives) will help you to predict the future.

2. The company's Competitors

you may already have faced the question ‘who do you think are our main competitors?’ in an interview before.

It’s a pretty difficult one to answer, particularly if you don’t know the industry (and haven’t done your research) so we always recommend coming up with a few good examples!

Answer well and you’re guaranteed to impress your interviewer.

Simple really, but people often forget this vital bit of research!

3. Management

You should really do at least a little of research about the management team of the company (although it’s not the most important thing on this list).

If you can name-drop, it’ll be pretty impressive – so for example – if you know that the owner of the business has written an award-winning book, you could bring that up.

At the very least you should be aware of who’s interviewing you and who your line manager would be, with some knowledge of their background.

4. The Company Mission.

A company’s mission statement basically reflects the reason why they do what they do; the reason they came into being and the values they hold (these usually remain unchanged).

For example, The Coburg Banks mission statement is to… ‘become the recruitment company most admired for its people’ and all of our values are in line with that mission.

It’s highly likely that you’ll find this information on the company website (although sometimes, you may have to do a little digging through the mish-mash of pages), brochure or other marketing materials.

If you can’t find a specific statement, then you’ll have to use your initiative with the information you can find out – how do they portray themselves, what values do they advertise?

During the interview, make sure you take advantage of whatever you discover, showing off how well your values match the company’s!

Sample Answers....

What do you know about our company?

1. “I know you’re one of the biggest providers of payroll software, and you were founded in 2012 when your CEO realized many small businesses spend far more than they should on payroll, which hurts their growth. The story on your website’s “about us” page was interesting, and it seems like there’s a big need for this product based on how quickly you’ve grown. I read that you doubled in size last year, and you are on track to do it again this year.”

2. “I know that your company is one of the largest investment banks in the US. Your headquarters is in Raleigh, NC, and you have 25,000 employees worldwide based on what I read on your website. I’ve known about your company for a couple of years now because I’ve been working in this same industry. Your company is one of the names I think of in this industry, which is why I was excited to apply for this job when I saw it posted on your website.”

Don'ts For JOB INTERVIEW

Don'ts For JOB INTERVIEW

1. Poor hygiene and personal appearance

It should go without saying that you should always have good hygiene in a professional environment. No employee wants a smelly co-worker, and recruiters feel the same. According to a 2017 Recruiter Nation report, more than half of recruiters would disqualify a job candidate because of bad hygiene.

Make sure you are clean, polished-looking, and dressed appropriately for the position you are applying for. If you are unsure, err on the side of professional dress more than casual.

2. Changing your salary expectations

Mike Astringer, founder and principal consultant at Human Capital Consultants, noted that HR professionals interview candidates based partly on their initial compensation expectations.

"We [need to] know that they fit into our overall compensation range," he said. "All too often, a candidate will interview for a job, become overconfident [and] then dramatically increase their compensation expectations."

Astringer said he makes an offer to a candidate based on those initial salary expectations. Candidates should avoid greatly increasing their expectations at the final hour, he said. 

"It makes the candidate look bad, it makes me look bad, and it wastes everyone's time," Astringer added.

3. Being too confident

Confidence to the point of arrogance can be seriously off-putting to an interviewer. In a 2018 survey by CareerBuilder, over 59% of hiring managers reported that arrogance or entitlement would be an instant dealbreaker for them.

Becky Beach, design manager at Mom Beach, shared a story about an applicant who took his confidence a bit too far.

"A day after the interview, he tried to connect with me over LinkedIn with the message, 'Thanks for interviewing me yesterday. Let me know when I am able to start the position.' I decided he would not get hired after that."

Be self-assured and confident in your abilities, but remember, the ball is in the interviewer's court, and you should defer to them

4. Poor body language  

Hiring managers pay attention to your verbal answers, but they also look at how you deliver them. Do you look them in the eye? Do you fidget, play with your pen or fold your arms across your chest? All of these nonverbal cues play a part in the impression you make.

Your eye contact, handshake and posture can all help or hinder your chances of landing a job, and there are positive nonverbal cues that you can send during an interview to help the interview team view you favorably.

In general, sitting up straight indicates that you're paying attention, and a slight lean forward conveys interest and engagement. A warm and genuine smile makes everyone feel more comfortable. You should also have a firm handshake, but not too firm – crushing hands is no way to win favor.

Hand gestures during the conversation are fine, but refrain from fidgeting, such as shaking your leg, tapping your fingers or playing with a pencil.

Finally, maintain eye contact. Staring might make an interviewer uncomfortable, but looking the speaker in the eye, with slight breaks to look away, is polite. The goal is to be engaged and interactive. Looking someone in the eye when they speak to you and while you respond indicates respect for the person and that you are present in the moment. Frequently looking away or over their shoulder while talking to them conveys disinterest.

TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL JOB INTERVIEW

TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL JOB INTERVIEW 

1. Research the Company before going for Interview.

When you get to that interview, you’ll be asked about why you want to join and how you can contribute. Read up on the prospective employer on google.

2. Know your self.

Remember the first impression is the last impression. Demonstrate your capabilities and qualities and how well you can serve them. Don't be overconfident and aggressive. Research yourself, ask yourself what your objectives are, what short-term & long-term goals you have, know your CV and prepare your answers.

3. Practice to be Perfect

You may not know exactly what they’re going to ask you, but you do know they’ll ask you something. Practice the delivery of your speech and improve your compute time by asking a friend to pretend being the interviewer.

on’t ask them to read from a list of questions you’ve prepared—an interview would not go that way. Instead, ask them to come up with how their idea of an interview would go.

4. Competency and transferable skills

Competency skills are the skills matching your job profile and transferable skills are the ones that you have acquired through other jobs and personal activities.

Employers typically use some of the following as their key competencies.

• Teamwork
• Responsibility
• Commitment to career
• Commercial awareness
• Career motivation
• Decision-making
• Communication
• Leadership
• Trustworthiness & Ethics
• Results orientation
• Problem-solving
• Organization
• Top Technical Skills

5. Interview manners

Mind your manners, when it comes to interviews. Bad manners will definitely be a turn-off. Don't bang the door, shake hand firmly, ask if you can take a seat, sit up straight and do not slouch.

Some basic interview manners include:

• Be prompt when responding to an interview request.
• Be on time for the interview.
• Bring all supporting materials/ documents (as applicable)
• Keep your mobile phone on silent or switched off during the interview so that your full attention is there.
• At the closing, thank the interviewer for the time they spent interviewing with you.

Conclusion

Now that you have some good interview tips. Be confident, gear up and don't let yourself down. Remember this is not the end of life if you don't get through to the process. It’s just an interview. Good Luck!

What is Second Interview? and Why Second interview?

What is Second Interview? and Why Second interview?

The candidates who pass the screening interview are selected for a second round interview. Second round interviews typically involve more detailed interview questions about the applicant, their qualifications, and their ability to perform for the company. Second round interviews may include interviewing with multiple interviewers including management, staff, executives, and other company employees.

Many companies interview candidates for employment twice, or even more often. When companies have a multiple interview process, the first round of interviews are screening interviews that are used to determine which applicants have the basic qualifications required for the job.

TIPS for Second Interview:

1. Research anyone who you know you're meeting with if you were given names ahead of time. 

This doesn't mean compiling a detailed dossier. It just means that you want to know what their role is, how long they've been with the company, and in some cases, what their professional history was before this job.

2. Don't ask same questions that you asked last time.

This might happen if you're talking to new people, and it even might happen if you're talking to the same person as earlier because people may have go-to questions and forget that they've already asked you them. Don't sound annoyed or give an abbreviated answer on the assumption that they can get the details from someone else. And definitely don't say, "Well, I explained that to Larry." Answer pleasantly and thoroughly, the way you would the first time the question was asked.

3. What You Didn't Say

Was there something you thought you should have mentioned during your first interview? Or was there a question you had difficulty with? The second interview will provide you with the opportunity to expand upon your responses from the first interview.

Review the notes you took during the first interview, to see what you might have missed talking about and what you can clarify or add.

4. Take the Time to Say Thank You After the Interview

Taking the time to say thank you after a job interview not only is good interview etiquette. It also reinforces your interest in the position and shows the interviewer that you have excellent follow-up skills. Use your thank you letter, as well, to address any issues and concerns that came up during the interview.

5. Checkout the Company

How much do you know about the company that just contacted you to schedule an interview? It should be plenty, and all the information you need is available online.

Here are tips on how to research a company, get the inside scoop on the company culture, and use your connections to get an interview advantage.

Some sample Questions for Second Interview:

1. What challenges are you looking for in a position?

2. What do you know about this company?

3. Questions about your career goals.

4. What do you know about this company?

5. What can you contribute to this company?

6. What applicable experience do you have?