INTERVIEW TIPS VOL 4 SOME DO`S

The interview is the most important occasion, which proves a turning point in the life of the candidate if he is able to impress the interviewer or the Board of interview. It is therefore, essential that from the very beginning, the Candidate should, by his appearance is liable to have great impact on them in taking a decision about him. The following points will help the candidates a great deal in every interview,

* Make adequate preparation for the interview. Leave no chance for luck. Sufficient preparation for the interview will provide extra confident to the candidate.
* Take all the originals of your certificate and testimonials regarding your academic qualifications, age and experience.
* Reach the place of interview well before time. Any delay may cause unnecessary nervousness.
* Your dress should be neat, clean and tidy. The interview will require your personal appearance to be perfect before the Selection Board. So, it is very important that you should create a good impression. You should appear well-turned out and carefully dressed. The dress should be sober and well pressed and should conform to social and acceptable norms in clothing. Over dressing or under dressing should be avoided. Also avoid showy or gaudy dresses, mod belts, mufflers and sunglasses.
* The shoed should be well polished. The dress should give the impression that you are not a careless person but are smart and alert. A candidate with dirty and unpressed clothes and scattered hair will create a very poor impression on the Board. Hence, it is imperative that a candidate should comb his hair properly, and put on neat and tidy clothes which give the impression of alertness and smartness.
* Whether you wear Indian-dress or European one, your personality after dressing up should look natural. The dress should be complete and dignified, that is to say, if you are putting on a European suit you should wear a necktie, a pair of shoes and the color of the suit.
* In the summer you may wear a plain shirt or bush shirt of a sober color/design, but not a T shirt and do not roll the sleeves of the shirt. In winter you may wear a suit (with a matching necktie). Lady candidates should wear a Sari, avoiding fancy wear, e.g. maxis, bell bottoms, pants, footwear with high heels etc…
* Wear a smile! A natural and spontaneous smile befriends the interviewers. In answering or listening to a question or thanking the members, your natural smile will pay a lot!
* Be self confident, calm and composed. Always be optimistic and have a healthy and optimistic outlook on life.
* During the interview, you should bear in mind that you are being watched by the Board. So you should be at your best. While entering the chamber of the interview, knock at the door gently, wait for a few seconds and then walk straight and erect right up to the Chairman's table. Your gait should be dignified. With the Chairman and the Members of the Board with politeness and wait for the Chairman's direction before sitting. If you are not asked by the Chairman to sit, then you should ask politely for a seat. When asked to sit, occupy the chair without pulling or pushing it. Thank the Board for providing a seat for you, since courtesy always pays.
* While occupying the chair, cover the whole of the seat and not just the end of it. Your hands should be placed on your lap or no the sides and not across the table.
* While answering a question you should appear to be alive and interested with a natural facial expression, neither serious not casual. Be clear, frank, bold but courteous.
* Face the Chairman, but look at the member you are speaking to. Be alert in grasping the questions and lucid in answering them. A lively, lucid, forceful, fluent and realistic, rational and convincing answer spoken after understanding the questions properly is always beneficial to the candidate. When you are unable to understand the question, you may politely ask the member to repeat it. Interrupting the Member or the Chairman is not at all advisable.
* Admit your ignorance, if you are unable to answer a question. Apologize to the Board if you have spoken anything wrong, for as K.P.S Menon stated, "Ignorance is always excusable; and a candidate's confession of ignorance is commendable, but any attempt to cover up ignorance with pretended knowledge is reprehensible and will be easily found out…. In a candidate as a good servant, the chief virtue we expect is intellectual integrity".
* Try to project in the mind of the selector that you have a great interest in the job for which you are being interviewed. You reason in support of your preference for the job should be solid and convincing.
* Speak in a well modulated voice pleasing to the ears of the Interviewing Officer. Be clear in your conversation. Clarity of voice, construction of meaningful sentences, proper modulation, methodological and convincing way of presenting facts all are essential for the positive results. Fast speed in speech should be carefully avoided.
* If you want to lay stress on a particular point, it is advisable to emphasize that particular word. Simple and short sentences have greater clarity and are more effective than a difficult and lengthy construction of the sentence. The sentence should be simple, short and effective. Try to answer to the point only.
* At the end of the interview await the signal from the Chairman before getting up, thank him and the Board with a smile, walk out in a natural gait, and then close the door behind you gently.