How To Interview Well

AGENDA

•Purpose of an Interview
•Preparations
•Conduct at Interview
•Post-Interview
•Q & A
An Interview is…

• A two way conversation

• For an interviewer to find out more on interviewee’s

capabilities and suitability

• For an interviewee to find out more on the

organization or institution

Hence, both party needs each other’s cooperation; the

interviewer has as much to gain as does the interviewee
Prepare well and well in advance…

•Physical presentation and ‘look’

•Mental preparations
Present yourself as a smart and pleasant
personality…
Be Neat and Smart-looking
 No long hair
 No ear rings for boys
 No fancy hair-style or hair-do
 No “boyish” or “girlish” fashion

 Dress Appropriately
 Don’t over-dress
 Avoid cloth that are too bright, too gaudy or too colorful
 No tight-fitting cloth or transparent dress
 Make up if applied must be subtle and applied carefully
 Wear white or light colored shirt/dress with dark
trousers/gown matched with dark/brown shoes
Carry yourself with confidence while remaining respectful

When you come in elegantly and smartly dressed, this will

project a positive first impression that will instill a sense of
confidence
Come to the interview well - organized
 All documents neatly arranged in a folder
 Have your records of working experiences nicely
arranged in a chronological order
 Have your CV neatly in hand
 Have ready copies of documents, CV, testimonials etc
 Bring along a copy of your application and other
correspondences if any

When you appear well-organised, this will have

positive points with interviews
Prepare yourself mentally…

 Do your homework on the organization

-This will demonstrate your serious interest
-This will help you ask questions about the organization

 Anticipate questions that may be asked of you; prepare

and rehearse your answers
-This will be key to your performance at the interview
-Eliminating as much surprises as possible will reduce your
nervousness and increase your sense of confidence
Prepare your own set of questions
-This will help you to be organised at the interview
-This will also allow you to help control the flow of the
interview
-Above all, this will demonstrate your serious interest in
the organization

Rehearse your proposed ‘act’ until it becomes & appears

natural
Coming to the interview…
If door is closed, knocked first before entering
Greet your interviewers as appropriate
Walk in elegantly
Project a sense of self confidence but remain respectful
Wait to be seated
If not asked, volunteer to introduce yourself
If possible, find out from the administrator the names
and designation of the interviewers so that you can
address them by name straight away

The whole idea is to project the most positive first

impression possible
During the interview, your communication
skill is the key…
Speak clearly, slow down if you need to make a
complicated point
Use short sentences to make understanding easy
Use examples and illustrations to make clear a
complicated point
Answer the question in the language it was asked
Be frank upfront which language you prefer to be
interviewed in ( your request may be turned down though)
Above all, talk in a co-herent and organized fashion so
that your answers can be well understood
During the interview, your manners score
points…
Be truthful and honest
 If you lie or pretend to know the answer, sooner or later
it will show, at the same time you are cheating both
yourself and the interviewers
Be frank and open
 if you prefer not to talk on some issue, tell your
interviewers why

Be civil and polite at all times, even when the

interviewers may appear rough on you
 they may be testing your patience
Be humble on all issues and points
 arrogance and over confidence open you to making
careless mistakes in your answers

Don’t be afraid to ask for a repeat of the question or

seek further clarifications on the question.

Remember, sincerity and humility are virtues that are

valuable at work
During the interview, your ideas and how you think
are more important than the right answers…

Express your ideas and your point of views freely

 Often there are no right or wrong answers

It is your ideas and views and your reasons for them
that the interviewers are after since this will give them
the clues as to how you will solve problems in real life

Don’t just simply say you don’t know but offer your
thoughts and your reasons for them (never mind if it is
wrong)
In real life, not all solutions are right first time
Don’t be dogmatic, remain open to new ideas and
different point of view
-At work, an open mind is needed for creativity

Don’t argue with the interviewers unnecessarily, rather

accept differences in opinion while remaining firm in your
own thinking
-in real life we face differences all the time and must
learn to live with them

Only bad interviewers ask straight questions on academic

achievements, these have been tested at school and
documented in your certificates
Help the interviewers to make the interview
productive and organized
Clarify and paraphrase questions that are not asked well,
then offer your answers freely
Not all interviewers are good or well trained at their job
of interviewing people; some only does it part time

Look for or volunteer opportunities to ask the

interviewers your questions

Make sure the question has been fully addressed before

moving on to a new issue
Help the interviewers to make the interview
productive and organized

Don’t succumb to leading questions; paraphrase and

offer your own opinions

Jot down notes or make mental notes to keep track of

the progress of the interview

The general idea is to be partly in control of the interview

process; this way you have the optimum chance of being
heard and understood
At the end of the interview…

Don’t forget to thank the interviewers for their time

devoted to you

Don’t forget to ask when you will hear from them of

their decision

Make sure you leave your active contact, more than one
will be better
Decisions are normally made on the basis of…

Your thinking process; not on right or wrong answers

How you think through solving a problem-this will

determine if you will succeed in your working life

How well and freely you generate ideas-this will

determine if you will be creative in your work
Decisions are normally made on the basis of…

How well you communicate-this will determine if you can

work in a team and lead others

How motivated and disciplined are you in delivering

results-this will determine your productivity

How open are you to ideas different from your own-this

will determine if you can cope with change
What if you failed the interview…

Don’t despair; treat this failure as your motivation for

the next try

Think back as to what might have caused you to fail and

learn from these mistakes

Do not think badly of the organization; a better person

was chosen, while you were second best
Q & A Session