Your Job Blog

Interviews aren’t necessarily as intimidating as they are made out to be. Most people approach interviews with dread and that is the reason they flounder at the interview and do not manage to impress the recruiters or selectors. There is a simple way to approach interviews and to just approach them as things that happen in the usual course of events.

When people walk in for an interview with a reputed company or firm they have it firmly established in their minds that the selectors will get tough on them. That however is merely a perception we have with no truth in it. Selectors hold interviews with the sole intention of finding the best candidate for a job. Their only purpose during the interview is to decide whether you will be able to handle the demands and rigors of the job or whether someone else could do it better. When they ask you a tough question the intention is not to grill you but merely to see if you have a solution to a problem or whether you can tackle tricky situations.

There is no need to make an extra effort to impress the selectors. It will suffice to give them pertinent and to the point answers to every question they throw to you. It is unnecessary to add extra information to show off your qualifications and expertise. If you are able and knowledgeable at your job it is sufficient to make a good impression.

Another area which needs to be given some attention during interviews is your appearance. It will not do to look scruffy and shabby. There is no need to be extremely fashionable, it is however desirable to dress in a slightly conservative and formal manner. Let neither your clothes nor you manners do the talking for you.

Therefore if you are backed by expertise and know your job there is no need to dread an interview. It is natural to be anxious or nervous but if you are good enough for your job there is no need to be worried.

The secret to impressing your future boss is by writing your resume in a manner that makes you seem more qualified than you probably are. For example many people I know appear less accomplished because of the way their resumes are filled and the opposite is also true for many.

The key is to focus on your strong points and draw attention away from what you feel are your weak areas. For example your CGPA is not your strong point whereas your papers are publications are. In your academic achievements field first list all the papers you have written and where they have been published. Or if you have previously worked or been associated with big firms and companies emphasize on that.

Or in the alternative if your scores are your assets while you may not have had much work experience or publications. Stress on the fact that you scored X grade point and that you secured X rank in your year and so on.

The purpose of a CV is to showcase your achievements and not to showcase what you have not achieved. So if you have a grade point of 5 or so but instead have achieved a lot in various competitions, you could omit your grade from your CV or if it is required do mention it later after you’ve mentioned all your other achievements.

Another very important thing about your CV is the formatting. Choose a format that is appropriate for your profession and post. There are a variety of resume formats both on the internet as well as with Microsoft Word.  The resume should be simple and not too fancy and also formatted in a clear, consistent method. It should draw attention to what you want it to through the clever use of bold alphabets and italics.

A good resume is as much about the way it is compiled as about what goes inside it.