“Failing to prepare is preparing to fail” - John Wooden
Interviews are very important for everyone but entering the meeting link without any basic preparation is a big No. Every candidate must have a basic interview preparation without which one must not go for the interview. A candidate without any knowledge of the position they are interviewing for or about the organisation, it would be extremely bad for their reputation and they might end up losing confidence in themselves. Achieving something is not easy, to achieve something one must put in equal efforts to prove themselves. One might be perfect for a job position but then that person needs to prove it. Interviewers ain’t no Gods. They see whatever the interviewee talks about during the interview. Therefore to talk about something, the interviewee needs some knowledge about the industry, how it works , it’s founders , role models etc. To know about these things one must have a basic preparation before appearing for the interview. People who enter the interview link without any sort of preparation create a very negative impact on the interviewers. One negative impact from the interviewee's side can hamper the chances of getting hired. Imagine sitting in front of the screen and not being able to answer any questions, just sitting blank with a question mark on your face. How does it feel to not be able to drive the conversations in a correct way just because you do not know answers? It is obviously not good to sit with a pale expression on your face. It is like appearing for exams without knowing anything about it. Interviews are just like exams. We write exams to pass and we appear for interviews to get hired. So make sure to be prepared because an interview without any preparations is of no use.
Statistics -
According to surveys conducted by Harris Poll -
- 71 percent of candidates are caught lying about something.
- 59 percent of candidates appear to be arrogant and overconfident.
- 52 percent of people has lack of accountability
- 48 percent interviewees talk negative things about previous organisation
- 45 percent of candidates hardly know anything about the job position and the company they are interviewing for.
- 35 percent of people do not have knowledge about the industry and its competitors.
- 49 percent of employers are well experienced to know who is fit for the position within the first five minutes of the interview.
- Candidates tend to fake their personality until they make it to the position. This happens in a situation when they do not know about the job position at all.
Tips to basic interview preparation -
Know about the company - It is very important to know about the company one is interviewing for. It creates a very positive impact on the entire hiring process. It also creates a personal connection of the candidate with the company. Knowing about the company even before getting hired can increase the chances of getting hired because it proves the sincerity you have towards the job and the position you are interviewing for. It also adds on to the value of the prior research one does before or applying to some organization. Interviewee has to prove their each and every point because the interview is all about proving themselves and the one who stands out of all candidates is the lucky one to get hired.
Look into their website - have a detailed look into their website. The website contains every little detail about the organisation. What they do, what they offer , their services , their team, founders etc. everything. It is highly suggested to go through the website because it is very likely for the interviewers to ask whether the interviewee went through their website or not. Even if they do not ask this they might direct questions with regards to the company’s website. A person should know where they are interviewing and the panel would expect the same.
Know about the basic departments - every organisation has various departments , having knowledge about the hierarchy of the organisation and its various departments would be really great. If not through knowledge just a brief go through is fine such that you don’t get stuck in any possible way while answering questions.
Products and services they offer - it is a very common and expected thing from a candidate to know about the company. To be more specific, one must know the product and services the company offers. Whether they have any other organisation or not. Whether they sell products or just offer services or do both. A candidate is expected to know this before entering the meeting link for the interview.
Reasons for leaving the previous job - If you are a candidate who left the previous job and is interviewing for a new position again, you must have an appropriate answer as to why you left the previous job and it is suggested not to give extra excuses to support your reason. If you were terminated for some reason, do let the employer know that too. Lying about things would not help because one lie would lead to another lie and in the process of covering up everything you might end up losing confidence and might give up as well. It would have more negative impact. Therefore , decide your answer to this question well in advance and remember to have an appropriate answer which should be to the point and nothing extra. Extra thoughts invite extra responses.
Avoid talking negative things about the previous organisation - degrading an organisation to impress members of the panel from another organization is a complete turnoff. Talk about the experience gained from the company and avoid talking about the problems you had as an employee there. Talking positive things create a positive and honest impact on the interviewers.
Know what type of company they are - it is very important to know whether the company is a startup or an established organisation. It would help you to set up your expectations and figure out other factors very easily.
Know how to solve real life situations - The interview panel might give real life situations and might ask your take on it. If you are interviewing for a sales position, they might ask you for your insights on a situation. These situations would come according to the position you are interviewing for. The panel will judge your abilities according to that. Framing correct and valuable answers are very important because it would decide your abilities to work in real life situations after getting hired. It would also measure your abilities in general required for getting hired for that position. These situations are tests to test your ability to handle work. You should have a proper answer to every “how to?” they ask.
Go through the job descriptions - going through the job description helps the person understand what they are interviewing for and what would be their day to day responsibilities.
“Before anything else, preparation is the key to success” - Alexander Graham Bell
Therefore , Frame answers to these questions well in advance to avoid any confusions during the interview. These questions have the ability to confuse a person and put them in stress all of a sudden. If a person is well prepared in advance then they can answer each question without feeling like a surprise bomb being dumped in the interview. Frame answers in advance. Next time do not repeat the mistakes you did in your previous interview and learn from them or if it is your first time, go through this guide to avoid every possible mistake. Good luck.
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