Think Out Of The Box To Pass a Job Interview
Run of the mill interviewing techniques are becoming talk of the past.
“Tell me about yourself”?, A question that has been out there for so long that candidates tend to just learn the answer to it by heart with minor tweaks here and there.
If the questions aren’t going to change so will the same patented responses will be given during interviews. There is no advancement in the interviewing procedures and no learning for graduates coming fresh out of the universities.
Let’s consider a situation where a candidate (you) gets the call from HR representative of the company you applied to.
A unique feature about this call would be (we’ll get into that) but how normally a candidate would respond to one such call:
HR: “Hi, is this Mr. X I’m speaking to?”
Mr. X: “Yes, who’s this?”
HR: “This Ms. Y from ABC Co., you applied for the position of XYZ. Have you got a minute, I have to ask a couple of questions?”
Mr. X: “Please go on”
HR: “Ok, so have been you working somewhere?”
Mr. X: “Both yes and no, actually I resigned from my previous employment and am currently serving my notice period”
HR: “Ok, it says here you’ve been with the firm for last 5 years, what makes you want to switch?”
Mr. X: “Although, I have had no issues here during the tenure of my employment, all I feel is a bit stagnant where I’m and want to challenge myself in pursuit of new and better opportunities”
HR: “Alright, let me schedule an interview with you tomorrow say at 11am?”
Mr. X: “Sounds good to me, will be there.”
HR: “The directions to our office will be emailed to you shortly.”
Mr. X: “Sure thanks. Bye.”
That is how a normal telephonic interview appears as. But if we could improvise and candidate can earn the seat in front row? Startling? We pick it up from point no. 10 above and see how it changes.
Mr. X: “Can I suggest a date, as I have some things to take care of in the days to follow? Hence I won’t be able to squeeze time for the meet.”
HR (based on the availability): “When it would be possible for you to visit, then?”
Mr. X: “On so and so date (suggest a date for 2-3 days ahead)
The idea is to buy time so you can thoroughly search about the company, its stakeholders, review their profile on LinkedIn and prepare yourself well.
HR: “How does day after tomorrow sound?”
Mr. X: “Great!”
Now if the counter argument is not up to your liking, best lock in the day as it maybe that the organization is interviewing other candidates or the interviewing authority may not be available in those days.
At least by making a request you have made your presence felt and that you are not typical instead expressive. Just that is the purpose of asking to schedule at a later date. This gives you leverage in negotiations at the time of offer.
You don’t need to insist on scheduling for the day/date you have in mind or you’ll lose the opportunity, altogether. An attempt suffices and generally employer allows for a day or two in scheduling meets for candidates.
Secondly, the questions needs to be revisited to allow candidates to speak open-endedly and when someone is provided the platform to speak, their frame mind is reflected and the person interviewing can gauge whether or not the person would be a suitable fit for the organization.
Questions could be:
“How much element of fun is part of your life?”
“Do you cater to sarcasm?”
“What if I were to ring up a close friend of yours, will he/she be able to tell me your weaknesses?”
Author Bio
Rayanne Dany is an HR consultant and can be reached for assignment writing service via her twitter handle. She has tons of experience in different organizations amounting to a total of 10 years. Her insight over the years as an HR professional has paved way for writing improvement techniques.
