Tik-Tok, Tik-Tok, you can even hear the seconds hand tick on your watch as you struggle to find the right answers to the interviewer’s questions. The scene is right out of your worst job interview nightmare!
Whether it is a stress interview or an interview going bland, inadequate interview preparation can lead to disastrous results.
A job interview is the final hurdle of your dream job, but its preparation needs to be started well in advance, along with aptitude tests and group discussions.
Let us first understand the different problems you can face in a job interview and how you can prevent them –
You fail to impress with ‘Tell us a bit about yourself’ question
Almost every recruiter starts a job interview with the question about introducing yourself. They can use questions like ‘Tell us a bit about yourself’; ‘Tell us something that’s not on your resume’, ‘Elaborate on your background’ etc. They all mean the same, the recruiter wants to hear who you are, why you are there and why do you think you are suitable for the job.
BUT, this has to be given to the recruiter in an elevator pitch, an answer that fits under a minute and interests the recruiter to ask further questions.
This is your chance to take control of the job interview and direct it towards your strong points. Write down and answer and prepare to say it loud.
You lack enthusiasm and have poor interview behavior
An interviewer is probably meeting multiple candidates for any role and maybe all on the same day. This leaves the responsibility of conducting an energetic and lively job interview on you.
You need to manage to excite the interviewer with your enthusiasm for the job and the company.
This is visible through your body language and interview behavior. Fiddling with accessories, cracking your knuckles, low eye-contact, all these are poor signs of confidence.
If you are unsure how you appear in an interview, you can sign up for the Mock AI tool which records your job interview behavior and gives you detailed feedback. It provides you with areas of improvement and how you can positively impact your body language with body posture, facial expressions, and voice modulations for success. You will also get tips on ensuring high energy throughout the job interview.
You fail to answer common interview questions
The interviewer expects to meet a candidate who is well prepared for the job interview. But when you do not answer basic questions about the job profile or the company, then they think you are not interested in the job.
A significant part of your interview preparation should be the time you invest in reading up about the company and the job profile that is offered to you.
You also need to be prepared with common interview questions for the job profile.
The Mock AI tool can help with this issue as well, as it has a bank of frequently asked job interview questions. As you use the tool, you can get prepared with these questions.
You don’t ask questions about the company or the role being offered to you
Many job candidates sail through most of the interview but get stuck at the question where the interview asks ‘Do you have any questions for me?’ Most of them end up saying they don’t have questions or just give a sheepish grin. This indicates that they are glad for the interview to be over and are desperate to get the job no matter what!
During your job interview preparation, you should spend some time in listing down questions that you can ask the interviewer.
For example, the growth prospects of the job, where the recruiter thinks you fit in the job, new projects the company is undertaking and so on. Show the recruiter that you are invested in the company and would like to be a part of it.
Do all it takes in your power to ensure your job interview is interesting and goes on for a long time. However, sometimes your recruiter may not be in the right frame of mind or their personality is just not friendly/approachable and you may feel the job interview is going bland. Don’t worry, give it best and hope the interview turns into a job offer! For professional help, register to MockAI and be well prepared for your job interview.
For more such job tips and advice, follow our careers blog here.
