WHAT & WHY IS JOB INTERVIEW?

A job interview is literally a life changing event. Students at the end of their study often get nervous about facing a job interview.

Many of them have a good idea regarding job interviews as they get informed from their seniors & other acquaintances while there is another group of students who keep searching for the answer to the question – what is a job interview?

Let’s get into the details of a job interview.

JOB INTERVIEW

A job interview is a question & answer session between the job seeker or the candidate & the recruiter or job provider.  Here the qualification & competency of the applicant for a job is evaluated. After the interview with the candidates, the chosen one for the job is announced or declared.

What a person will have to do in a particular post & what qualifications are needed to perform those duties are checked in a job interview. Work as well as study related topics are discussed & asked in such a session to see how smartly a candidate can answer. Sometimes a written task is also offered to complete in a job interview session.

A job interview is the result of short-listing candidates from the pool of CV received for a particular post announced. A job interview lasts for a few hours or whole day long if a large number of employees is to be recruited. A candidate has to ensure the following things while participating in a job interview:

• Being prepared with formal attire with utmost fresh look.
• Carrying a file of important documents, like certificates, testimonials & mark-sheets etc.
• Reaching on the spot on time.
• Exploring the available information about the company & job post &
• Behaving professionally.

WHY A JOB INTERVIEW?

The main purpose of a job interview is to select the efficient candidate among the job seekers or interviewees. Though there are CVs of the applicants for a particular job post from where the initial judgment is done, still an interview is needed for the following reasons:

• The live interaction with candidates helps recruiters in better decision making.
• It orients the candidates with the professional environment.
• Candidates get to see the office & become mentally prepared.
• Candidates can realize the demand of a job & the qualities sought for by facing an interview.
• It builds confidence among job seekers.

TYPES OF A JOB INTERVIEW

Generally there are two types of job interviews. They are:

ONE TO ONE INTERVIEW

In this set up, there is one interviewer & one interviewee. In a small company, the departmental head or the owner of the company directly conducts this interview. The interviewer counts & evaluates the answer & then chooses the appropriate one. In such interviews, competency is tested & evaluated.

PANEL INTERVIEW

In a panel interview, a board is formed from the side of the recruiting organization & they ask & observe the interviewee. One candidate at a time is called upon & tested. Sometimes tricky & unusual questions (away from the job context) are also asked to see if the candidate can answer them with confidence or gets nervous & makes a blunder.

WHAT INTERVIEWER EXPECTS?

In a job interview the interviewers expect the following qualities among candidates:

• Promptness in answering
• Proper eye contact with the interviewer/s
• Professional behavior
• Fresh look
• “I can do it” attitude
• Relevant inquiry regarding the context & content of job

COMMON QUESTIONS ASKED AT JOB INTERVIEW

Although based on the nature of jobs & organizations, the evaluation patterns vary, still there are some common questions that are asked in a job interview session. Those are:

• Why should we recruit you?
• Tell me / us about yourself in line with the post you have applied for.
• What is your strength?
• How can you add value to our company?
• Sometimes the workload will be extreme, you might have to work on holidays, and will you be able to?
• Why have you applied for this job?
• Do you have previous job experience? If yes, why have you left that job?
• How important is ethics to you?
• Tell me / us about an event where you lead a group of people without any instruction & became successful.
• How would you manage an angry customer?

So, now if the question – what is job interview arises into your mind, this article will help you form an idea about the answer. Just be confident & feel that it is a scope to prove your mettle what you have achieved so far in the educational life.