Interview Tips that Really Work

The only topic with more information online than interview tips is ways to deal with sexuality issues. 

Sites and books and self-help courses on how to crack a job interview come cheaper than a dime a dozen, yet when their advice doesn’t work, the blame is conveniently laid on the larger number of applicants than available jobs.

They say that the best jobs aren’t advertised, and I quite believe them. After all, how often have you seen openings for CEOs and MDs? LinkedIn lists some vacancies that aren’t advertised openly, and other important posts are filled through a referral system. Ramit Sethi, a 29-year-old US-born Indian who runs a course called Dream Job Boot Camp, says that it’s all about the contacts, but how does a guy without networking skills make his way up in corporate India?

I encourage you to check out Ramit at IWillTeachYouToBeRich.com, but just as a teaser, here are a few tips from the pro himself that are guaranteed to get you noticed and taken seriously at an interview:

1. Find the 3 must-says that you want your interviewer to know about you, that you don’t want to get out of the room without saying

It’s happened to me so often, has it happened to you too? You walk out of the interview knowing that you haven’t made the impression you’d have wanted to, knowing that the conversation didn’t go the way you’d planned. What you should do is preplan what you absolutely have to tell the interviewer before you get out. Then, if possible, weave this into your resume, into the headline or objective.

Yes, that means tailoring your CV to fit each organization and post that you apply to. Yes, it means that you must do considerable research about the organization and the solutions it’s looking for. And yes, this extra work will be worth your while.

2. Handpick what you want to tell the interviewer when he asks you to tell him about yourself

I used to begin answering these types of questions by giving the interviewer a rundown of my educational qualifications, until one manager asked to me to stop giving him facts and start telling him about the ‘real me’. I guess it comes down to whether or not you think you are a worthwhile person if you couldn’t talk about your degrees and your job history. Besides, why would I want to waste the interviewer’s time by regaling him with information that I had already put down in my resume?

This is the time to tell the interviewer, even boast a bit, about why you’re a well-rounded, self-actualized person in your own right. What personal accomplishments are you most proud of? What are your goals (but please keep these in line with the company’s vision.) In my case, I began to speak about my black-belt status in Tae Kwon Do, which is a form of kick-boxing, and then I really watched managers’ eyes light up. Keep this part of the interview short and sweet, though; talk about two or three of your achievements in brief instead of describing incidents in your life.

3. Tell a riveting story when asked for your weak point. But don’t try to make it sound positive

The one rule that all interview websites recommend is naming your supposed ‘weak points’ but making them sound positive. Take a moment to laugh at the idea that someone’s only claim to shame is that they’re a workaholic, or that they are too detail-oriented, or that they take copious notes at meetings.

While I agree that interviewers should stay away from this question, because, let’s accept it, how honest can a person be when he wants a job that you might never hand him if he were to tell you that he’s a procrastinator, I use the time I saved in point 2 to tell a detailed story when asked this question. It works, and I’m not sure whether the additional detail convinces the interviewer that I’m telling the truth, or whether he just bores of me and proceeds to the next question.

4. Show how you are better than most people/other interviewees

I know, easier said that done. But this is where your research about the needs of this company comes in. if you know that the company is currently facing so-and-so problem, which you might be expected to help tackle if you are taken aboard, why not give your interviewer some ideas about how you’d go about handling the situation? This is guaranteed to blow him away even if the other applicants for the post are better qualified and more experienced than you are.

The most important way to really crack an interview is not on this list, but it’s also the most important way to succeed at life: be confident. If you haven’t perfected this skill, check out where the closest personality development school in your locality is located.

Often, the people who get the best jobs act like they believe that they can do the impossible and so should you.