Learning Category: Articles

Swinging Interview Ending into a Winning Moment

In job interviews, where a lot is at stake, you are mostly busy answering questions being asked of you but the ending is often a key moment that can either make or break your chances of winning over the interviewer(s).

Unlike what many of us think the interview isn’t about how you answer questions; it’s also about the questions you ask. The final moments of an interview turn the spotlight on you and present a golden opportunity to turn things around in your favour by asking insightful and strategic questions.

Sometimes it’s not about the First Impression but rather about leaving a Lasting Impression. First, consider the interviewer’s perspective. They’ve already checked out your resume and skills, so now’s your chance to show you’re genuinely interested in the job and the company. So ask insightful questions about the company culture, growth prospects, or recent projects that clearly demonstrate that you’ve researched the company and the role.

Second, when you ask questions, make sure are able to highlight some of the additional skills/attitude or experiences that weren’t covered.

For example, if the company has launched a new product and you have expertise on that you can bring that up.

Third, remember its all about the energy you show and if you are able to energize the others around you. If you feel you were nervous or a little tense during the earlier part of the interview—breathe and relax. Show your enthusiasm without showing desperation or trying to win sympathy of the interviewers. To get your point across, speak clearly and with confidence, and use positive words. Your body language should show how excited you are. Often times a candidate who is a border line can swing this opportunity at the end.

Here are some tips to ace the interview finale:

1. Spend time and energy in researching in depth on the company and the job to make sure your

questions are relevant.

2. Show that you’re interested, be honest and clear about the questions you ask.

3. Use the questions you ask to gently show off your skills and expertise.

4. If you have some personal challenges but can work around them then bring them up for example you could be a mother of a special child so may have some special situations but have been able to handle tough roles despite these.

5. You can also ask for feedback at the end—by sharing about your experience during the interview and sharing where you felt you lacked.

Some don’ts that can totally ruin your chances:

1. Overselling your candidature without actual facts

2. Asking general questions that a quick Google search/website can easily answer.

3. Bringing up a sob story—an ailing parent/childcare responsibility to earn the sympathy of the interviewer.

4. Bringing up your desperation due to a layoff/not finding a job for long and pleading for the role.

Remember it’s all about being genuine and winning over the interviewer with your attitude and skills.

 

Key things to survive this pandemic from a job/career perspective.

We are inundated with CVs as an Executive Search firm during this time – the no of job openings are far and few and whoever is hiring has a very specific time bound need.

So how do we survive these times to come out victorious ultimately:

1. Work from home and not Work FOR home–First if you are privileged to wfh and still have a job–please don’t take it lightly. This isn’t the time to feel bored–give it your 150% at this time. Make yourself valuable to the company at this time. If the company doesn’t feel you are contributing much they could consider you in the list to lay off as these are testing times.

2. Challenge yourself–This is very important you don’t have your boss to sit next to you to show you the path–virtual media has some limitations and therefore you have to research and find out the best solutions. Don’t take it easy saying i really don’t know how to do it. Where there’s a will there’s a way.

3. For a new opportunity–Remember these are testing times–so dont try the old tricks of negotiation–i am expecting a 20% hike and I want another 20% to change job. We all know the truth at this time.

So its the survival of the fittest. It isn’t that all jobs will be lost–startups are doing a great job in finding faster solutions to deal with this. Ecommerce, Agri to education companies are innovating fast to find creative solutions and yes there will be specific niche hiring which we are already seeing and supporting our clients with. However, if you have to take time off then spend that time wisely–learning new skills, upgrading yourself so that when the time is right you can find the next job faster or do something yourself better. Sometimes a hobby can become a new business idea. So use this time as creatively as you can.