With the placement season just around the corner, let me take this moment to give you my two cents’ worth. Throughout my journey as a Career Counsellor and an Executive Coach, I’ve seen quite a few candidates excel in their interviews. At the same time, I have also seen several interviewees fail miserably (including some truly capable candidates). It is heart breaking when you see people fail despite knowing that they have what it takes to excel. How can you make yourself stand out your interviews and land the job you aspire? Here are some pointers that you might find useful.
With the placement season just around the corner, let me take this moment to give you my two cents’ worth. Throughout my journey as a Career Counsellor and an Executive Coach, I’ve seen quite a few candidates excel in their interviews. At the same time, I have also seen several interviewees fail miserably (including some truly capable candidates). It is heart breaking when you see people fail despite knowing that they have what it takes to excel. How can you make yourself stand out your interviews and land the job you aspire? Here are some pointers that you might find useful.
Before you go into some ‘interview training’ mode and start preparing your standard responses to the equally standard questions, PAUSE! Explore a little bit more, introspect, and arrive at a ‘sweet spot’ that is unique for you and shows your personality, separating you from the herd. If you are authentic during your interview, your employers will be willing to pay a premium for you compared to the other cookie cutter imitations out there. Please keep in mind that the guys who got ahead of the pack didn’t do what the pack did. They took the road less travelled and in the end that made all the difference!
Here’s a sample list of questions that should lead to some interesting personal discoveries:
- What are you best at doing? It is amazing how many people spend years trying to get good at what they’re bad at instead of getting better at what they’re good at.
- What talents do you have that you haven’t developed? Don’t say none.
- Which of your skills are you the proudest of? This often reflects obstacles you’ve overcome.
- What were you doing when you were happiest in your work life? Could you find a way to be doing that now?
- What are your most cherished hopes for your future work life? What could keep you from realising those hopes?
Well, thinking about these questions helps you define your ‘self-worth’ and that is key to great interviewing.
About the Author:
Prof Subbaraman (Subba) Iyer has spent over 30 years in several roles across technology, business and consulting in the IT and internet industries. Despite his success in the corporate world, his true calling is exploiting human potential and he attempts to do that through counselling, coaching, and inspiring people to scale new heights. As an executive coach, Subba has helped professionals and teams improve their performance significantly by expanding perspectives and envisioning new possibilities.
