this is about basic business communication

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THE SELECTION INTERVIEWTHE SELECTION INTERVIEW
PROCESSPROCESS

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Presentation Coverage
• Expectation of an employer from a professional employee.
• Objectives of Interview
• Preparation for Interview
• During the Interview - Hints.
• How to Close the interview
• If rejected – Analyze yourself
• If selected – Your responsibilities towards present employer.

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Expectation of an employer from a professional employee
•Integrity : Honest in performing duties.
•Objectivity : Should not be biased.
•Competence &
Due Care : Perform duties with due
care, competence and diligence
•Confidentiality: Maintain the confidentiality of information acquired
•Professional
Behavior : Should act in a manner consistent with the
reputation of the organisation.
•Technical Standards: Should carry out services in accordance
with relevant technical and professional standards.

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Objectives of Interview
 For the interviewer:
 Gathering information about the candidate
 Informing the candidate about the nature of the job and the
organization.
 Assessing whether the applicant will be able to adapt himself as
per the organisation requirements.
 For the interviewee - it offers an opportunity of:
 Presenting favourably and selling to the interviewer.
 Collecting information regarding the job and the organization
 Testing personal adaptability.

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Types of Interview
 Sequential interview
 Serialised interview
 Panel interview
 Structured interview
 Stress interview

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PREPARING FOR THE INTERVIEW
• Knowing about the employer
Before going for an interview you should find out all you can about
the organization
• Knowing about the job
It is important that you are familiar with the various aspects of
the job beforehand.
• Job specification
Detail of the skills, knowledge and abilities required to
perform the job satisfactorily.
• Job Description
What is to be done, why it is to be done, where it is to be
done, and also, briefly, how it is to be done. Summary of the
tasks, duties and responsibilities in a job.
Contd..

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Knowing what is happening around you
 It is very important to know what is happening on the
international, national and local scene.
 Form your own views on each topic and should be able to
express and elaborate about those.
Questions you may be asked in interview.
You should make a checklist of all possible questions that
may be asked
Question Bank

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On the day of the interview
 Make sure you get a good night’s sleep
 Appearance always counts, so be neat and clean.
 You must prepare yourself systematically for the day of
the interview.
 Allow yourself plenty of time in the morning.
 it is important for you to be well-groomed for an interview.
 To avoid last minutes nuisance prepare a checklist of the
things which you need to carry for the interview.

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Checklist
The following checklist will help you organize your items
for the interview:
 File with certificates, documents and proof of your
qualifications.
 Set of duplicate copies of all your certificates, degrees and
mark sheets.
 Extra copy of your resume.
 Two passport size photographs; if more have been
specifically asked for, keep additional copies as well.
 Interview call letter and other important correspondence
with the company.
Contd….

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Checklist
 Address and telephone number of the organization
 A small notepad.
 A pen and make sure that it write well.
 Your business card (if you have one).
 Enough money.
 Safety pins.
 A small sachet of freshener or cologne.
 Some reading material in case your have to wait for your
interview turn.
 Vanity bag for girls.
 A clean handkerchief and a small towel.
 If you have your own vehicle, do check the night before petrol,
air pressure in tyres, etc., and do not forget to carry all the
required car papers and your driving licence.

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During the interview
 Some important hints:
 Go to the interview alone
 Be punctual.
 Be patient while waiting in the reception area.
 Be pleasant and poised. Smile.
 Control nervousness
 Avoid smoking or chewing gum.
 Watch your grammar, pronunciation and non-verbal
behavior.
 Do not brag or boast, and do not try to bribe.
 Express appreciation for the interview.
 Thank the receptionist when leaving the main office.

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Body action and delivery mannerism
 During the interview, the interviewer evaluates your
ideas in part based on what you say and partly by
what your actions indicate.
 Walk up straight to the interview table, ask
permission to be seated.
 Don’t move the chair.
 Sit comfortably in a natural pose.
 Make sure that you are not shaking your foot or
your leg.
 Your facial gestures are equally important.

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Avoid the following during the interview:
 Putting your fingers in your mouth or biting your
nails.
 The eyes rub.
 The nose touch.
 The mouth guard or a fake cough during the
interview.
 The ear rub.
 The neck bending.
 Collar pull.
 Pressing and releasing the ball pen.

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Factors which indicate your attitude towards the work
and organization.
 Your degree of interest in your previous jobs and in the
kind of work for which you are applying is an important
indicators of your attitude towards work.
 The organization will also be interested in your attitude
towards it. How familiar are you with its products and
services?
 Your interviewers will judge your attitude from what you
say and kind of questions you ask.

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How to handle poorly phrased questions
You may occasionally encounter an interviewer who
phrases questions in such a manner that the applicant is
encouraged to answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’, rather than providing
the kind of complete answers that would help sell yourself
better.

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What questions you could ask during the interview
Be sure to avoid asking anything which you are
already supposed to know.
 Prepare a list of questions you would like to ask the
interviewer.
 Ask about things of interest that you learned from reading
about the organization.
 Ask about things that would naturally interest you such as
organizational training programmes.
 You may ask how the job you would be doing fits in within
the organization as a whole.
Contd….

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What questions you could ask during the interview
 You may also ask specific job-related questions
concerning the computer hardware or software used, the
flow of work activity, and so forth.
 Don’t mention salary unless the interviewer asks what
salary you desire. Then specify a range – a little on the
higher side of what your research indicates is common in
your occupational area.
 Also, a new employee should be more interested in the
job and working conditions rather than in his or her first
vacation, so don’t ask about vacations.

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How to handle stress during the interview
 One of the main things to remember about stress interviews is
that staying calm and rational is more important than
anything you say or do. Be prepared to emphasize your
strengths.
 If you are greeted by silence, simply ask the interviewer if he or
she is ready to begin.
 If you receive no response, say that you assume that he or she
is using silence as a stress technique. Then begin by providing
the information you have prepared like introduction.
 If you are asked an offensive question, ask clarification.
Avoid uttering offensive words. Keep yourself cool, and
maintain your self respect.

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How to close the interview
 Rarely is a job offered at the end of the first interview. The
employer usually has other applicants to see. Some
companies wish to conduct tests of all promising
applicants.
 Never press for a decision. Give the employer time to
consider your application, that also gives you some time to
decide whether this is the right job for you.
 You may realize during the interview that you do not want,
or are not qualified, for the job described to you, Don’t
express it. Simply thank and close the interview.

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How to close the interview
 So it is time to leave, thank the interviewer for giving you
his time.
 Be sure to take with you all your papers and other
belongings.
 Do also collect any other thing which you may have left in
the reception room and, before leaving, thank the
receptionist.

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If rejected – Analyze yourself
 Obviously, it is not possible for you to get every job you
apply for; several times you will not be selected.
 When this happens, don’t take it to mean that you are not
good. It is possible that the person who was selected
scored better in the selection test. Do not feel dejected.
Treat each interview as a valuable learning experience to
evaluate and improve your performance.
 Clinically analyse your performance in the written tests
and the interview. Make a list of the points you should be
more careful about in your next interview.
Contd….

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If rejected - Analyze yourself
 If you can’t figure out the reason for your rejection then the
best thing would be to talk to an experienced person and
discuss the matter frankly, the person in whom you
confide should be trustworthy and capable of guiding you.
 There could be various other factors for not getting a job.
 Remember the person conducted the interview is also a
human being and liable to make mistakes.
It is very important that you don’t lose heart because
of one or two failures. If you keep trying and keep
improving, no success on earth can elude you.

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If selected - Your responsibilities towards present
employer
 Now that you have the job you wanted and are dreaming
of the new horizons that have opened before you, don’t
forget to give sufficient notice to your present employer.
 His work should not suffer by your going away and he
should be in a position to make alternative arrangements.
 Try your utmost to clean up all your outstanding work and
projects to the best of your ability.
 Should one of your colleagues be assigned your work on a
temporary or permanent basis after you leave, hand over
all details in a correct and orderly manner.
 Not only is it the right and proper thing to do but news has
a habit of getting around and, of course, you never know
when you may need to refer to your previous
employer again!

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Thanks