DISPELLING MYTHS

The four common Myths about Interviews are as follows:

MYTH I
CONVINCING the interviewer about a point is most important, even if you have to argue.

This is not true. It is better to lose a point and win a job. You may cite some examples to support your point. Then don't try to convince the interviewer. Remember the interviewer is trying to learn what type of person you are, not merely what you know.

MYTH II

ANSWERING questions is the main purpose of the interview.

This is not true. Managing questions is of utmost importance. Giving binary (either yes or no) answers does not help - or just saying " I know what the job is all about I can do it" is of no help. Much more is required.
Managing questions means answering them in a manner to demonstrating certain aspects about your competence. Thus showing the relationship between your past experience and the proposed assignment.

MYTH III

ASSESSING of interviewees is based on answering ability alone.

This is not true as the assessment is of the person and not only of the answers. Interviewers generally "Listen to what the candidate says, what he does not say and what he cannot say ". This is because the interviewee says what he wants the interviewer to hear and does not say what he does not want the interviewer to hear. Finally the interviewee cannot say what he does not know. The interviewer therefore, assesses the interviewee as a person through his response or the lack of it.

MYTH IV

PREPARING for an interview is only done at college or junior levels.

This is absolutely not true. Preparing to handle anticipated questions helps in putting across your points in a logical and concise manner. It also helps to manage questions better. Quite often it has been found that many competent interviewees come across badly at interviews because of poor presentation of thoughts. You may have the knowledge but because of lack of preparation you are unable to marshal your thoughts well or reasonably fast. The interviewer could therefore have an adverse opinion of you. Remember at any stage of your career, preparation is key to success. However, this does not mean just memorizing answers.

UNDERSTANDING INTERVIEWERS

Interviewers try to understand the type of person an interviewee is and not merely what he/she knows. Previously they would mainly select candidates based on his/her personality, communication skills, qualifications & experience. These represents "CAN - DO" abilities only. A candidate who has good CAN-DO abilities may not perform, unless he possesses good WILL-DO qualities such as industry, perseverance & competitiveness. An interviewer therefore tries to assess how a candidate applies his CAN-DO abilities through his WILL-DO qualities to perform on the job.

CAN-DO qualities are easier to identify. There are quite a number of instruments, tools and techniques to help the interviewer to assess the capability of the interviewee. "Job - Competence" can be measured through CAN-DO qualities.

WILL-DO qualities relate to "Job Behavior" which is largely based on individual habits or character traits. Some key traits related to interviewer questions are given below:

These qualities are often very important to an interviewer who is in search of a consultant to fit into a team or with whom he is comfortable dealing with. Very often you hear an interviewer say, "the candidate is OK but I am not comfortable with him". It is therefore important that the interviewee project these traits while presenting his past experience even if direct questions are not asked covering these aspects.

PREPARATION TECHNIQUES

Preparing for interviews helps you to:

• Anticipate questions and prepare answers such that you present yourself in a clear and concise manner. It also improves the accuracy and completeness of the answer.
• Customize your answers in line with the job requirements, organization culture/norms and industry facts. This helps you to relate past experience to current job requirements and to provide convincing examples/experiences in relation to the organization/ industry.

THE 'top' PREPARATION TECHNIQUE

While preparation covers all aspects, you may like to concentrate on 3 core areas. This does not mean preparation excludes areas such as knowledge of company, job and industry. These are also important as knowledge of these aspects show the interviewee's interest.

• T - Technical knowledge
  
• O - Operational skills, techniques & experience
  
• P - Personal habits and traits
  

Technical Preparation
When preparing technically there is a need to know the level of depth to which you have expertise in a specific area. The levels of depth would be :

• Level 1 - Features
• Level 2 - Utilities
• Level 3 - Limitations/Comparisons
• Level 4 - Managing Limitation

The different areas could be categorized as follows: