10 things you must know to crack any interview

1. Dress up right:

This means that you must spend time on your hair, facial hair, nails and clothing to look formal and presentable to the interviewer. First impressions always matters.

2. Body language:

 Having the right body language can go a long way in showing the interviewer what you are capable of. Confidence of a person is judged from his/her body language;  so spend time looking at the mirror working on this.

3. Have a CV worth looking at:

Understand that the interviewer is screening through 100’s of people for a very limited number of spots. All he/she has to understand and know about you is this 1 sheet of paper you give. Make it worth reading. The usual “I want to work in a challenging environment where my skills are utilized… blah blah”  is just going to make the interviewer skip through those lines.

4. Your skills should be portrayed in your CV, not mentioned in it or spoken about:

Don’t say ‘I am a good leader, I learn quick, I can face challenges‘ etc. Give instances that prove it. If your CV has some event you have managed, say some college fest or fundraiser, then you can say you have good management skills because you have actually done something to back up what you are saying.

Instead, if your CV has got poor grades, you can’t go out there and say ‘I am a quick learner’, or  ‘I understand stuff real quick’.

Its not what you believe, its what you can prove with instances that need to be there.

5. Having an entrepreneurial instinct helps:

This is not a mandatory requirement but having an entrepreneurial instinct always helps if you can prove that you see the company you are interviewing for as your own. Its a huge boost for the interviewer to know he is talking to someone who values the job and wants to work in order to improve the company and not just for his paycheck.

6. Have a positive attitude:

Its natural that people like working around others who bring positive energy to the table. Showcase optimism and self confidence.

7. Never complain:

Take responsibility for your actions. Have integrity and never say you are not good enough at something because of your college or the crowd or society or the education system or any other thing or person you can think of.

8. Do not look for sympathy:

Never say stuff like ‘I need this job to support my family’ or  ‘I am in financial crisis‘ etc., It maybe true, but it is VERY unprofessional.

9. Convince yourself that you deserve the job:

This is the most important step thus far. If you can’t convince yourself that you are the right person for the job, there is no way you are going to convince a total stranger. Convincing yourself should be based on your achievements and not plain reassurance.

10. Be prepared:

All said and done, there is no substitute to preparation. You need to read up about the company you are interviewing for, know your subjects and be ready to answer anything they ask you.