7 Tips for job interview in 2k14

Are you feeling jittery for your job interview next week?

We interviewed Mala, an experienced career consultant on how executives should prepare for job interview particularly after

In this article, we'll share Mala's best 7 tips on answering interview questions.

She told us that as a general rule interviewee  have to accept his/her anxieties . Interviewee  need to prepare herself  to build quick rapport with the interviewers because interview process is all about building effective relationships. It's the responsibility of you as an interviewee  to impress the recruitment team by experience & behavioral skills.

Are you over 50 and preparing for interview?

Here are 7  Tips For Better  Interview Preparation

1.    I say punctuality is must to young people. But you are over 50 and you need to use smart talk effectively for your success. It helps you to build  relationship. This will help your likeability factor.

You need to prepare your own brand statement. Present your strength with a proper story to address the exact needs of your would be hiring manager. Who won't hire a person with an unique skill to reduce his/her pain?

2.    Get dressed properly for the interview though English saying goes ‘You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover," people tend to do that and it is human tendency to do that. So nobody can be blamed and it is wise to act accordingly and go properly dressed for the interview.

>> Click Here to download the ultimate interview book and get 11 powerful closing statements you can end your interview with

Irrespective of whether you believe in this philosophy, the world today revolves around this principle, which is, “Appearance is of great importance. Appearance is the first thing people notice about you and first impressions are usually formed within the first 30 seconds”, says Brenda Ferguson Hodges, a California based image consultant and career coach. “Appearance affects hiring decisions and plays a major role. You need to wear power outfit ".

3.    You should research the company. You need to know about the position and job description. In the sense you should know about its various branches, it’s owners, directors, products it manufactures or sells or the services it offers and last but not the least it’s clients.  Try to find a company insider from your network to know more information about the position and management expectation from the role, is it a new position/role created, if it’s an existing position why the vacancy created, company bonus & promotion policy etc. This research is crucial for you to ascertain whether you are fit for job.

A good research will definitely help you to get creative ideas to answer recruiters' questions

4.    You need to be quick at answering.  Avoid hesitation because it creates the doubt about your verbal communication skill.  Sometimes, it might have given a terrible answer and you are in a facepalm moment.

In such circumstances, just take a deep breath, backtrack your words and rephrase your answer. You can even ask for an opportunity to repeat the answer. Certainly I don’t think the interviewer would be upset, instead would appreciate your smooth recovery, instead of a scared look. It will moreover be appreciated because this is an important business skill.

5.    Here is the most important tip i.e. salary negotiation. You should be talking about salary or total cost to company very carefully, in the sense very sensibly. You should never give an impression to your interviewer that you are greedy for money and money is the only criteria for you to take up a job or this particular job, even if this the real reason that you are  looking for a change, you shouldn't show off what is in your mind.

Even if in between the interview the interviewer asks what is the salary you expect?
You should avoid that question by saying that can be discussed later once we mutually agree that I am fit for the job.  You must try in every way to make the interviewer give his or her offer first and this is must for job offer negotiation.

6.    During interview try to project how you progress in your career with time, what skill you have acquired. You should subtly emphasize your skills and experience which are very much required for the position under discussion. You should also figure it out before the interview how you can add value in the position and you need to present or demonstrate those skills during the meeting


Use story to address competency based questions. Always build your story based on a situation/context where you took some definitive actions to accomplish some critical tasks . Explain how your actions and results benefited the business.

In this regard Ramit’s brief case method works wonderfully. You should carry resume, appreciation letters from your old customers and few critical documents which you may present to them to explain some specific points/achievements  to make a positive impact.

7.    You also should prepare for other tricky questions like how you manage the strong criticism from your co-worker, your key weakness, what make you frustrated or how you work in a company with strong matrix culture etc.


Firstly, you should not say you never had a problem with any of your co-workers. You need to tell a story on how you sort out differences with your colleagues in past.

Always mention how you take feedback from your seniors and from your team on how we as a team can do better and what they all expect from you.


Also, craft a story to show you can work in a collaborative way which is a MUST in  a matrix structure . Try to emphasize your skills to win argument with various influencers to take a conclusive decision quickly.

Have you ever left a job interview knowing you completely flopped?

If you feel you have just given the worst interview of your life, don’t just blow it off out of proportions.  There is no hard and fast rule to correct an interview gone wrong, but still you can send a thank-you  email for calling you for an interview. The next best thing you can do is

•     Briefly explain why the interview didn’t go well.
•     Stress on the point that you are very much interested in the job.
•     Request for a second chance or a phone interview.
•     Ask to refer to your references again.
•     Forward your well structured resume highlighting your qualifications, problem solving skills & accomplishments which are relevant for this particular opportunity.

Last but not the least be polite at all times in the interview, be honest and ask questions where required. This is important to enable yourself to understand whether you are the right fit for the job as well as whether the company is right for you and how it’s going to be working for the company in question.

In summary, be polite, ask questions and be honest because this is another great place to do networking with people. Remember, you need to figure it out whether you are fit for the job, company for your own self interest.

About Mala - She is qualified HR professional,career psychologist & has 25 years of experience in career consulting, job interview coaching, resume & LinkedIn profile editing. Subscribe to Mala's online coaching to get the secret of success for interviews at  top-tier companies like Microsoft, Google, GM, Goldman, McKinsey and other extra-ordinary companies. She works closely with  Mr. Ramit (Author of I Will Make You Rich), Fred Ball (career coach) & other internationally famed expert.

You can set up a 20 minutes call with her where she will assess your skills and advice you based on your particular situation or you can connect with her in Linkedin.

Latest news on job interview software

1) David Dewey developed ‘Shortlister’ developed at York St John University. This software simulates
real-life interviews, managed liaison and feedback with candidates.

2) Mr. Brown has launched an iTunes app, myPitch, (99¢) for smart phones to help people develop, rehearse and video their answer for "Tell me about yourself".

This article is part of series of our article on "The Rule of The Games" to build your career in corporate or get a promotion.


To get more useful information, visit Passivepanda.com  where James recently published an excellent article on  "99 Interview Tips That Will Actually Help You Get a Job".I found this article is very good for ansering interview questions.

Share  your best answers for the toughest job interview questions below.

https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140418050226-52594-don-t-give-it-all-away-at-the-job-interview?trk=tod-home-art-list-large_0

Disclaimer : If you buy the book from my link, I will get financial incentive. The profit will be donated to"CRY" - a child welfare organization.