If you’ve been giving interviews for a job, or you want to switch your existing company for better pay and position then you must start way before applying to the jobs. I call this digging your well before you are thirsty.
You See it can be frustrating if you do not have any job in hand. Rejections post the interviews can really affect your self-confidence. You must always try to remember your past achievements at this crucial time. The achievements you have made in your career till now. You’ve proven yourself in the past and there is nothing which can stop you from proving yourself in the future as well. This will calm your nerves, and will give you the much-needed confidence.
You must also remind yourself that there can be many factors which led to your rejection other than the fact that you were not the best fit for the role.
May be the budget of company was less than your expectations.
May be the geography of the job role you applied was new to you. Recruiters always give preference to the ones who knows the geography well. This is very true if you are into marketing and sales function.
Likewise, there can be many May bes – So my point here is that – You must always safeguard your confidence and self-esteem. Don’t let a few rejections hamper your self-confidence. It is one of your biggest asset.
And if you happen to be a fresher – I would like to say to you that your failed attempts are your badges of honor.
You will learn so much from them.
I vividly remember my first few interviews. They were pathetic. But you know whats funny – I got selected even after my interviews went crazy. I remember shaking and my voice breaking while I was answering the questions.
I was so scared that the interviewer offered me a glass of water to make me feel comfortable.
I suppose I got selected for my communication skills alone. I didn’t had any other skills back then.
I ended up working 3 years for that company and let me tell you I learned a lot from that job.
I learned Sales, Marketing, digital marketing, public speaking from this job.
I hope my personal story will help you in your journey.
In India you will get the entry level jobs easily if your communication Skills are above average. So brush up your soft skills and you will have a job in hand in no time.
Let us now focus on how to build a great resume. Your resume is the single most important document which highlights your career. You ought to spend a lot of time on it.
I see job seekers making one resume and sending the same resume to all the recruiters. This is not a very efficient strategy.
Instead, you must do the little tweaks as per the job description and job specification of the job you’re applying for.
Why do I suggest this?
You must have seen across many job portals that a job may have hundreds or
thousands of applicants. Do you think the HR manager or the recruiter will look at each application manually?
Of course not!!
Recruiters these days use various screening softwares to filter out the candidates which does not match their requirement.
These softwares scans each CV and see if the CV matches the Job description.
If your CV doesn’t have the keywords of Job description then your CV doesn’t stand any chance.
Hence, giving your CV a little makeover to match the job description will go a long way in improving your chances of being shortlisted for a preliminary call from the recruiters.
I have seen many candidates saying that – I do not entirely match the job description or job specification of the listed job. So I must not apply to the job.
I’d like to give you a little heuristic here. If you think your profile matches between 50 to 70% of the JD and JS, then you must go ahead and apply to the job.
If there are skills that you don’t have mentioned in the job requirement, you can always work on acquiring those skills post your selection. And you must not feel guilty about it. There is no such thing as the “PERFECT CANDIDATE”.
So go out there and apply to as many jobs as you can if you match at least 50% of the requirements. Take your chances. You can’t win a game that you don’t even play. Right?
Believe me You will be amazed to see the difference.
Many organizations ask you to submit a cover letter as well, with your resume. What exactly is a cover letter?
Well, a cover letter helps you sell for the job. It’s a document which allows you to share why you are the best fit for the job.
You must include your best achievements in your cover letter, especially the ones that are in line with the job role you are applying. This will help your cover letter stand out from the crowd.
Make sure you don’t make a single cover letter and use it everywhere. Instead make small changes according the company and the profile. These are the small nuances which makes all the difference.
So you must devote a good amount of time writing your cover letter.
Before we move ahead on how you can ace your interviews I’d like to request you go ahead and write your reviews for Career Hustle Podcast.
Your 2 minutes of writing an honest review will help us grow this podcast.
Now let us get back to how you can ace your interviews?
The basics says that you must think before you speak and speak a little slowly. We often speak at a faster pace and in a rush to complete the answer to the question asked.
The problem here is often we don’t know what we’re speaking.
The trick is to listen to the question carefully. And understanding it.
If you have not understood the question – It is absolutely ok to ask the interviewer to repeat the questions again. Its always better to ask again then to answer something you were not asked. Which will definitely look bad.
When it comes to introduction part – You must prepare and practice it thoroughly.
One area where I believe everyone must work is the way we pronounce certain words. A little practice will make you stand apart from other candidates. Small and medium firms may not notice it much but if you are targeting MNCs then you have to work on your pronunciations.
A couple of mispronounced words will drastically reduce your chances of working for an MNC.
I believe I need not point on the grooming part – because its so obvious. The only thing I’d like to say is – Look your absolute best. Even better than what you would look on your wedding day.
Are you laughing dear? I am not joking at all.
The way you present yourself in a job interview will have direct impact on your income and hence the quality of life you will be living. So it does make a lot of sense to look your absolute best. Doesn’t it?
Most interviews today happen online. So make sure you’re using an HD webcam. If your laptop by default have an HD Camera then its fine. If not then you must go ahead and make that little investment of buying an HD webcam. The point is to look your best – Online or offline.
I guess I don’t need to tell a lot on hard skills. Its your job function related skills and you can handle them way better.
But you must always read on some of the behavioral questions online which the interviewer may ask you to get to know your personality better. On the internet you will get tons of questions with the best possible answers for different scenarios.
It will be very handy to go through them once before your interview.
If you happen to be giving interviews in some foreign companies, then you need to take care of a few things. Foreign companies try to know that weather you will be a good fit for the team.
Moreover they also want to seek someone who will align with their core values. Hence make it a point to study the history of the company along with its vision, mission and values that they care about. So there it was – how you can get your dream job. I hope I was able to give you some value. Thankyou.