It is estimated that one spends about two thirds of his life on the job. In addition, according to certain surveys, majority of the respondents have showed discontent on their jobs. Hence, in order to overcome dissatisfaction from the part of both employees and employers, a productive interview is highly essential.



Today, an interview has been regarded as an inevitable segment of one's life. An interview is just a face to face conversation that occurs between an employer and a job applicant. During this process, an employer determines whether or not an applicant is suitable to fill the vacant positions, while prospective employees or job applicants try their best to impress the employers. In short, an interview is a highly important segment in the process of applying for a job.

Nowadays, the job market is awfully competitive, and the real fact is that the demand for jobs is tremendously larger than its supply. It is often seen that many of the job applicants may be highly qualified as well as educated. But, they may be sometimes rejected due to their poor performance in the interview. It is therefore important for a candidate to prepare for an interview soon after the completion of his formal education.

The way an interview is conducted may vary from organizations to organizations. For example, in big business enterprises, interviews may be conducted by highly professional people adept in particular field or expertise as well as in the art of interviewing.

On contrary, in small business set ups, an interview is more likely to be conducted by the owner, who need not be a trained interviewer. Further, several methodologies are adopted for interviewing as well as assessing skills of a prospective employee, which among many others, are telephonic interviews, panel interviews, group interviews, and behavioral and stress interviews.

Similarly, the steps involved in an interview may range from a casual conversation to a series of serious discussions within a formal environment consisting of a group of professional interviewers. Hence, whichever the organization may be or whatever the methodologies they adopt for interviewing, it is important that an applicant must be well prepared for an interview.

Now we discuss some of the different ways as well as steps in order to make your first or next interview successful. This includes,

Assessing Yourself - Prior to attending an interview as well as preparing for an interview, it is important to assess your skills, personal qualities, and abilities. Also, when you prepare to attend an interview, think of your past achievements and your role in it, all of which allows you to effortlessly manage a stressful situation in the interview.

Anticipation of Questions - Perhaps the most troublesome aspect of an interview is to predict questions, especially those which are tricky. But, in most cases, these kinds of questions are mostly on the basis of common themes. This in turn allows you to anticipate questions that are normally asked in an interview.

Conducting Research - An important segment in the process of preparation is to conduct a research in order to trace out information that helps you to attend an interview. For this, you have to consider factors such as occupational knowledge, ie what is actually required to apply for a job. It is also important that you must have adequate knowledge on the organization in which you are going to attend the interview.

Your Appearance - Despite your qualification and ability to attend the interview, your appearance plays a dominant role in an interview. If your appearance as well as way of approach is good, it could undoubtedly create a good impression in interviewer on you at first sight itself. So when you come to attend an interview, dress smart, put on clean shoes as well as dress, wear appropriate jewelry, and avoid over usage of perfumes or deodorants.

Day of the Interview - On the day of the interview, prior to leaving the house, make a quick search on some of the leading search engines to gather latest information on share prices as well as any other important info related to the organization in which you are going to attend the interview. Also, brush up your knowledge on the company. Further, also check whether the company holds any kind of accreditations or certificates in the form of ISO 2001, which may sometimes prove useful in attending an interview.

During Interview - First of all greet interviewer and shake hands. As far as possible, it is good to have an open conservation between interviewer and interviewee.

In short, by doing some home work you can definitely make your interview successful. Nowadays, many leading firms have come forward to provide suitable learning programs to make an interview successful.