| Dress for the occasion The type of dress that you wear will also affect your level of confidence. Flashy colours will make you feel out of place in sedate work surroundings. The dress option is easier for men, as they do not have much to choose from. However, do remember that it would be wise to avoid too casual a dress. Semi formal is the best choice. For ladies, a conservative dress in muted colours is a safe bet, since you are not familiar with the sort of existing work environment when you first enter the organisation. Western wear is considered acceptable in most metropolitan cities but looked at askance in smaller towns. So study the place and type of organisation and then choose your attire accordingly. Once you are appropriately dressed, you will automatically be able to carry yourself confidently. Assert yourself In an interview, you may be asked a variety of questions, sometimes for the interviewers to merely see how convincingly you can put forth your points of view. In such circumstances, it is important that you are able to assert yourself and put forth your opinion in a convincing manner. At times there may be situations when you do not know the answer to a question or questions. If this happens, accept the fact gracefully without letting it upset you. Indicate that you are open to receiving more information and willing to learn. Remember honesty is the best policy, so when you are pushed against a wall, be honest and you will be helping yourself. Complete Your Homework Before You Interview "What do you know about our company?" "Why do you want to work for us?" These are two typical questions frequently asked in any interview. Interviewers ask these types of general and open-ended questions to test your response. A little time spent in researching the companies you wish to interview with will go a long way during the actual interview and will help you answer these type of questions intelligently. At minimum, you should know what a company's products and services are, why they interest you, and how you can help support them. Keep in mind that it's a two-way street. Make sure it's a company for which you want to work, and you'll be well-prepared to answer such questions. Find out everything you can about the company, including Products and Services Market Share Financial Status Future Plans History Culture Naturally, you may ask about some of these topics during interviews. But it's still a good idea to find out all you can beforehand, to help you formulate specific questions and show that you've done your homework. Where to Research? Annual reports of companies are an excellent source of data. By studying the annual report, you will understand the financial situation of the compnay, the future plans as mentioned in the Chairman's speech/introduction, what top employees are paid, and how the company has been progressing over the years. Annual reports can be obtained either directly from the compnay or from stock exchanges. Business magazines such as Business India, Business Today, Business World, A&M etc are excellent sources for information about the company as well as the industry which they belong to. The Web is also an excellent place to research companies. Many companies know that you might be visiting their Web sites for exactly that reason. Often job openings are also mentioned on the company website. Study information about the company and the description of the job for which you are interviewing. Even if companies don't provide information specifically for job seekers, most provide such for customers that is also useful for interviews. Finance websites such as IndiaInfoline.com , myiris.com and the finance section on www.ddsl.net also provide details of almost all listed companies. It doesn't hurt to contact the human resources (HR) department to ask about literature, such as product brochures, job descriptions and new-hire orientation packets. They may be impressed you took the time to find out. |