interview tips

[nitin1]

can we discuss the things like : what should we do , how should we behave , what not to do , what to do , how to feel comfortable in interview ? can we discuss these things ? what not to ask interviewers ?

[deceptikon]

Yes, you can certainly discuss those things. Though the topic is rather broad, and in the case of "is it okay to do/say XYZ" the general advice stands: if you have to ask, it's probably not okay.

p.s. The only way to feel comfortable in an interview is to not want the job and not care what the interviewer(s) think about you. So get used to feeling uncomfortable. ;)

[Agilemind]

Although hard when you are having trouble getting a job, I always remind myself that I'm interviewing them as much as they are interviewing me to try and reduce the nerves. You could also remind yourself that usually people make up their mind within 20s of the beginning of the interview but I don't know if that is comforting or not. I also suggest trying to just be yourself - not because it will get you the job - but if you have to pretend you're something you're not to get the job, the job will probably make you miserable.

[nitin1]

but i was shoot out from the AMAZON last round which had only 8 students, because i have asked interviewer something bad. he said "any questions ?". I said "sir, what exactly are you looking for while hiring us ? ". (i was a very general question). he said "we want hard working, innovative and sincere students and what he has done in 3 years of college life". i said "but it may happen that a person can do bad in interview but may be he has done alot in 3 years and he is creative and all, then how do you handle those cases?". he said "generally i doesnt happen, but if happen , then we will defenitely hire him because we want overall performnace." after 3 hours, they told me "sorry". after 1 day, i met one of the interviewer co-incidentally, he told me that his "senior" has said no to you because u asked some bad things to him otheriwse all 4 rounds response ws awesome for you.

P.S what do you think ? i am very depressed with this. i have asked casually and without any intension of saying something bad. i was quite excited to know about them and all. :(

[pritaeas]

By asking that you come across as insecure (IMO).

[Agilemind]

You shouldn't ask what they are looking for, as an interviewee you should know about the company and what they want and that you fulfill those things otherwise you shouldn't have applied.

[deceptikon]

because u asked some bad things to him otheriwse all 4 rounds response ws awesome for you.

Your summary of the situation puts the interviewer in a negative light. I'd suspect that while your technical skills were good, they didn't feel you were a good fit for the environment due to your questions. There's not much you can do about that; if you got the job then there may be a higher chance you'd be unhappy with it.

[mike_2000_17]

Asking about what they are looking for is pretty bad. It is literally like saying "hey, tell me what you want to hear and I'll echo it right back to you.". It's a very old used-car-salesman trick: tell me what kind of car you need and, just like magic, I'll have exactly the right car for you in my lot. Insulting your interviewer's intelligence like that is not a good idea.

People tend to caution against over-confidence, but I'm not one of them. I think the right attitude coming in an interview is "I'm the best candidate, I just need to make sure they understand that". And as far as knowing what they need in a candidate or what they are looking for, the answer is you, they just don't know it yet, so you have to convince them. And most of the work of an interview is before the interview, when you figure out what the job is, the company is, the things they want to hear are, etc.. You can't come to an interview like you would to a blind date: "just to see if you like each other".

I agree with a few members here. No disrespect but, that was a dumb question and an even dumber retort. It makes it sound as if you knew that you gave a bad interview and were trying to let them know that there was more to you than you gave them. You showed them that you were still wearing your safety harness.

In my limited experience of interviews, it's better to be focussed on selling yourself and highlighting your strengths. You managed to steer the focus away from you and onto the interviewer/some vague internal decision making. Showing an interest in the company/position should come out naturally in your answers - as you exemplify your positive attributes.

[jwenting]

You shouldn't ask what they are looking for, as an interviewee you should know about the company and what they want and that you fulfill those things otherwise you shouldn't have applied.

right in theory, in practice I've been called in blind into job interviews through recruitment agencies and headhunters where I didn't know until a few hours before the interview that there was to be an interview, and didn't know what position or even company I was interviewing with until the person I was to talk with introduced themselves (and in several cases not even then, as that person was was a recruiter who was not permitted to tell me the name of his client).

Gosh jwenting, are you a contract killer? It sounds exciting!

[jwenting]

no, not that I know of (of course if I were I'd say the same thing, lol), just a programmer and at the time was working as a contractor.

Some companies are just extremely secretive and don't want it known they're hiring. And many recruiters are secretive as well, don't want candidates to know who they're applying to a job for so there can be no direct contact between the company they're representing and the candidate (fear that the company and candidate will cut out the middle man to save money is part of that...).

It's not as bad lately as it used to be a decade or so ago, but it still happens.

[nitin1]

awesome suggestions. @mike comment is quite nice. @diafol sir, yes, you are right. but, i didn't know all these things as that was my first interview. in 4 companies, i have given 11 interviews till now. i am getting experienced and am trying to include all these things which you all have taught me. thanks mike, james sir and all others.

can you please tell me what should i ask them when they say me "any questions for me ? ", so what should i ask them ? can we discuss some 4-5 questions here ? i don't wana commit these mistakes again in future. thanks alot.

[stultuske]

you can ask them all that pops up. it can work out right, it can work out bad:

if you ask more technical stuff, chances are you're talking to a recruiter that doesn't know anything about that.
you can ask about flex-time, about the working environment (is it strictly business, is it more amical, ... ), you can ask whether or not employees are given the opportunity to learn both on-the-job as during organized seminars, ...

before you go to an interview, check the company's website, that might give you an idea too.

[Agilemind]

Depending on the situation you can also ask about living costs or life style of the city/area you would be working in.

[jwenting]

yes, but not during a first interview. I'd reserve that for a follow up talk where financials, work conditions, etc. are discussed.
Of course if it comes up from their side during the first interview, feel free to ask.