This can help you do better in your next interview

Saumya
Saumya
Sep 8, 2018 · 3 min read

Recently I interviewed for Microsoft, UBER, Goldman Sach, Intuit, and Expedia. These companies came to our college campus, and I was shortlisted for the face-to-face interview rounds. After three weeks of interviews, I finally got a full time offer from Expedia!

There are several noteworthy things I have learned about interviewing which can make a difference between an offer and a rejection. So lets dive in!

Prepare for behavioural questions

Students generally like to take the HR round lightly and think they can cruise through it. But I cannot stress enough how important it is to nail those behavioural questions. A company mainly assesses two things: technical skills and culture fit. If any of the two give red flags then that leads to a rejection. While answering behavioural questions, always imply your good qualities through examples. Think of past experiences that can showcase your good qualities. Also, be candid about your weaknesses and mention what you’ve done/are doing to work on them.

Exude enthusiam

Enthusiastic candidates tend to perform better. If you are genuinely interested in the company, your interest will help you fight harder and think through challenging questions. Your excitement also impresses the interviewer and makes them more invested in you.

Bad Luck happens…

Through my experience, I can say that luck does play a role in interview process. Preparation can make you better at dealing with bad luck situations. So if you have time left, prepare harder than what you think is required.

Think Out Loud

Interviews require you to actively think out loud while solving problems. When you are preparing, this may not come up as a challenge but performing in an actual setting with an interviewer, who is keeping track of how much time you have spent, is stressful. To prepare for this, time your problem solving sessions. For example, take up two challenging problems and try to solve them under an hour.

Be nice

Things like clear communication, being nice, smiling often and simply enjoying the company of your interviewer can make a huge difference. It helps you ease into the interview and shake off those nerves. Moreover, it makes you more confident as you start to be comfortable. I highly recommend this to anyone who gets nervous.

Candor is rewarded.

Don’t be dishonest. Even if you try your best to get away with a lie, interviewers can generally catch that easily. It doesn’t send a good signal about you as a human being. Moreover, the stress of maintaining a lie during the interview might make you more nervous. Know that interviewers reward your honesty. They like candidates who are more open about their struggles.

Understand and analyse rejection

Rejection can be hard to deal with. Broadly speaking, there can be two reasons for your rejection: either it was sheer bad luck or lack of preparation.

In case of former, don’t even bother about it and just head on to the next interview. Know that its not really your fault as you couldn’t have done anything better to increase your chances.

If you think that you lacked preparation, then do an analysis. See what went wrong, what are your weaknesses, acknowledge your strengths, steps you can take to become better and make an action plan! Take this rejection as an opportunity for growth and improvement :)

When you do get that job, don’t forget to give back. Share your experiences and extend referrals. Learning these things along the way made me perform better in my interviews. I hope these tips will work well for you!

See you in the next one!

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