After completing education everyone’s first & foremost aim is to fetch a reputed job ,from where you can learn a lot & practically earn a lot.Only earning a degree with distinction marks in itself is not at all sufficient.No doubt interviewer will go through your resume first, but this is not the only thing your interviewer will do to take you on board.A lot of your qualities will be practically tested within 5minutes by interviewer ,sufficient enough to decide your future with that organization. Though your ultimate success in any interview would depend upon your core knowledge of your stream but some other important considerations that will be of great help have been discussed here.
(1) RESUME-
a. Everyone knows that the first step that interviewers do is to go through your resume. But it is not only your resume that they go through, everyday they must go through hundreds of applications. So, they must have sufficient knowledge to differentiate between a copied-pasted resume (specially career objective) and a self written resume.
b. Now a days, resumes in itself have discovered a new field of employment and that is “resume writing experts” who charge anywhere between Rs1000-5000+ for a single resume. Question is if one can’t write his/her own resume or in other words if one is not familiar with his/her strengths & weaknesses then getting a job through a well written resume /copy-pasted resume seems useless.
c. LENGTHY Resume- Many times people try to include everything, even smallest achievement like “won this & that competition” in standard vi/vii. Achievements that you mention should be such that the interviewer should provide you a chance without any second opinion. Something that shows your team work, leadership, challenging spirit, strong presence of mind, ambitious nature, concern for society, your innovative & out of box thinking. Achievement need not to be necessarily in a competition quiz but you can write some major achievements that you have achieved from your articleship.
d. STRENGTHS- One of the important area of focus. Words like can work overtime, hardworking, always eager to take challenging responsibilities,24*7 working etc may sound good in writing but practically you need to be a smartworker more than a hardworker. If you get a job based on your overtime/24*7 hrs working approach ,you are yourself permitting your new organization to take as much work as they can from you.And once you have admitted a level of 24*7 hardworking, you have set a challenging expectation limit for yourself. No doubt ,one should take responsibilities and provide a helping hand but only when it is the need of hour or else in a manner that helps your seniors to judge how capable & dedicated you are for your work and not something that motivates others to take your advantage from day1 of your job & force you to be a “yes man always”. Some sought of diplomacy can help but altogether do consider all practical possibilities of your statements .It would be rather better to answer questions related to these topics during your interviews depending upon how the question is framed for you.
e. ARTICLESHIP /POST QUALIFICATION experience- Explain your major learnings in brief but in a manner that seems appropriate for the job you are applying.
Whatever you write must be true to the best of your knowledge & in no case it should be overly painted.
(2) Interview day
(a) Dressing sense-
Your dressing sense should be something that shows how professional you are. Even your accessory, jwellery, choice of colours should show a good level of decency.
(b)Time punctual-
No matter what is the scheduled time for interview ,you should reach to the venue atleast 20-30minutes before. It would be very indecent on your part if you reach at last moment & run straight to interviewers’ room in hustle bustle.
(c) Talkative nature
Its good to have some idea about other people in the same queue, but don’t excessively indulged in conversation with everyone. On one hand ,it may show your carefree nature & on the other hand you never know if you are under the coverage of CCTV or hidden cameras of the company who may be strategically observing every candidate’s behavior & pre interview preparations.
(3) Interview time
(a) Do not try to befool your interviewer. He/she is not taking the first interview but you may be giving your first interview.
(b)Your walking, dressing style, speaking tone, vigilant attitude, eye contacts will within seconds reflect a lot about your personality.
(c) ABOUT YOURSELF-Do not explain everything that you have already written in your resume. Try to take benefit of this question by explaining your professional qualities rather than your personal qualities. No matter, even if you do not have fluency in speaking in English, atleast don’t sit blank or stop yourself when you know answers very well. Atleast make your tone as professional as you can. The more confidence(not over confidence) you show in this initial question the more chances are there that you frame a positive picture of yourself.
(d)Why should I hire you?
Prove your worth here. Play your ace & tell some advantage that you have over others. Its good to show that you are dedicated to your new job but in no case, show that are dying for a job. No matter how needy you are. Your EQ may be tested with this question.
(e) Do not ever ask your interviewers to repeat anything. Also, do not interrupt in between when the other person is saying something.
(f) At times, you may be prompted strategically to lose your temper but you have to maintain your patience. You may be asked some questions that seems totally useless but you have to answer politely to those questions also.
(g) Do a lot of homework before interview by going through company's profile, area of operation, history, mission, vision & how you can contribute in the company. Also, be prepared with recent developments in your core area. You must be clear with your job profile. If required carry related presentations with you to show your work.
(h) In no case ,present something untrue ,merely to get the job. You may have to pay in long run. In this regard ,there was a case of a CA topper few years back,who got a very high profile job but whose dummy articleship was caught immediately and that person had to do whole 3.5years articleship even after becoming a qualified CA.
So, its always better to be what you are & maintain your values rather than moulding yourself & discarding all professional ethics just for one job.
“Success is determined by how much determined you are to your success”
All the best to all aspiring professionals.
- By CA Vijeta Verma
CAclubindia
