Dark Secrets of an Interview

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Alone. Mixed emotions. Question after question. Life changing 15 to 20 minutes. The future, the income, environment and everything will be decided in these few minutes. Job interviews are a very important part of our life. Isn’t it?
 
We usually prepare well before an interview. From dress to documents, many YouTube videos or speak to an uncle who knows things well and get some advice. Not bad. But. Do you know why HR actually asks some questions?
 
We, without knowing WHY they ask the question , we choose to answer. and yeah, mess up the interview.
 
So we thought to crack the code. Get inside the mind of HR and find out actually why they are asking some questions. Understanding why they are asking will help you to prepare really well and win the battle of the interview.
 
We chose 3 most important and regularly asked interview questions. Then we asked leading HR Professionals in the country why you ask them? Tell us the secret. So let’s see what they say.
 

Question 1 – Introduce Yourself.

We know this question is coming to us every time we sit for an interview. So we asked Rakshana, who is an Independent HR Professional, the reason behind asking that question.

So by asking this question, Interviewer can check about your skills and attitudes. They will know about your confidence level and how you advertise yourself. This was her answer. She also advises the candidate not to give the same answer to every interview. Change it according to the company and vacancy position. If you don’t, you will look like you are giving a memorized answer.
 
Kresha, checks something else by asking this question. She checks about the communication skills of the candidate and the mindset. It’s really important for the candidate to fit into the company’s culture. So she checks these by asking this question.
 
She understands that the candidate will panic during an interview and said it’s okay. She gave a few tips on how to be confident and not panic. You can read them at the bottom of the article.
 

Question 2 – How much salary are you expecting?

This is a very straightforward question and Hamna from Gapstars advised the candidates to give an exact figure rather than saying something else.
 
She explained the logic behind this question. It’s interesting and also very important.
 
The reason is,
                    everyone needs money and companies know that too. No one is going to work for free for the sake of loyalty towards the company. People will be having needs and candidates will know how much they wanted to live their life. But if you compromise for a lower salary for the reason of getting a job anyhow, then that’s a big mistake.
 
When you get a job that pays lower salary than you wanted, naturally you will be unhappy. Your bills and loans might go higher. Family responsibilities will pop up and unknown to you, you will be in the middle of a financial crisis. When you are struggling like that, the performance in the job will be badly affected. You will be unhappy, worried and not giving 100% for work. For the company, an unhappy employee is a liability because they perform less. So they want to avoid that and that’s why they ask how much you want. So next time without any self doubt, be confident and say the amount you want. If the company selected you, there is a high chance they will pay you the exact amount you said.
 

Question 3 – Why should we hire you?

Well, this is a very interesting question. With this question the Interviewer checks if you have that passion towards the job. Having that passion, energy and right attitude is vital for the company as they want you to be with them in the long term. With your answer they will determine are you so passionate about the job and field or not. And also they will be checking your confidence level with your answer. If you are not confident about your talents and qualifications during the answer that will be a negative point for you.
 
When we were picking the brains of HR Professionals, we met Sabry from Aeturnum. As we spoke to him, he shared few valuable advices such as,
1) Avoid lying during the interview. Because HR Professionals can easily detect your lies and many of them are getting training on how to detect lies. So being genuine is better.
 
2) Do a background check of the company you are planning to join. Check about the culture and salary range. Speak to someone working there. You can also Google for company reviews. If you do this you will know something about the company rather than blindly joining.
 
Try his advice.
 

Kresha’s tips on avoid panicking

1) Before the interview, go in front of the mirror and practice yourself imagining an interview scenario.
 
2) During the interview keep eye contact with the Interviewer every time.
 
3) Don’t memorize answers. If they ask questions that you didn’t memorize, you will be stuck answering. Be open minded to any question.
 
So we went through important questions and found out the reasons those questions being asked in interview. Also with additional tips and advice, try these in your next interview and feel the success.
 
Our Special thanks to
            for sharing their expert view on interview preparation.

Let’s meet with another interesting article soon.

Abdul Baasith
Co-Founder at Lurk.lk

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