How To Interview Well

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 Agenda
•Purpose of an Interview
•Preparations
•Conduct at Interview
•Post-Interview
•Q & A
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 An Interview is…
• a two way conversation

• For an interviewer to find out more on

interviewee’s capabilities and suitability
• For an interviewee to find out more on the
organization or institution

Hence, both party needs each other’s cooperation; the

interviewer has as much to gain as does the interviewee

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 Prepare well and well in advance…

•Physical presentation and ‘look’

•Mental preparations

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Present yourself as a smart and pleasant
personality…
Be Neat and Smart-looking
 No long hair
 No ear rings for boys
 No fancy hair-style or hair-do
 No “boyish” or “girlish” fashion

 Dress Appropriately
 Don’t over-dress
 Avoid cloth that are too bright, too gaudy or too colorful
 Don’t dress too ‘sexy’
 No tight-fitting cloth or transparent dress

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 Wear white or light coloured shirt/dress with dark
trousers/gown matched with dark/brown shoes
 Baju kurung/kebaya is best for
Malay/Muslim
 Carry yourself with confidence while
remaining respectful
When you come in elegantly and smartly dressed,
this will project a positive first impression that will
instill a sense of confidence

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 Come to the interview well - organised…
 All documents neatly arranged in a folder
 Have your records of working experiences nicely
arranged in a chronological order
 Have your CV neatly in hand
 Have ready copies of documents, CV, testimonials etc
 Bring along a copy of your application and other
correspondences if any

When you appear well-organised, this will have positive

points with interviews
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 Prepare yourself mentally…
 Do your homework on the organisation
-This will demonstrate your serious interest
-This will help you ask questions about the organisation

 Anticipate questions that may be asked of you; prepare and

rehearse your answers
-This will be key to your performance at the interview
-Eliminating as much surprises as possible will reduce your
nervousness and increase your sense of confidence
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 Prepare your own set of questions
-This will help you to be organised at the interview
-This will also allow you to help control the flow of the
interview
-Above all, this will demonstrate your serious interest in the
organisation

Rehearse your proposed ‘act’ until it becomes & appears

natural

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 Coming to the interview…
If door is closed, knocked first before entering
Greet your interviewers as appropriate
Walk in elegantly
Project a sense of self confidence but remain respectful
Wait to be seated
If not asked, volunteer to introduce yourself
If possible, find out from the administrator the names and
designation of the interviewers so that you can address them
by name straight away
The whole idea is to project the most positive first impression possible
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 During the interview, your communication skill is
the key…
Speak clearly, slow down if you need to make a complicated
point
Use short sentences to make understanding easy
Use examples and illustrations to make clear a complicated point
Answer the question in the language it was asked
Be frank upfront which language you prefer to be interviewed in
( your request may be turned down though)
Above all, talk in a co-herent and organised fashion so that your
answers can be well understood

The trick is to ensure that you deliver your answers and ideas as clearly
as possible to your interviewers
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 During the interview, your manners score
points…
Be truthful and honest
 If you lie or pretend to know the answer, sooner or later it will
show, at the same time you are cheating both yourself and the
interviewers

Be frank and open

 if you prefer not to talk on some issue, tell your interviewers
why

Be civil and polite at all times, even when the interviewers
may appear rough on you
 they may be testing your patience
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 Be humble on all issues and points
 arrogance and over confidence open you to making careless
mistakes in your answers

Don’t be afraid to ask for a repeat of the question or seek

further clarifications on the question.

Remember, sincerity and humility are virtues that are

valuable at work

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 During the interview, your ideas and how you
think are more important than the right answers…

Express your ideas and your point of views freely

 Often there are no right or wrong answers

It is your ideas and views and your reasons for them that the
interviewers are after since this will give them the clues as to
how you will solve problems in real life

Don’t just simply say you don’t know but offer your thoughts
and your reasons for them (never mind if it is wrong)
In real life, not all solutions are right first time

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 Don’t be dogmatic, remain open to new ideas and different
point of view
-At work, an open mind is needed for creativity

Don’t argue with the interviewers unnecessarily, rather accept

differences in opinion while remaining firm in your own
thinking
-in real life we face differences all the time and must learn to
live with them

Only bad interviewers ask straight questions on academic

achievements, these have been tested at school and documented
in your certificates
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 Help the interviewers to make the interview
productive and organised
Clarify and paraphrase questions that are not asked well, then
offer your answers freely
Not all interviewers are good or well trained at their job of
interviewing people; some only does it part time

Look for or volunteer opportunities to ask the interviewers

your questions

Make sure the question has been fully addressed before

moving on to a new issue

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 Don’t succumb to leading questions; paraphrase and offer
your own opinions

Jot down notes or make mental notes to keep track of the

progress of the interview

The general idea is to be partly in control of the interview

process; this way you have the optimum chance of being
heard and understood

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 At the end of the interview…
Don’t forget to thank the interviewers for their time
devoted to you
Don’t forget to ask when you will hear from them of
their decision
Make sure you leave your active contact, more than
one will be better

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Decisions are normally made on the basis of…

Your thinking process; not on right or wrong answers

How you think through solving a problem-this will determine
if you will succeed in your working life
How well and freely you generate ideas-this will determine if
you will be creative in your work
How well you communicate-this will determine if you can
work in a team and lead others
How motivated and disciplined are you in delivering results-
this will determine your productivity
How open are you to ideas different from your own-this will
determine if you can cope with change
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 What if you failed the interview…
Don’t despair; treat this failure as your
motivation for the next try
Think back as to what might have caused
you to fail and learn from these mistakes
Do not think badly of the organisation; a
better person was chosen, while you were
second best

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 Q & A Session

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 Q1: What if I am a stammer?

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 Q2:
What if this job/position is not my first choice
and I already have a better offer

Q3:
What if I really am not interested in the
job/position?

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 Q4: What if I know well one of the interviewer?

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 Q5: What do I do if I am very nervous?

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 Q5: What if I really feel that I have no chances
of succeeding?

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 Q5: What if I am only attending this interview
because my parents persuaded me to just try?
I actually want to do something else.

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