In order not to fail at the interview, you need to prepare a story about yourself, not exaggerate your achievements, and clearly remember your strengths and weaknesses. Anastasia Yurchikhina, HR consultant for the English for IT course at Skyeng online school, told socialbites.ca about this.
“Even the most talented employees can’t always showcase their talent in an interview. For example, the problem with most Russian IT professionals is that because they have strong technical skills, they are often inferior in social skills (especially in personal presentation) to their foreign counterparts, which is why they sometimes fail in interviews at large companies, ”said the author. explained.
According to the expert, one of the biggest mistakes is insufficient preparation for the interview or only preparing for one of the stages.
“The first meeting with a company representative is all about self-introduction: a story about your professional path, strengths and weaknesses. Some applicants are lost in a stressful situation, unable to remember examples of their success or failure. The situation gets worse if the interview is held in a non-native language and even strong candidates may fail here anyway,” he said.
When talking about your own experiences, you should not try to exaggerate yourself and your influence on certain projects, and when preparing a speech you should rely on certain facts and figures that validate the experience. It is important to explain exactly what the applicant’s role was in achieving these goals: what he did, what resources he drew, and what results he managed to achieve.
“The embellishment of facts is often the result of one’s uncertainty about assessing one’s own strengths. If you talk about exceeding the plan by 200% or embellishing the budget or project results, the recruiter may seem likely to mark you as a stronger candidate. But such manipulation can be easily verified by calling the former employer, ”commented Yurchikhina.
The other extreme is the apparent “fraud syndrome,” in which a potential employee devalues his virtues during the interview.
“It’s important to highlight the moments when your work is visible. This will demonstrate your expertise and the importance of your personal contribution to the overall project. This will help HR assess your competencies and possible contribution to future work,” he added.
In order to make a good first impression in the interview, Yurchikhina advised me to draft a thesis on the topic you plan to talk about in the interview. It should include information about your professional experience, benefits, and area of growth along with examples, as well as the reasons for your interest in working for this company and in the hobby.
“I recommend recording your answers on audio or video to feel more confident in the interview. It’s also helpful to use neural network developments such as a chatbot to help you train in a foreign language or even for an interview at certain companies. The bot will talk to you like an HR professional and advise you on how you can improve your readiness.”
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