A Personal Interview is a meeting organized by a recruiter in which he evaluates a potential employee for prospective employment. However, this meeting should be considered as a two-way process between the candidate and the interviewer. The interviewer looks to find out how well the candidate could do the job and fit in with their organization and team, and the candidate aims to show that they are the best person for the job and the organization.
A personal interview should be considered the time to shine and sell your candidature efficiently and warmly.
You can also read our blog on Top Tips to face Interview.
Job interviews are usually face-to-face meetings; however, in recent times, telephone interviews and Skype interviews have become more commonplace, especially in uncertain times of covid. Interviews last approximately 25-30 mins, although telephonic interviews may be slightly shorter. But it all depends upon the nature of conversation two parties get into, i.e., mostly the profile you have applied to. Depending on the type of job you have applied for and the seniority of the role, the interview panel may vary between one to four rounds and may be followed by an assessment task. Usually, the more senior the job, the wider the panel’s composition.
Personal Interviews are a means of two-way communication between the recruiter and the candidate in which a meaningful conversation leads to a productive understanding and contract between the two.
Now, if you are still wondering after the above technical definition about What Personal Interviews really are? How to face personal interviews? Why do companies conduct them? And most importantly, how to crack them!
Now, the above explanation is sufficient to understand what a personal interview (PI) means. These interview sessions with eligible candidates have become so important and prominent in today’s job sector that there’s absolutely no company hiring new candidates without this crucial step – Personal Interview!
Read all of the below steps to know how to crack an interview carefully. After reading this article, there won’t be any doubt. You can surely crack all the interviews easily without hesitation or anxiety.
The purpose of your CV is to show your interviewer- why you are the best person for this job. Your CV is the first to the interviewer representing your candidature. This is the first impression for you to get the job. And remember – ‘The First Impression is the Last Impression’. If a person is inattentive in making his CV, he has many chances to lose the job in the CV Screening round. Making CVs well is also important because it reflects you as a tentative employee for the company. Make sure to include these pointers while drafting your CV –
(a)Your CV should look professional. Use a template if confused!
(b) Use bullet points instead of big paragraphs; these motivate the interviewer to read CV more.
(c) Ensure no spelling mistakes.
(d)Try to highlight those points related to this job.
Thinking about what you would have looked for in an ideal candidate if you were an interviewer is the third step for cracking interviews. Try to understand the specific need of the job. Carefully go through the Job Description, and you can showcase the qualities needed to fulfil the qualifications. For example, if you are going for a marketing job, you can highlight your travelling hobby, but if you are going for operations, you should not highlight it. Depending on the different job requirements, you can change your CV and make it even more effective by emphasizing the pointers relevant to the employee during the PI round.
Some questions are very common in job interviews, which are asked in almost every interview. Prepare such questions properly before facing the interviewer with your file of skills!
Some of the Frequently Asked Questions during a Personal Interview Round are :
The fourth way to crack an interview is to run the entire interview process several times in mind before you present yourself. By doing this, the mind becomes very clear about many things. The most important part of this is to visualize you interacting with the interviewer. By doing this, such questions often come to mind whose answers you might not have prepared. Sit and prepare yourself more with patience.
What we communicate reaches the front in two ways, Verbally and Non-Verbally. Verbal communication, i.e., what you speak, or write, whereas non-verbal communication includes- in what tone do you speak, your way of sitting, eye contact, even your dressing sense. Remember, only 20% of our communication is verbal and 80% non-verbal. Therefore, it is very important to pay attention to this 80%. While interacting with the interviewer, you have to pay attention to a few things:
The crux is – Personal Interviews, whether conducted by companies for job applications or my Colleges for higher education applications (mostly MBA). The basic purpose is to interact with shortlisted candidates to know how well they fit into the job description or the college vision.
You can also read our List of Do’s and Don’ts on Facing Interview.
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