Urban Acharya Urban Acharya

De-Strss - Interview Tips Interview Preparation Jobs Job Search

How to De-Stress before an Interview?

De-stress before an interview and pave the way for a confident and successful performance with these proven strategies and tips. Let me ask you a question. What differentiates great speakers from not-so-great ones? Wait, let me complete my point before you blurt out your answer. Let’s say there are two gentlemen, named X and Y. Assume that both are great in their subject knowledge, their skills, in their articulation, in their thought process, in the way they speak, and present themselves. In short, both are mirror images of each other, as far as the phenotypical qualities are concern. Now, go back to my question and think about the answer.It’s hard, right? Let me share a quote I had read somewhere.It is about the two most outstanding Cricketers in the history of Cricket – Sunil Gavaskar and Sir Viv Richards. “The greater the occasion, the better their performances.” Let’s stay with this quote for a minute because it reflects something very important. It talks about Mental Strength. It talks about resiliency; it talks about how important it is to focus on inner engineering or in biological terms it is called as “Genotypical” skills. Are you with me? I am sure by now you would have got to the point that I am trying to make here. The differentiating factor between two great personalities is how they deal with tough situation, how they react when they are facing the music or the grind of life. Do you consider yourself as a mentally tough person? While you think about it, let me tell you, it doesn’t comes naturally. We are not born with it. Mental strength is a function of flexing mental muscles. And it needs a lot of patience and practice.With this perspective in mind, let me return to the subject of our discussion. Interview preparations can be very stressful and mental strength plays a very important role in the process. Let’s say, you have gone through all the possible questions and practiced your answers so many times. You have done all your research about the organization and have got your reference fact sheet ready in your mind. You have brushed up your experience, your knowledge and gone through the job description in detail. You perhaps have done every possible thing you could do on the road to prepare for the upcoming interview. But as the moment or the D-day begins to inch closer, you are slowly getting engulfed in a cloud of anxiety. Sounds familiar? You have been waiting for this moment for a long time and now that it is here, you are not sure about your preparations. You start doubting everything unable to control your thoughts.Well, it is fairly normal to be stressed out in such situations, since you get only one shot and if you fail, you may have to wait for a long time to get back to the same place. Or there could be a lot on stake for you with this interview. I don’t mean to say that you will not have more opportunities coming your way, I meant, once you fail an interview for a specific organization, there is a minimum cooling period of a year or two before you can apply again. But not to really think negative here, because, believe it or not, disqualification in a recruitment process is also a function of job-profile-experience mismatch or due to fitment issues at the organization level, without any fault of the candidate. And it’s a journey, got rejected in one, move ahead and focus on the next one. Keep on applying, something will click, wait for your time and keep on progressing in life. If disqualification or the fear of disqualification brings bouts of anxiety to you, then hang on, keep on reading, I am getting there. I am going to suggest a few simple easy to do stuff that can help you relax and calm your nerves. Before you get to the list below, be practical, there are no rules, what may work for you may not work for others. These are some guiding principles that may help you along the way, along your journey. But you are free to find out your own ways, there could be so many. Let’s now look at what I have got here. A. De-Stress – Adopt a Tangential Mindset: Consider you are 90 years old right now and you are reflecting back at your life and its highs and lows and its ups and down. Will it matter then that you have failed or cracked this interview? Certainly Not. This perspective is known as Fast Forward Mindset. This is a beautiful exercise to trick your mind to relax and calm your nerves. It may sound silly, but come to think of it more seriously, it works so well, and with practice it can do wonders. B. De-Stress – Practice STOP Method: According to executive coach Chris Charyk, this is the ultimate mental trick to tackle any stressful situation. It has four steps to it and it goes like this: a. Stop what you are doing and focus on thoughtsb. Take a few deep breathsc. Observe what’s going on in your body, emotions, and mind, and why you’re feeling themd. Proceed with an intention to incorporate what you observed in your actions This mental trick slows down deliberately the things you are doing, and to a large extent it also stops the feeling of anxiety that takes you over in those moments. It reminds you that you have the power to banish your own fears, doubts, and nerves. And so, do it, this is something you should practice often. It is not just before the interview, but often so that your mental muscles are nicely flexed. C. De-Stress – Prepare for the Worst: It is another great mental trick, pretty well known, and I guess we all have heard from our parents, isn’t it? “What worst can happen? Get over it.” Remember? I am sure you

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Body Language: Proven Tips for Success

Interview Tips / By Urban Acharya

Body Language speaks volumes without saying a word – it is the silent key to unlocking success. Let me ask you a question.Have you been to an interview recently and gave all the right answers, articulating it in the best possible way, and you had the right qualifications and skills for the role in discussion, but you ended up getting rejected? I know we all have experienced it in our lives, and am sure you must have contemplated, reflected and deeply thought about what really went wrong in the process, when you thought you did so well in your final interview round. More than being disappointed, it is a baffling situation that leads to fogged mind with a lot of unanswered questions. And let’s be honest, it dents our confidence levels too to some measure.In my twenty years of experience with large MNCs, I have witnessed it so many times while conducting interviews for multiple roles. I have seen and met so many bright folks, doing so well in their interview rounds but unable to cross that golden line. In this blog post I am going to throw some light on what really went wrong, bridging the gap in your understanding and answering to those questions that may have fogged your mind for a long time.And before I do that, let me ask you another question. Think about this – In your list of priorities while preparing for an interview in the past, where was “Non-Verbal Gestures” or “Non-Verbal Communication” or “Body-Postures”? I am sure you are smiling, because both of us know that it never featured in your list and it won’t because believe it or not, psychologically we are groomed to think that an interview is a professional conversation limiting to only questions and answers, and therefore, we are maniacally focused on questions and answers, ignoring other key aspects. And to add to it, I have seen aspirants shabbily dressed in t-shirts and casuals while giving interviews – I will cover it in more detail in another blog post. But the point that I am trying to make here is – we are so ignorant of the fact that non-verbal gestures can lead to disqualification silently, leaving us confused and delirious. There are no two thoughts about it.Whether we realize it or not, our body continue to communicate something to the interviewer throughout the interview process. These are subtle indicators and play a very vital role in the recruitment process. How we stand, how we sit, our hands movement, an eye-contact and so on, communicates something about us to the interviewer. They can reveal the truth digging out from us, without our knowledge. Therefore, it is important for a candidate to be cognizant of such an important factor in the recruitment process, and learn to project himself/herself confidently with assertiveness and positive outlook. Here is a list of 3 Tips to help you take control of your body language during the interview, making sure it emanates the right message to the panel/interviewer. A. Body Language -Sitting Posture: While you need to sit comfortably during the interview, crossing your legs, or too much slouching in the chair will not send the right signal. It will indicate easily that you are nervous or you are not giving due importance to the position or the role in the discussion. Sit comfortably straight and make good use of the back to help you with that. The hand movement has to be extremely controlled, no clasping, no folding of hands, as it will indicate some kind of conflict within or manipulation of the answer you have been trying to articulate. Try steepling and limited movement of hands while articulating your points. No drooping shoulders, try to bend slightly forward waist up in the chair, because that says you are interested in the job and very keen to move ahead with the deal. B. Body Language – Eye Contact: When you make eye contact and hold it consistently, it gives an indication that you seem attentive and trustworthy. But when you avert an eye contact, it indicates you are nervous or hiding something. Also, there is a difference between good eye contact and gazing, and it is important for a candidate to understand that difference. So don’t gaze. The best way to deal with this is, to make eye contact, stay for a few seconds, enough to notice the color of the eyeballs and then shuffle it between the two eyes of the hiring manager. That would be apt and is considered to be good eye contact. Also, no looking down while taking pauses or articulating a response. Looking down is indicative of the fact that you are trying to hide something or you are nervous about something. Also, there is so much literature written on eye movement during the interview, I strongly recommend everyone to study and include them as part of their interview preparation. C. Body Language – Breathe: The way you breathe reflects what is going on inside you. Fast, short and shallow breathing shows nervousness. And it would also lead to stammering at times during articulation. So, try to calm yourself just before the interview. There are so many great leaders and speakers and presenters, who resort to ten-minute quick meditation techniques before addressing large gatherings. It helps in bringing in the focus on the right subject, de-cluttering the mind. It is proved that a few minutes of silence before the interview, helps in organizing thoughts in a structured way. So, take a few minutes to close your eyes, in the corner of the room, or where ever you are, and do some pep-talk with yourself and try to relax, or just be silent and visualize that you have already cleared the round and coming through the door smiling and ecstatic. While practicing this quick calming method, take deep breaths, and inhale for a few seconds and then hold on to your breathing for a few seconds and then

Resume Mistakes - Interview Tips Interview Preparation Jobs Job Search

Three Resume Mistakes and How to Avoid Them!

Interview Tips / By Urban Acharya

Resume mistakes are the primary hidden threat to your opportunity. Pandemic has changed the rules of the games tangentially. And in such an uncertain and competitive job market there’s never been a more important time to refine your resume, ensuring it is an apt representation of your experiences, character and lessons. It is your first connection with the world outside acting as a fulcrum in creating your first impression. It should tell your story in a way that can be easily comprehended by the recruiters when they scan through it. Keep in mind that a hiring manager or a recruiter has to scan so many resumes on a regular basis that unless your story is written in an engaging way, it will fly off his desk in quick succession. Also, they are so experienced in their job that gazing through it for a few seconds, they could figure out if your candidature is appealing or it is just another lifeless document written in a standard template, perhaps copied from other resumes. I am not against using well-established templates. There is nothing wrong with it. But I am not supportive of the fact that once you have populated (or shall we say copy-pasted) your stuff into the new template, you are ready to ship it to hiring managers/recruiters without investing meaningful time in bringing everything together into a cohesive and engaging storyline of your character, values, and virtues. I strongly believe that your resume demands the investment of quality time. A good start is half the battle one! Remember? It is so true in case of your resume. By the time you reach to a face-to-face interview round, the hiring manager would have already formed your profile in his mind and perhaps to a large extent mapped your profile to the job role he/she is hiring for. And in case your profile or your story line that is coming out of your resume, fits the bill, the face-to-face round will merely be a validation of the profile. Building a storyline may sound simple and straightforward job but trust me it requires a holistic and strategic thought process, bringing in the right mix of strategic and tactical aspects. So, before you get started, it is advisable to take a pause, think and reflect upon what are your key strengths, what are your deeper expertise that can bring about a unique storyline on your resume, setting it apart from the competition. It is also important to improvise your resume, before sending it to a recruiter or hiring manager bringing in some level of customization keeping in mind the nature of the organization and industries you may be aiming for. Once you have got all figured out in your mind, the next step is to bring it on a piece of paper. It is certainly the most difficult task in the process. Creating a good balance between strategic problem-solving thought leadership and tactical day-to-day transactional experiences is a time-consuming job, and can be tricky and frustrating. Having said that, let me shift gears and come to a very important topic – Mistakes! In your Resume! Yes, any mistake in your resume will certainly drastically reduce your chances of getting shortlisted for the interview round. So, when you have finished drafting your THE DOCUMENT, you should spend time reading through it line by line, not once, not twice, but five to ten times, to eradicate any possibility of mistakes. You could also request a family member or a friend or a teacher to do a thorough review of it. That way a fresh pair of eyes can scan mistakes your eyes might have missed out. Here is a list of 5 mistakes you should watch out for, and try to avoid while preparing your resume. Resume Mistakes – Spelling & Grammatical Errors: Spelling and grammatical errors are not just hygiene factors to be taken care of, they indicate something far deeper – these are the function of two very important essential skills required in any job e.g., Attention to details and Communication. They are the most common deal-breakers in the process. Common mistakes include typos, and wrong tenses. I have seen many resumes with future tenses being used describing their past experiences and that is a disaster. I understand, English Grammar may not be your forte, but you can’t afford to make such mistakes. Get in touch with your English professor for vetting the document. Resume Mistakes – Cluttered & Clumsy Document: We want to impress the hiring manager by putting a lot about us in the resume, but it goes against the fact that a simple two-page document is far easier to read through than going through a four or a five-page document, full of past experiences that may not even be relevant to the role in discussion. Also, a simple document with the right line spacing can help the hiring manager in taking faster decisions than struggling to go through a clumsy document with an excessive use of boxes and borders in every page. Further, confusing order of headings and information can distract the hiring manager, drastically reducing your chances of getting shortlisted. Focus on a crisp one-two page document that has the most engaging storyline of your life. Resume Mistakes – Tone of Language: Language and articulation is a great differentiator. A resume can appear boring or exciting depending on the way it is drafted. Often, resumes written in a passive language appears confusing and boring. “I achieved 30% growth in the sales year on year” is sounding a lot more exciting than “The sales growth was 30% year on year.” Can you see the difference? I am sure you can. Active voice brings a faint tinge of command in the language. It subliminally indicates to the hiring manager that you played an active role in the projects. So, draft your document in a way as if it becomes a talking document and not a reading document. I re-iterate, your resume

Lying Signals - Interview Tips Interview Preparation Jobs Job Search

Lying Signals During the Interview

Interview Tips / By Urban Acharya

Lying Signals – Do you know how does it impact your conversation during a job interview? “Sorry, the role/position has been put on hold.”“We will get back to you or we will let you know.”“We have not made any decision, as the decision maker is on leave or travelling or busy or unwell.”“We have got the positive feedback about you from the hiring manager/panel, but we are in the process of assessing other candidates. If we decide to go ahead with you, we will communicate and reach out to you.”And a few days later, you receive a rejection mail.Sounds familiar? I am certain you must have experienced such baffling situations, while you were anticipating a positive outcome of the interview you gave recently, and were eagerly waiting to join the esteemed organization.Throughout the interview process, you did everything right – you appeared confident, you were articulative in your responses, you gave all the right answers and you had the right skill-sets for the role in discussion. Then what went wrong? Let me bring a larger perspective here. I am not questioning the integrity of the process here, and there could be valid reasons. But in general, this has been my experience being part of the industry for more than twenty years. At times it is hard to figure out the real reason for disqualification. And in my personal opinion, I strongly support an honest and open feedback from the organization in case of rejection of being put on hold. But that’s not the point of discussion in this article. Let’s talk about what could have gone wrong that led to one of the aforementioned responses from the organization. Throughout the entire job application process – the potential candidate’s (i.e., your) goal is to make himself/herself seem like the most desirable candidate and the best fit for the role or the job. And there is nothing wrong with it, because the objective is to do well in the interview and get the dream job.But, how do we do that? Are we really truthful and honest about us? Don’t get me wrong here. I am not trying to show you a mirror. All I am trying here is to explain a perspective that can help you with your planning and at the same time caution you about a few things you should never resort to. Coming up with answers to interview questions involves being strategic. After all, it’s smart—and expected—to frame your responses to your own advantage. And, therefore we focus only on the positives when responding to interview questions. We talk about our favorable experiences and skills while avoiding mentioning about our weaknesses, and knowledge gaps. However, there’s a difference between picking up which details we decide to share and outright lying, and sometimes that line can become fuzzy. Lying during the job interview process to beef up attractiveness to our candidature is pretty common these days. The desperation of getting a job can drive such behaviors among the candidates. But, the flip side of it is that it leads to bringing an element of doubt in the minds of the hiring managers, which in-turn is at the root of those aforementioned responses. I recommend- try to be as truthful as possible, but don’t be brutally honest about everything. Try to be more strategic in framing your answers avoiding common pit-falls. But having said that you have to be cognizant of non-verbal gestures and subtle indicators that play fulcrum in the process and can lead to your rejection, even though you think you did pretty well. Here is a list of Lying Signals you should be aware of and at any cost should steer yourself clear of them: A. Lying Signals – Looking down: Don’t look down at the floor frequently breaking the eye contact with the hiring manager or the panel. It means something is wrong with what you have been trying to articulate. It shows you are nervous or may be hiding something. B. Lying Signals – High Voice Pitch: Keep it normal, a high-pitched voice is an indicator that you are trying too hard to prove your point and could be making it up. Remember a polite answer goes a long way and keeping composure throughout the interview process is an acquired skill set and remember the hiring manager will try his/her level best to check how you perform or react to different situations and scenarios. So, keep it cool and answer politely. Even if you don’t know the answer, say it politely. C. Lying Signals – Clearing Throat: There is a scientific reason behind it. The central nervous system will stop the flow of saliva and your throat will dry up if the question has hit your weak point. Keep it in mind, it is better to be honest about the fact that you don’t know the answer, than trying to clear throat and making it all up. D. Lying Signals – Touching Your Face: If you are frequently scratching your nose or ear lobes, it gives a subtle message to the hiring manager that you are trying to bring an element of fabrication. So, it is best possible to avoid it. Now, there could be a scenario that the room is humid or you are sweaty due to the environmental factor, but in that case you should take care of hygiene and apt dressing basis the environment. However tempting it may appear to lie during a job interview, there are some really good practical—and moral—reasons to avoid it. It could damage your reputation in the industry over a period of time. And with a robust background check process in place, there will be a very high chance to get caught soon. Let me share an experience. When I was working for one of the biggest financial services organizations a decade or so back, a lady use to work in my team, and she was doing pretty well for herself, a good performer. But, three months

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How to relax yourself before the Interview

Interview Tips, Uncategorized / By Urban Acharya

Do you care to relax before a Job Interview? “I am not sure what will happen in the interview.”“I am not good at it.”“This is not my cup of tea.”“I know, I will get questions I won’t know answers.”“I am not sure I can crack this interview.”“It is going to be so tough.”“How will I answer those questions? I don’t have enough experience in that area.”“I am not sure if I am well prepared for the interview.”And so on.The list of counter intentions is endless, and who is responsible for it? Who should be blamed for it? You see, our mind loves overthinking, devours rolling up similar thoughts again and again, and if they are negative thoughts, the devouring is euphoric and slips it into autopilot mode. And until consciously disengaged, the thoughts are rolling up into a crude mass of something, becoming bigger and bigger with each passing minute. But hey, hang on, let me bring some perspective here and show you how to relax your mind.At the outset, let me tell you that it is natural to feel anxious before an interview. There is nothing wrong about it. We are human beings, and we often doubt ourselves, our preparations and our capabilities, rolling up so many negative thoughts in our minds, pushing us to the edge. Can you control your brain? Can you direct your brain not to be nervous? Not to focus on negative thoughts? Perhaps you can, but look at the other end of the spectrum – trying to relax yourself. And that is something we can control resorting to proven ways and means. Long back I had read in a book, the title of which I could barely recall, and it goes like this – “If you are on top of your game, stress won’t come to your vicinity.” It has stayed with me since then. I strongly believe in it. And it has a direct correlation with the subject we are discussing “How to Relax”. By ‘being on top your game means that you have sincerely invested adequate time in preparing for the interview. You got to remember that every additional hour you spend in preparing for the interview, you improve your chances to get to the other side. It is not a chance encounter, but a very structured professional conversation and therefore it requires structured preparation too. But, relaxing before an interview is extremely important to do well. By preparing well and adopting the right attitude we can learn to control our pre-interview nerves, relax and channelize them into something positive. Here is a list of a few tips that can help calm your nerves and relax your mind and greatly assist in your readiness to face an interview: A. Thorough Research about the Organization: Do a thorough research about the organization keeping a few areas in mind, e.g., latest awards and accolades, news about mergers and acquisitions, product launch and so on. Look up for the “About Us’ section on the website and go through it, making your notes. Makes notes on the key stakeholders, company history and its background and key financials. The more you understand about the organization and its culture, the easier it will be to articulate and explain what kind of values you could add to the role. B. Practice Commonly Asked Questions: Make a list of commonly asked questions and frame your smart answers strategically. Practice them multiple times before the interview. It will add to your confidence while you articulate your answers during an interview. It can also leave a great impression on the interviewer about the level of consideration and keenness you have extended to the organization. These questions are readily available on the net. But I would caution you, don’t get overwhelmed, there are so many variations of similar questions. Keep a list of 20 good questions and prepare your answers and organize your thoughts. Most probably, nothing will be asked beyond these 20 questions, but you should learn about the various ways a same question can be asked e.g., what are your strengths? Can also take a flavor of – Tell us what you can do for us that others can’t? C. Set aside sometime to Meditate: This is my favorite. Often, Meditation doesn’t rank highly on Job Preparation To Do list, and it is due to our various inhibitions. But remember, it is the trusted tool for bringing in added focus and keeping the mind relaxed. It is not a tedious or an elaborate exercise, it is just about closing your eyes and trying to focus on your breathing, while reminding oneself that what is best for you will follow. It can also eliminate distractions and can bring added clarity in articulation. It can being quietness to relentlessly overthinking mind, that in turn can de-clutter thoughts brining in a lot of clarity on the next steps. D. Try to Change your Perspective: Interviews are often stressful, but if you start thinking about them as your opportunities to test your limits, to figure out your real character – what are you made of, how well you can handle a situation like this? It will bring a different kind of feelings inside. Further, consider interview as merely a professional conversation without worrying about the final outcome. Think about the hiring manager as someone, who would like to see you do well professionally. It will help in managing interview nervousness in a better way. E. Normalize the Situation: Think about this interview as one of the many interviews you will get to attend in your life. Consider it as an opportunity to practice for future opportunities that would come your way. So, consider it as a learning opportunity and keep it limited to that, without too much bothering out the outcome. It may sound silly at first, but pause for a moment and ponder on this point – it will start making a lot of sense to you, once you get to an understand

Author name: Urban Acharya

How to De-Stress before an Interview?

Body Language: Proven Tips for Success

Three Resume Mistakes and How to Avoid Them!

Lying Signals During the Interview

How to relax yourself before the Interview

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