During the two days preceding the interview, a candidate should attend to the following activities carefully :
1. Revision. Whatever a candidate has prepared for the interview, he should revise everything. His impetus should be on understanding rather than cramming. He should visualise how he is going to put his knowledge to practice if a question was asked in that context. As a matter of fact, when a candidate prepares for interview, he should make suitable notes that he can revise and re-revise just before the interview. It helps him recollect the points faster.
Also, at this stage, a candidate should not try to study anything new, but he should aim at mastering what he has learnt upto this stage. The only exception to this is the newspapers, but he should not go through it from first page to the last, reading everything. It would tire him and waste crucial time that is in short supply. He should concentrate only on important news in politics, sports, national events, international happenings, etc. Generally, interviewers understand that they should not ask a question on the day’s or previous day’s news, but there can be exceptions. It would help the candidate not look blank. Similarly, a candidate should go through the magazines that he usually reads, but again, his attention should be toward looking through it than to go through every line.
He should pay special attention to any flaws or shortcomings that his personal life, academics or other fields bring out. “Practice makes a man perfect”, so he should practise how he is actually going to answer the questions. He should also see the final answers to the likely questions he has prepared. He should also pay attention to the suitable change of stance and wording or facts in case the actual question asked is different in approach than he prepared for. For this, he should take the help of his peer-group and elders.
2. Confidence. When a candidate reaches the stage of a crucial interview, nervousness dawns on his psyche. He looks perplexed and puzzled, sometimes to the extent of being petrified. It may be borne in mind that the interviewers are people, as common as you are, who have ascended the stairs of success which you too would in time to come. They too have passed your stage. Moreover, an interviewer is there to select people who prove helpful in achieving the goals set by the employer or the organisation. His job is to select and not to reject.
Have confidence in your abilities. Think that this formal occasion is a friendly chit-chat with a senior officer, which you have done all your life—with your parents, teachers, coaches, elders, relatives, and others. There is no reason to be tense. Feel free and keep your mind open. It would bring you confidence and would enable you to think reasonably well.
Even if you think that you have not prepared well for a particular subject or topic, never mind. There is every possibility that a question might not at all be asked about it. And your interviewer does not expect you to know everything. He knows limitations of a man. No one can master all the subjects under the sun. Even if you are not able to reply to a question, there is no need to feel puzzled. It happens with everybody. But keep in mind, if you do not know an answer, admit it openly by saying, “Sir, I don’t know of it,” or “I’m not aware”. Don’t try to give a wrong answer or try to guess a possible answer. Saying that you do not know will show your trait that you are honest and can admit your shortcomings.
3. Sleep and Rest. If the interview is to be conducted in his home town, the candidate should take a long refreshing sleep the night before so that he reaches the place of interview vigorous and fresh. He should try to avoid studying upto late hours at night, else he might look tired the following morning. Also, he should get up a little early on the D-day and should plan so that he reaches the place at least an hour in advance. It will take care of unpredictable road blocks and other incidents that can delay his reaching his destination in time, besides giving him anxiety.
4. Dress. When you look at a stranger, what impression would you get at the first instance? Ostensibly, you would assess him by the dress he wears. And in case of an interview, first impression makes much of a difference. Importance of a dress cannot be over-emphasised.
There are various opinions as to what dress an interviewee should don. But most agree that an interview is a formal occasion, so the dress for the formal occasion should be formal. Now the question arises, what dress makes a formal or informal dress. It depends on several factors, such as, the post applied for, time and place of interview, weather, etc. The post applied for is an important reason, for example, someone applying for the post of an astrologer or priest would certainly need a dress different from what we may call formal. Similarly, someone applying for a class IV post can do with any dress to his liking—a simple pant-shirt or a kurta-pyjama.
It should also be borne in mind that wearing a dress other than a formal dress may call for unnecessary explanation. Adequate formal dress for a male candidate can be a suit (two-piece or three-piece as might be in vogue) with a neck tie or trousers with a full-sleeve shirt and a tie. Shoes should be preferably leather made of black colour because they match with almost every dress.
A candidate should, under all circumstances, avoid informal dress, like jeans and T-shirt. Clothes should be according to his stature and build and should fit well. They should be clean, if not new, and should be well ironed out. And most important of all, shoes should be shining.
A clean-shaven man looks better than a bearded man. However, if he maintains one, he should keep it in proper shape. Hair should be well combed irrespective of the style of a candidate, but it should not give a look of a rowdy man. Nails should be well trimmed.
As far as female candidates are concerned, they have a choice to make from a variety of clothes. Saree for them is the most formal wear followed by salwar-kameej. They have other equally smart choices like skirts, etc., keeping with the fashion in vogue and their age. Cosmetics can be used but they should preferably avoid strong smelling creams and odours. Their make-up should better be light that shows them in delicate taste. Heavy and dark make-up can suit a female candidate only for a few posts, of which cabaret dancer is one. It is advisable to look decent in a light make-up and avoid an extravagant look. Ornaments too should be light. Female candidates should understand that they are going to present themselves before their would-be seniors in rank and age, who might have conventional view on fashion.
1. Revision. Whatever a candidate has prepared for the interview, he should revise everything. His impetus should be on understanding rather than cramming. He should visualise how he is going to put his knowledge to practice if a question was asked in that context. As a matter of fact, when a candidate prepares for interview, he should make suitable notes that he can revise and re-revise just before the interview. It helps him recollect the points faster.
Also, at this stage, a candidate should not try to study anything new, but he should aim at mastering what he has learnt upto this stage. The only exception to this is the newspapers, but he should not go through it from first page to the last, reading everything. It would tire him and waste crucial time that is in short supply. He should concentrate only on important news in politics, sports, national events, international happenings, etc. Generally, interviewers understand that they should not ask a question on the day’s or previous day’s news, but there can be exceptions. It would help the candidate not look blank. Similarly, a candidate should go through the magazines that he usually reads, but again, his attention should be toward looking through it than to go through every line.
He should pay special attention to any flaws or shortcomings that his personal life, academics or other fields bring out. “Practice makes a man perfect”, so he should practise how he is actually going to answer the questions. He should also see the final answers to the likely questions he has prepared. He should also pay attention to the suitable change of stance and wording or facts in case the actual question asked is different in approach than he prepared for. For this, he should take the help of his peer-group and elders.
2. Confidence. When a candidate reaches the stage of a crucial interview, nervousness dawns on his psyche. He looks perplexed and puzzled, sometimes to the extent of being petrified. It may be borne in mind that the interviewers are people, as common as you are, who have ascended the stairs of success which you too would in time to come. They too have passed your stage. Moreover, an interviewer is there to select people who prove helpful in achieving the goals set by the employer or the organisation. His job is to select and not to reject.
Have confidence in your abilities. Think that this formal occasion is a friendly chit-chat with a senior officer, which you have done all your life—with your parents, teachers, coaches, elders, relatives, and others. There is no reason to be tense. Feel free and keep your mind open. It would bring you confidence and would enable you to think reasonably well.
Even if you think that you have not prepared well for a particular subject or topic, never mind. There is every possibility that a question might not at all be asked about it. And your interviewer does not expect you to know everything. He knows limitations of a man. No one can master all the subjects under the sun. Even if you are not able to reply to a question, there is no need to feel puzzled. It happens with everybody. But keep in mind, if you do not know an answer, admit it openly by saying, “Sir, I don’t know of it,” or “I’m not aware”. Don’t try to give a wrong answer or try to guess a possible answer. Saying that you do not know will show your trait that you are honest and can admit your shortcomings.
3. Sleep and Rest. If the interview is to be conducted in his home town, the candidate should take a long refreshing sleep the night before so that he reaches the place of interview vigorous and fresh. He should try to avoid studying upto late hours at night, else he might look tired the following morning. Also, he should get up a little early on the D-day and should plan so that he reaches the place at least an hour in advance. It will take care of unpredictable road blocks and other incidents that can delay his reaching his destination in time, besides giving him anxiety.
4. Dress. When you look at a stranger, what impression would you get at the first instance? Ostensibly, you would assess him by the dress he wears. And in case of an interview, first impression makes much of a difference. Importance of a dress cannot be over-emphasised.
There are various opinions as to what dress an interviewee should don. But most agree that an interview is a formal occasion, so the dress for the formal occasion should be formal. Now the question arises, what dress makes a formal or informal dress. It depends on several factors, such as, the post applied for, time and place of interview, weather, etc. The post applied for is an important reason, for example, someone applying for the post of an astrologer or priest would certainly need a dress different from what we may call formal. Similarly, someone applying for a class IV post can do with any dress to his liking—a simple pant-shirt or a kurta-pyjama.
It should also be borne in mind that wearing a dress other than a formal dress may call for unnecessary explanation. Adequate formal dress for a male candidate can be a suit (two-piece or three-piece as might be in vogue) with a neck tie or trousers with a full-sleeve shirt and a tie. Shoes should be preferably leather made of black colour because they match with almost every dress.
A candidate should, under all circumstances, avoid informal dress, like jeans and T-shirt. Clothes should be according to his stature and build and should fit well. They should be clean, if not new, and should be well ironed out. And most important of all, shoes should be shining.
A clean-shaven man looks better than a bearded man. However, if he maintains one, he should keep it in proper shape. Hair should be well combed irrespective of the style of a candidate, but it should not give a look of a rowdy man. Nails should be well trimmed.
As far as female candidates are concerned, they have a choice to make from a variety of clothes. Saree for them is the most formal wear followed by salwar-kameej. They have other equally smart choices like skirts, etc., keeping with the fashion in vogue and their age. Cosmetics can be used but they should preferably avoid strong smelling creams and odours. Their make-up should better be light that shows them in delicate taste. Heavy and dark make-up can suit a female candidate only for a few posts, of which cabaret dancer is one. It is advisable to look decent in a light make-up and avoid an extravagant look. Ornaments too should be light. Female candidates should understand that they are going to present themselves before their would-be seniors in rank and age, who might have conventional view on fashion.
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