The art of conducting a successful interview
By now, the secrets to a successful interview have been committed to memory: dress well, arrive early, bring plenty of resumes, think before speaking.
But what if you are on the other side of the table?
Most of the preparation related to interviewing focuses on the applicant. Yet, in an economy where young people are promoted into middle management at a rapid clip and many companies find themselves in a hiring frenzy, employers are increasingly formalizing their own interviewing processes and offering training to those in the position of asking the questions.
Illustration: Malay Karmakar / Mint
“The interview is the least effective way to recruit,” says P.B. Nageshwar, head of human resources (HR) with the real estate consulting firm Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj. “The chances of getting in wrong are higher than getting it right.”
So, now Jones Lang LaSalle has two people that sit in on every interview—the line manager that the candidate would report to, and someone from HR. The manager looks more for hard skills, while HR looks more for soft skills.
And those who will be interviewing go through a full day of training before they can assess candidates.
When you have to gauge a candidate through a short general discussion rather than through assessment tests, you have to be clear about what you are looking for, suggests Nageshwar.
Prashant Bhatnagar, director of hiring at Sapient Corp., a business and technology consulting firm, says the company has a formal process in place to train interviewers also.
First, eligible Sapient employees attend a training session that outlines the dos and don’ts for an interview. Then they sit in on a few interviews, so they can watch how it works. Then they get certified to do it on their own.
Generally, employers agree that the candidate should talk more than the interviewer. Second, the Jones Lang LaSalle interviewers are told to focus on behavioural patterns, and ask open-ended rather than yes-or-no questions.
Candidates are asked to describe a challenge they faced at their previous jobs and how they dealt with it, or what they consider are their three biggest career successes.
Entry-level interviews are usually several rounds of half- hour sessions, the higher up the position, the longer the time frames.
Training also dwells just as much on the questions not to be asked: age, caste, marital status, what their parents do for a living.
But as much as someone is trained, interviewers should also rely on their sense of honesty and openness from the candidate, says Sumeer Sudhakar, manager (HR) at RDM India Pvt. Ltd, which specializes in information technology for the aviation and travel industries.
“I am seeking a certain level of earnestness in their answers,” he says. “Interviews have always been somewhat an intimidating task at any level. I have found so many applicants whose tone and answers was more earnest and clear than it was confident, and I have selected them. Today, they have built that confidence and are doing extremely well.”
Sudhakar likens the employer to a buyer and says the same rules for consumers apply: don’t mistake quantity (as in years of experience) for quality. Ask for specifics: if the candidate says she would apply progressive discipline, ask, “What is progressive discipline?”
Sapient shoots for 60-90 minutes for the technical/area expertise part of the interview, and 45-60 minutes on the softer skills/cultural fit part.
One thing Bhatnagar focused on was the interviewer being a “brand ambassador” for the company.
“Make sure the impression you leave is something they are excited about, irrespective of if they hired,” he says.
Sapient translates this idea into tips like, “respect time” —the company asks its interviewers to show up either on time, or a few minutes before the scheduled interview. It also advises against getting into an argument with the candidate.
Other tips the company stresses are, help the individual articulate their current interests and career objectives, and pick out traits that resonate with “Sapient culture”. Bhatnagar describes that as being able to give and take feedback, and not shying away from difficult conversations.
But the company’s biggest tip for interviewers is still a gut check. Would you want them on your team? If the answer is yes, says Bhatnagar, they’re hired.
Inquiry and listening tools for interviewers
# Follow the 70/30 rules. This means that the interviewer should listen 70% of the time during the interview and only talk 30% of the time.
# Use echoes. Paraphrase the interviewee’s answers to show that you are listening and understand. This gives them the chance to better explain if they need to do so.
# Be conversational! An interview should not be like an interrogation!
# It is important to give the interviewee a realistic and positive impression of the position, department. Remember, you are looking for the person who is the best fit and the applicant is looking for the same. Misleading the applicant will not benefit anyone.
# Don’t use phrases such as “as long as you do a good job,” or “until you’re ready to retire”.
As told to Megha Chhabra by Ankit Chaturvedi, project assistant at Asia-Pacific Management Consulting GmbH.
The Porsche currently produces 911, Boxster, Cayman sports cars, and Cayenne sport utility vehicles.
Porsche 911 :
Acceleration : 4,9 sec.
Top speed : 280 km/h.
Transmission : 6 - speed manual
Displacement : 3824 cc
Maximum Bhp : 355 hp / 4600 rmp
Length : 4427 mm
Width : 1852 mm
Height : 1300 mm
Weight : 1560 kg
The Cayman, a mid-size luxury SUV, is similar to the Boxster but is in a slightly higher price range.
Porsche's main rivals are Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and BMW. Porsche has offered consultancy services to other car manufacturers -- Audi, Studebaker, SEAT, Daewoo, Subaru and Yugo.
Porsche is one of the few, remaining manufacturers using the rear-engine, rear-wheel drive layout.
Price: Porsche cars are priced at $85,000 to $90,000.
Ferrari: Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929 as Scuderia Ferrari, the company is based in Maranello and Modena, Italy.
Initially, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of road vehicles.
The symbol of the Ferrari race team is a black prancing stallion on a yellow shield, usually with the letters S F (for Scuderia Ferrari), with three stripes of green, white and red (the Italian national colors) at the top.
2007 Ferrari 430 Scuderia
Ferrari also has an internally managed merchandising line that licenses many products bearing the Ferrari brand, including eyewear, pens, pencils, perfume, clothing, high-tech bicycles, cell phones, and even laptop computers.
Financial Times named Ferrari number one on its 2007 list of the 100 Best Workplaces in Europe.
Ferrari has had a Formula One race team for over 50 years. Ferrari's has been the oldest team in the championship. It is also the most successful.
A lean period throughout the 1980's and 1990's ended with Michael Schumacher taking the team to two driver's championships in 2000 and 2001.
Price: The Ferrari cars are priced at $100,000.
Lotus: Formed as Lotus Engineering Ltd by Colin Chapman, a graduate of University College, London, in 1952, Lotus, based at Hethel, Norfolk, England designs and builds race and production automobiles of light weight and high handling characteristics.
The company acts as an engineering consultancy, providing engineering development -- particularly of suspension -- for other car manufacturers.
Some of the popular versions of Lotus are:
# Lotus Elise -- It was recently introduced in the US, with a Toyota engine.
# Lotus Exige -- A version of the Lotus Elise with a redesigned body. The company remodelled the Exige with Exige S in 2007.
# Lotus Europa S -- This is a grand tourer-like two-seater with a powerful engine.
# Esprit Replacement -- A new version of the Esprit expected to go on sale in 2009. It is supposed to be powered by a BMW V8 engine similar to that used in BMW's 650i.
# Lotus 2-Eleven -- This Weighs just 670 kg (1,500 lb). The car has a top speed of 155 mph (249 km/h).
Price: The price of Lotus cars varies between $48,000 to $60,000.
Lamborghini : Founded in 1962 by a businessman Ferruccio Lamborghini, the companyis based in the small Italian village of Sant'Agata Bolognese, near Bologna.
Lamborghini is now a subsidiary of the German luxury car manufacturer, Audi AG, which is in turn a subsidiary of Volkswagen Group.
Lamborghini comes in two main varieties: Gallardo priced at $186,900 and Murcielago priced at $333,000.00.
Three variants of Gallardo are availabe in the market:
Gallardo Base Coupe, Gallardo Spyder Convertible and Gallardo Superleggera Coupe.
Murcielago too comes in two variants: Murcielago LP640 Coupe and Murcielago LP640 Roadster.
Famous for the outrageous design, some of its models like the Miura, the Countach, the Diablo, and the Murcielago continue to be a few of the most coveted super cars of all time.
Lamborghini cars, mid-engine two-seaters, are known for their great pickup.
The car's future models may include a rear-wheel-dr
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