Getting it right at the Interview

An insight into what recruiters look for in a candidate, why candidates fail to clear the interview, the importance of soft skills and more.

Part 2 of my interview published by Shine.com

What mistakes do candidates generally make during interviews?

One must try and put his/ her best foot forward for the interview. Very often, candidates fail to clear the interviews due to inaccurate or incorrect information given in their resumes. Interview panel focuses on key traits and behaviour, which a candidate must demonstrate to succeed in the position being interviewed for. Sometimes, candidates end up discussing about areas in which they have little knowledge and experience. Too much of self-talk can also be seen as a negative attribute if the role needs a good team player. This shows them in bad light.

It’s always better to start with areas of your strength, show a positive approach and accept wherever you are unsure of the right answer. Interviewers do not expect candidates to answer every question; they also assess the forthrightness, professional behaviour, team work and work ethics of the candidate. One should avoid bad mouthing previous employer or talk negative about previous work experiences.

Often candidates start discussing compensation and benefit related aspects even before the final offer has been made. These questions should be taken up only when asked about or when the final round of interview is conducted. One must keep his answers succinct, focused to the subject in discussion to avoid any long rambling conversations.

Do you expect the candidates to have a fair idea about the company and the position they are applying for?

It’s always better to know the background of the company where you have applied for and understand the job profile as well. This shows the seriousness of the candidate for the interview. It also demonstrates that it’s a planned career move to align long term career goals with the organisations future strategy.

How important are soft skills (team work, communication, leadership etc.) in selecting a candidate?

Soft skills are very critical for individual success in any role. Interviewers focus on assessing the team work, group behaviour and leadership ability of individual through various case studies, questions on past experiences and also seek examples where the candidate has displayed these key attributes to successfully accomplish the goals.

To perform a role successfully, one must display fair understanding of behavioural aspects and good communication skill. As one moves up in career ladder, soft skills become critical differentiator to perform senior manager and leadership roles.

How important are the background/reference checks? Do you hire people without these checks?

Background check and reference check is mandatory in most organisations today. This is a non-negotiation aspect of hiring today. NASSCOM, which is the trade association of all the IT / ITeS / BPO companies in India has taken up a significant initiative called “Trusted Sourcing”. This initiative aims to develop and project the industry as a safe and trusted destination for sourcing, development, outsourcing and process work so that overseas clients develop confidence with the safety of our industry and assign more work.

NASSCOM, has developed a robust information infrastructure about all present and prospective employees of the industry called “National Skills Registry (NSR)”. NSR facilitates development of fact sheet of credible, permanent and accessible information about each registered person. You can refer to the link  for more details on NSR. This clearly explains how important background check is in today's times.

What Hiring Manager really want in a resume

An insight into what hiring managers looks for in a resume and what are the mistakes candidates generally make. 

Part 1 of my interview published by Shine.com

How important is a cover letter when applying for an IT job? 

It’s important to provide a brief cover letter, which outlines an individual’s interest and candidature for the role being applied for. A cover letter should be specific to the position, give an overview of one’s strengths and suitability for the role. A good cover letter helps in attracting recruiter’s attention. 

How much time do you spend reading a resume? 

This depends on the recruiter and the position being considered. For senior and niche positions one does spend considerable time going through the resumes for shortlisting. 

What according to you are the loopholes a candidate should avoid while creating a resume?

One must highlight the suitability for the position being applied. Recruiters always focus on finding the right fit for the job; profiles which match the role position have the best chance for being interviewed. Few don'ts in a resume: 

• Avoid lengthy resume, best resumes are of 1-2 pages. Don’t make it verbose, keep it brief and relevant.
• Avoid repeated reference of past achievements, should focus on recent experience and achievements.
• Avoid fancy fonts and bold letters, spelling and grammatical errors.
• Don’t include personal information on age, height, weight, date of birth, marital status, gender, health, religion, state or political affiliations in the resume.
• More that 7-8 years of employment history is avoidable and redundant for the recruiter.
• Salary information should be avoided, provide only if asked for.
• Reference should be provided only when asked for.
• Avoid usage of personal pronouns (I, my, me).
• Avoid generic information; provide specific and quantifiable values wherever possible.
• Don’t put hobbies and non-relevant information as it’s often seen as space filler.
• Don’t provide incomplete information on anything being mentioned in the resume.
• Don’t overemphasize your academic background or one particular experience. Don’t start with academic background, unless you have started your professional career in the last 1-2 years.
• Don’t just provide the start date of your previous job, provide complete tenure detail. Any incomplete information must be avoided. 

What are the key must haves in an IT professional’s resume? 

• Provide details of your job title, current and recent positions in detail.
• Details of projects worked on, skill set and job responsibilities performed.
• Highlight the technology and domain experience.
• Provide summary table which provides number of years of experience in a particular technology.
• Highlight achievements and core areas of expertise from future career interest perspective.
• Descriptive summary of how particular skill set like Java or Oracle was applied for a particular project.
• Organise tech skills into appropriate areas such as operating systems, networks and programming tools.
• Depending on the job title, one must highlight specific areas relevant for the position.
• Avoid too much of technical language, explain it appropriately with right balance of technical terms to ensure that even a non-technical persona can understand the profile.
• Highlight competency development initiatives like certification, programs undertaken or participation in technical forums, white paper submission
• Must provide summary of key achievements of each role, improvement in productivity, scheduled adherence, TAT etc are few examples.

How do you assess a candidate’s credentials?

Assessment for fresher’s who are hired through campus hiring is usually through a written aptitude test followed by an interview. These objective type tests are designed to assess the quantitative aptitude, logical reasoning and problem solving ability. Applications are pre-screened based on academic background and marks secured from high school onwards. Short-listed candidates are usually invited for an interview as part of the selection process. One has to meet the required proficiency levels for both the assessments to be selected for the role. 

For lateral entry, profiles are short listed which is followed by a panel interview to assess the technical and behavioral competencies of the candidate and fitment for the position applied for. Usually there are two-three rounds of interviews by technical team, HR and senior managers to assess the candidature for the position. Technical interviews focus on assessing the candidate's depth of knowledge and expertise level in a particular technology, skill set or domain. These are panel interviews which involves technical experts to assess the technical expertise and role fitment of the candidate. This is followed by human resources interview to discuss personal preferences and compensation, benefits related aspects before the final offer is made. Some organizations also administer psychometric tests to test the role fitment for the role.