Job Interviews – How to ace them and land your dream Job!

Job interviews can be life changing. There is only a gap of one step between you and your dream life and that is clearing that interview.  You want to ensure you give it your best. In the famous scene of the movie ‘’The Pursuit of Happiness’’ Will Smith walks in dressed like a garbage man to be interviewed by high profile financial advisors all dressed up in suits. He is incredibly nervous and shaken inside but with a commitment and resilience that exudes confidence and a high degree of integrity. His handshake is warm and genuine. Despite the stress, he does not lose his wit. When asked what he would he say to a man who hired someone who walked into an interview without a shirt on he says, “He must have had on some really nice paints”. That cracks up everyone. He gets the job! 

If you want to watch the clip you can go here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUDKEbX5OQw

On average, each corporate job offer attracts 250 resumes. Of those candidates, 4 to 6 will get called for an interview, and only one will get the job. (Glassdoor)

Source: https://zety.com/blog/hr-statistics

So, wat are your odds? 1in 250. This implies you need to stand out during the interview assessment. 

What makes you standout in an interview? 

Let us look at some interesting statistics on Interviews. 

1. You get only 7 seconds to make a good first impression. Within 7 seconds the recruiter will slot you as one of the following competent or incompetent, trustworthy or deceitful, attractive, or unattractive, aggressive, or passive. This is done basis your facial expressions. Extensive research has been conducted by psychologists where group of people were shown pictures and they in as less than 1/10^th of a second categorised each person in the photograph. Your facial expressions are critical. Especially in virtual interview assessments since your face is the most visible.

   
   

2. As high as 67% of interviewees do not make eye contact with their recruiters during a job interview. When you look into a person’s eyes and talk, you hold their attention. Eye contact evokes a feeling of trust, bonding, honesty, and someone who is genuine, based on research. For example, Cornell University had 60 students look at 2 pictures of a cereal box. One had a rabbit sitting on it who was looking down, and the other had a rabbit that was looking straight at you. The students were asked to choose which of the two cereal boxes would they buy? The winner: was the box whose rabbit was maintaining direct eye contact.  So not making eye contact is not a good thing. Look at your interviewers while answering the questions during a job interview.

   
   

3. 39% and more candidates are rejected because of their overall confidence levels that is measured by the body language, vocal tone, and the fact whether they were smiling or not. Remember “Your best networking tool is a smile. Don’t underestimate its power when meeting people.” (Sue Voyles) and “People who smile more are more successful”. Smiling is a sign of being friendly, engaging, and open. It reduces stress hormone levels and increases endorphins which helps you appear confident. There is aspect of your vocal tone like your rate of speech, modulation and your volume which also indicate your stress levels. Speaking too fast makes you appear nervous, lack of modulation in your voice makes you appear monotonous and not engaging. A low volume will also indicate lack of confidence. Your sitting posture, whether you engage your hands & head all these are cues too about your confidence levels in a job interview.

   
   

To summarise the following factors are incredibly critical for you to keep in mind while appearing for a job interview:

• Maintaining eye contact

• Smiling

• Positive body language

• Facial expressions

• Right rate of speech

• Voice Modulation

• Volume

  
  

  uSpeek a Video Assessment tool for Job Interviews 

uSpeek is a Job Interview preparation video assessment app which can assess your mock interview video and give you feedback in each of the above parameters and more. It is the World's first video assessment tool which helps you improve your communication skills by reviewing 25 unique parameters. Uspeek uses AI (Artificial Intelligence) to improve your spoken word, body language, word power, voice etc. and give you a holistic analysis, in a matter of minutes.

The process of getting a detailed analysis off your interview answers is amazingly simple: -

1. Prepare a script of the answers you wish to speak in an interview.

2. Record your video on any device and upload it by clicking on a button. 

3. Uspeek will generate a holistic analysis of your speech and let you know how you can improve yourself, all this just with the click of a button.

There are a few additional tips to help you Excel in your next interview:

• Practice, practice, practice - It is as simple as that believe it or not an interview is all about practicing. With practice interview will be a cakewalk. 

• Connect with the interviewer- Just like in a speech it is important to connect with the audience in an interview. Try to engage in a conversation rather than keeping it limited to a question answer session.

• Do your homework - By doing the homework we here mean that be ready with the research of the company. Your knowledge about the company’s business, competitors and markets will make you look like you are keen on the job. 

• Dress well and be on time- Well-dressed person is perceived in a different way compared to the contrary. The way you look, the way you talk and the way you speak are things the recruiter is watching closely. Make sure that you arrive at the place of interview ahead of time. This shows your attention to detail, integrity, and discipline.

• Follow up after the interview- The most important step that most of the candidates miss is to follow up after the interview. It is highly likely that the interviewer may not have the chance to inform you or may have missed your resume by any chance, so it is a good gesture to politely take a follow up of the interview that you have given. Even if you are not selected you may ask for a feedback so that you may improve in your future interviews.

Do use uSpeek to get a detailed video assessment done for yourself. You can go to https://uspeeknow.com/ and get your video assessment done right now. 

Here is a snapshot of what a uSpeek report looks like:

Overall Score

Body Language Score

Vocal Tone Score

Here is a link to a video on How to Prepare for an Interview. It guides you step by step through the preparation process and entails aspects other than practise on

uSpeek.

https://youtu.be/Hz0Q7faCXeM

Wishing you all the best for you next Job Interview. Do write to us at support@uspeeknow.com for any queries, suggestions or help regarding interview preparation.