How to crack a job in 24 hours - Part I

"We have never seen a person with such a profile applying for this position. You do not fit in the kind of profile we are looking for. Why are you here?"

- First sentence of the VP, Goldman Sachs when I entered the room.

And I got the job :)

So yeah the big question is how to prepare for the most adverse situations in the interview. The answer, in one word, is 'Confidence'. It is very important that you don't lose confidence when it is most needed - when you are facing the interviewer. If you don't feel confident, feign it. If you can't even do that, then you should seriously think whether you are made for that job or not.

But lets come to that later. Lets start with what you need to do one day before D-Day. Here are a few things you should keep in mind.

• You will have to prepare for the HR interview - no escaping that
• A little prep for stress interview is helpful - most people get knocked out in this (I did not, however :D)
• Try to feel confident (can't stress more on that)
• Prepare the file or the bag that you would be carrying with you
• NEVER EVER touch the books/notes for one final revision - the brain needs rest. With all the tension building up, you really need to think hard. Believe me!

Coming to these things in detail, one by one now. I believe that the preparation of the subject should be done long before the actual date of the interview. Also the resume should be prepared with proper formatting weeks before D-Day.

• HR: This was the toughest part for me to do. Here are the few things that you should try to prepare for:
  

• Why you are here/ Why do you want this job / Why Goldman Sachs (or the name of the company you are applying for): Don't say that you want it for money, though that might be, and usually is, true. For the answer to this, try to look for something that is unique for that company, like "Goldman Sachs is all about innovation" etc. You will have to do some research about the company for this. More often than not it can be made out from the home page of the concerned company. But you have to find it. Try to make the answer as convincing as possible. You really do want that job don't you? One word of caution - in case you are leaving one job and applying for another, then you should not (and this is exactly what is written on almost all the blogs which talk about interviews, and it is there for a reason :D) start blaming the previous employer. Gives a (very) bad impression.
• Tell me about yourself... This is the most dreaded question of all. But it is not very difficult to prepare, if you know how to. The person asking the question is not interested whether you have one brother who is helping your father in doing some dairy related business or not. They are interested in what you can do for them. How you will fit in the company. So keep this in mind. Note down the points that you think are important qualities for a person filling the post. You should cite instances (say one per head) which display each of these qualities ...
• Rest they will try to ask you your strengths and weaknesses - just give a thought to it. Regarding weaknesses, you should think of something that is a strength in disguise.... will not elaborate more on this here.
• Otherwise the HR interview is peace. Just keep your cool and enjoy the session!

I guess the post is getting very long. Will elaborate on the other points in next few posts :)