Preparing To Win That Job

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Preparing to Win That Job
Sandeep Srivastava

B.Sc. Mech. Engg. (NIT-K 1987), PGDM
(IIM-L 1989)

PeopleFusion®
“Bringing People & Organisations Closer”

© Copyright 2007. PeopleFusion, New Delhi. All Rights Reserved.
® Trademark Registration in respect of the concerned mark has been applied for by PeopleFusion

Why you should bother to read
this?
21 years of industry experience
MBA like you
Multiple failures and successes
Have got hired and have hired at multiple levels
several times
Have fired and have been fired a few times
Grew from Management Trainee to MD/CEO
Past with HCL, NIIT, Silicon Graphics, Bentley
Systems, Autodesk, UGS-Siemens & Eigen (Laing
O’Rourke)
Now have my own Recruitment & Consulting
business
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Why you should question
what’s written here?
My situation & background is unique –
just like yours is/will be
Industry exposure to primarily
Information Technology
Different goals and aspirations/needs
and wants

One Glove Does Not Fit All
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What can you Expect from this
Presentation?
What we will do
What to do before the interview
Resume Tips & Resume Building
Grooming & Etiquette
Interview Questions & Tips
Some Q&A

What we probably won’t
Career Options at various stages
Matching interests to careers
Future Prospects of various industries
Emerging Sectors

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What is the Biggest Challenge
Facing an Organisation today?
The Single Biggest challenge facing an
organisation today is the ability to
find the right people to drive it’s
growth and other business
objectives while preserving the core
values of the organisation.
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The Biggest Secret to success in
your job search
It’s seldom about Ability, it is always
about Commitment.
Most company’s have now realised
that “The best person for a Job is not the one
with the best capabilities but the one with
the greatest commitment.”

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The most important step
Ignorance is not bliss. The lack of
knowledge can be deadly.
- Joel Orr


Read, Research & Retrospect
The onus of finding the right job is
yours, just turning up for an interview
is never good enough
How much time do you want to invest
in your career?

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Know the company really well. The
interview is not the time to find out about
the company!!
Websites (“Google them”)
Brochures/In-house magazines, etc
Pre-placements talks (for campus hires)
Employees, alumni, etc.

Know the job for which you are interviewing
really well
How can you make a specific impact?
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Will you be ready to do the job on day one or will
you require a lot of time to assimilate?

How will you convince them you can do the
job?
What can you do to make this company
succeed?
Find out who is on the interview panel
finance/technical/sales/marketing – Different
people have different priorities
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Resume Tips
You can’t get a job with a
good resume but with a bad
one you can lose a job!


Tips to brush-up your Resume
A lot of how a resume is perceived depends
on the hiring manager.
There are only a few rules rest are
guidelines.
Always tweak your resume for the specific
company and job.
A resume is a creative document and
therefore everyone will and must have a
different and unique one !

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st
1

Rule: Presentation is
Paramount
Consistent fonts, formatting, style for body,
different levels of titles, etc.
Learn to 'really' use MS Word or whatever
other word-processor you like.
Get a few people (friends, parents,
professional acquaintances, etc) to read
your resume to make sure it is readable,
understandable and devoid of errors.
The best of credentials are overlooked
because of a badly presented resume !!
™


st
1

Guideline: Check for
Relevance
Nobody is interested in male/female at the
levels you are entering.
Remove nationality, marital status, date of
birth, passport number, etc.
Name of parents, spouse, children is
absolutely irrelevant
If someone is keen on all this they will
probably give you a form to fill anyway.
Some of this information may actually
prejudice the reviewer so best to leave it
out.
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nd
2

Guideline: Opening
Content
Good idea to put a paragraph at the
beginning which states what you are
professionally interested in doing.
Something like “I am keen on a sales
position” or “I am keen on a technical
analyst position”.
Try to include why you have this interest and
how it is relevant to the company.
However if you are making a generic
resume leave this out, some companies
may screen you out if your objective is a
complete mis-match with the job on offer.
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rd
3

Guideline: Follow-on
Summary
A summary of some key
strengths/achievements, etc might be a
good option as bullets. For example:
Quick study, am able to pick-up technical
subjects easily…
Great organizer and have used this skill to
organize events such as …..
Keen sports person, have played for my college
team in Basketball…
Very good speaker & presenter. Have won
several debating competitions
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rd
3

Guideline: Follow-on
Summary
Comprehensive knowledge of Java and ASP
which I have used to develop a web portal
Worked closely with “Helpage India” to help
collect funds of Rs.xxx from corporate sponsor

Make this “your” list and be ready to defend
what you have written.
You should tone down the adjectives to the
actual level you feel you are at. Excellent in
“C++” doesn’t mean I used to do some
programming in class 10th!!

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th
4

Guideline: Specifically For
the Fresher
Since you may not have much job experience
highlighting some of the special things you did in
college will be good.
Stood first in class or Secretary Cultural club or
Captain of College volleyball team
Did a project to identify the boiling point of water
which was selected for the National Science
forum or Keen interest in dramatics
Leave out the stuff about your “entrance exam” rank
etc., unless your rank was truly outstanding like top
10 or top 100. The fact that you were 500 out of
even 50,000 is not worth mentioning.
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th
4

the Fresher
Focus on any special projects, summer
trainings, etc you did. If you had some real
impact, mention them.
You can either list everything based on
chronological events like:
1995 – 1997 St. Anthony’s School; Academic
achievements; Extracurricular activities; etc and
any thing else you want to say
OR put everything under a major heading.
Academics; Extracurricular; Special awards; etc.

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th
4

the Fresher
What ever way you present, have a consistent
presentation and don’t repeat yourself
unnecessarily.
You can safely leave out that you were offered
a job by “Acme Inc”. However if you want to use
this at the beginning then it might be ok –
“Although I have been offered a job at Acme Inc
as a software programmer, I want to pursue a
career as a consultant and therefore I did not
accept it.”
Don’t mix professional and education stuff in
one heading.
™


th
5

Guideline: Professional
Part
Professional experience, list it out
chronologically. Current one first.
Where did you work, what the company does
and what you did is important.
If you got promoted – joined as trainee became
a manager in 2 years due to your diligence in
the field; any special achievement – met my
annual sales quota 3 years in a row; employee
of the quarter for Q2 FY 04; reduced expenses
by 30%, etc.
Again be factual and be ready to defend what
you write.
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th
5

Guideline: Professional
Part
Unless you are applying for a TECHNICAL JOB
please don’t mention every technical software
project you have done till now and the
excruciating details of which exact tools you used!
Present it as a business problem & solution –
“Was a member of the team which helped reduce
congestion at Heathrow Airport by developing an
advanced ATC system”.
A laundry list of all the software you ever saw is
not a great list. Focus on the ones you truly excel
in and tweak the list to the job on hand.
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th
6

Guideline: The Ending

Best to leave out salary at this stage. Companies
may screen you if you are paid too less (yes, this
is true!!) or too high.
Don’t mention your “expected salary” unless you
are truly brain dead !
References are best provided based on relevance
once the company asks for them.
Please leave out “I hereby declare that all the
information provided by me in this application is
factual and correct to the best of my knowledge
and belief - Date: - Signature:”
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Will your resume come back to
Haunt you?
Whatever the temptation don’t lie or
stretch the truth. These things have a
way of catching up with you eventually.
Please read your own resume
thoroughly and make sure you can
defend what you have written with
examples
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You won’t get this reception!!

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The Interview
Appearances do count


Who would you take more
seriously?

OR

Bleary eyed, sleepy guy with
stubble & a casual kurta?
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Debonair, bright eyed guy
in the business suit?

Grooming & Etiquette – Why?
Differentiates you from others in a
competitive job market
Enables you to be confident in a variety of
settings with a variety of people
Demonstrates that you care & are willing to
go the extra mile
Honors commitment to excellence and
quality

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Etiquette Basics
Exhibit a positive attitude and pleasant
demeanor – SMILE ☺
Use a firm handshake or greeting
Maintain good eye contact
Listen carefully & Speak clearly
Nonverbal communication is important
Show common respect and consideration
for others
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Grooming Basics
Grooming is fundamental
When in doubt over-dress rather than
under-dress
Personal hygiene – hair, nails, etc.
Women – very light make-up, if at all
No strong perfumes, deo’s, etc.

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The Interview
Finally – The real stuff !!


Tell me something about
yourself !
An icebreaker used by the interviewer
Limit it to not more than a 30-60 sec & include
Consider introducing some self deprecating humour
as your own icebreaker.
Educational background (Dept, key electives, rank if
any)
State your professional interest and the reason why
you think you will be a good fit for the company and
job
Some key parts of your summary of
accomplishments
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Behavioural Questions
Trying to determine how you will react to a
situation in the future by trying to understand
your past. Centered around issues likeSuccess, failures, obstacles
Difficult situations or people
Ethical issues or difficult decisions
Adaptability, willing to change
Public speaking, communication
Most rewarding experience college, life, etc.
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One approach to tackle –
S.T.A.R.
Situation or Task: Describe the situation you
were in or the task you needed to accomplish.
Be specific about the event or situation
Be sure to give enough detail for the interviewer to
understand the event

Action you took: Describe the action you took
and be sure to keep the focus on you.
Even if you are discussing a group project or effort,
describe what you did, not the efforts of the team.
Don’t tell what you might do, tell what you did.

™


One approach to tackle –
S.T.A.R.
Results received: What happened?
How did the event end?
What did you accomplish?
What did you learn?

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Other Questions
Goals: Personal and Professional
What are your short-term career objectives?
Long-term career objectives?
When and why did you establish these goals?
How do you plan to achieve your career goals?
What are the most important rewards you expect
in a career?
What qualities do you admire most in others?
How do you determine or evaluate success?
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Other Questions
Skills and abilities
What do you consider to be your greatest
strengths and weaknesses?
What do you do for fun? Hobbies & Interests.
If you were describing yourself, what five words
would you use?
What two or three accomplishments have given
you the most satisfaction? Why?
What is the most important lesson you have
ever learned in or out of school?
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Other Questions
Education
Tell me how you chose your branch. Why did
you select this college/university?
Which academic subjects did you enjoy the
most? Least? Why?
Grades? Do you think your grades are a good
indication of your academic achievement?
How has your education prepared you for this
job?
Do you have plans for continued study? An
advanced degree?
™


Acknowledgments
www.Asktheheadhunter.com
www.PeopleFusion.in
www.CareerCenter.ilstu.edu

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Keeping in Touch
http://www.peoplefusion.in


Preparing To Win That Job

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