Imagine you are a part of an interview board of a corporate recruitment board what are the qualities and soft skills required for the interviews and i

An interview is a formal meeting in which a person or persons question, consult or evaluate another person or persons. The person who asks the question is called the interviewer and the person who replies is the interviewee or the candidate, both of them have specific objectives. In a typical interview, the action is controlled by the interviewer, the person who schedules the session. This individual poses a series of questions, which are mostly designed to elicit information from the interviewee. An interview reveals the views, knowledge, ideas and attitudes of the person being interviewed as well as the skills of the interviewer.


The candidate’s Preparation:
The candidate must be prepared in an all-round way for the interview.

Physical preparation:

Grooming:
The candidate should be properly groomed and formally dressed.
Nails should be clean and well cut.
Personal hygiene is important.
Hair should be properly combed.
Clothes should be well laundered and well-fitting’
Footwear should be appropriate and clean.
A suitable hand bag or briefcase should be carried.

Postures:
Should be confident.
The candidate should not slouch while standing.
He or She should sit in a smart way.
Walking should show confidence.
Body movements should be smart.
Body language should be positive.

Good manners:
The candidate should know what time of the day it is.
He should not offer to shake hands on his own.
An appropriate greeting-hello, good morning, etc should be said.
Do not sit until asked.
Take care while shifting the chair; it should not be too noisily done.
Be comfortable in handling your briefcase and documents. Do not show clumsiness.
Place your hands comfortably.
Thanks the paved politely after the interview.
Do not be over profuse in ensuring.
Maintain a smart posture throughout.

Mental Preparation:

If the job applicant is fresh, he or she should be sure to get updated in all the subjects pertaining to his or her field.
Being well informed is absolutely necessary.
The candidate should read newspapers and current interest magazines so that he is aware of the happenings in the environment.
The candidate should also make it his business to know about the company for which he is applying when asked about the organization; he should not draw a blank lock. He can get relevant information from the company’s annual report, in-house magazine, publicity releases, business and financial newspapers and employees.
He should also be aware of the previous organization he was associated with. This will improve his impression, in case the paved of interviewers ask him some details.
He must be prepared to answer questions about his plans, life family, ambition, etc. If he is able to successfully tackle such questions, he will come across as smart and well prepared.

Psychological Preparation:

· The mental make-up of a person is very important to organizations. They would like to be sure that they hove selected a mentally agile and balanced person for the job.
· For this, they ask a variety of questions. But psychological preparedness should be slow and gradual the following points can be checked out before so that the candidate does not face an embossing time.
· The candidate should not come across as sacred and insecure. He or she should have the confidence to ask about the company, the job requirement, the salary compensation, other benefits etc.
· The candidate should not be inhibited about any issues.
· He should be eager and ready in his mind to country any questions and participate in any discussions.
· The candidate must be honest. This quality is a pre-requisite for any job. If one tries to tell lies in order to get the job, he or she should be well aware that the truth will come out scores or later. That time the embarrassment could be immense. So it is best to follow an honest path while tackling questions at the interview.
· The candidate must be mentally sure that he wants the position he has applied for. This attitude for the hob must be right. If he waves and ties to be vague about when he will be ready to jour the job, the interviews will never select him. Organizations want levelheaded and smart people.
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Participating in an interview:

· An interview should be viewed as an opportunity to share your qualifications with someone who is interested.
· View the interview as important, but no so important that you become nervous. Too much nervousness will make a poor impression.
· Greet your interviewer or interviewer’s warmly. Let brim take the bad. If an offer is make to shake hands, do so with a firm grip and a smile.
· Sit, when ask to do so.
· Sit your role as responding to questions in a business-like fashion keep appropriate aye contact with the interviewer.
· The interviewer may intentionally challenge you by asking difficult questions or by appearing disinterested or even irritated. But be knowledgeable, calm, positive, gracious and friendly.

During the interview, DON’T:

· Appear overly aggressive and conceited.
· Meek and mild.
· Negative about past employees.
· Negative about topics.
· Un enthusiastic.
· Too interested in money.
· Too ambitious, humorless.
· Too vague with answers.
· Be unappreciative about the interviewer’s time.
· Laugh nervously.
· Act immature.
· Smoke.

Be alert for signals that the interview is ending. The interviewer may slide his chair back, stand up or give verbal signals. At the end, express appreciation for the time and information given to you, Indicate that you look forward to hearing form the interviewer.
Shake hands warmly, and say good-bye. After the interview, evaluate how you did. Make a not about what you learnt in the interview and compare it with other job opportunities. Make a not of your mistakes and try not to repeat them in the future.

The soft skills and qualities required by an interviewer:

An interview costs time and money. In order that the right candidate is selected, the interviewer has to be properly prepared and equipped. The interviewer has a manifold objective, which he has to accomplish.
· He has to find out the most suitable person for the job from amongst the available people.
· He has to give the candidate sufficient information about the job and the organization. This will help them to take a suitable decision.
· To create a sense of confidence and understanding in the selected candidate.
· To promote the goodwill of the company by giving the right kind of impression to all the candidates.
· The interviewer must see that all the conditions all set for properly assessing the candidate so that the purpose of the interview is met. There is a considerable amount of preparation to be done.
· The applications are sorted, scrutinized and selected for interviewing. If the number of candidates is too many, then short listing is done on the basis of the bio-data and application.
· The interviewers get familiar with the candidates through their bio-data. On the day of the interview, the interviewers take out a list of specially purposed questions. These questions are general and specific to the job and the candidate.
· The interviewer requires several social and interpersonal skills. He or she should remember that they are representing the organization for the candidate and they must try their best to put their best bad forward.
· The interviewer should not have a conciliatory attitude towards the candidates. The interviewers should warmly welcome the candidates and make them comfortable.

Special skills for a typical interviewer:

The main part is of the course is asking questions. This is also the longest part. The interviewer should keep his eyes and ears open for any indication the candidate gives about himself.
An effort must be made to observe the body language of the candidate. If the candidate is unusually uncomfortable, the interviewer can ask him the reason. It may happen that the candidate has some pressing commitment or crisis at home on that particular day.
The interviewers should cognize for that and judge the candidate on many parameters. He should always remember that he has been given the duty of selecting the right candidate. He should have an open mind and encourage the candidate to open up and answer the questions, which will make his job easier.
The interviewer must but the candidate do most of the talking and gently guide the conversation if goes ‘off’ on a target. It is important not to show score or be sarcastic. Also, the candidate must not be humiliated, even if it is devious that he is not suitable for the job. Humiliated candidates speak badly of the organization and spread ward that it insults visitors. This is bad for the organization’s public image and can damage its chances of attracting good staff. Insulting the candidates also show poor organizational culture.
If a candidate is subjected to a stress interview he or she should be told the purpose at the end of it. The candidate should not be allowed to leave with a stress or anxious feelings.
The candidate must know about the job, his prospects, salary, etc. It is the duty of the interviewer to answer him fully and clearly. For this he might have to do some homework so that he is well equipped for the questions.
When all the information has been satisfactorily exchanged, the interviewer must conclude the session with a suitable remark. Leave taking must be pleasant and sociable. The interviewer must not give unnecessary hope in case the candidate has fallen far below his expectations.
On the other hand, he must not give extra hope to candidates, as there may be other extraneous circumstances, which can play a role in selecting the candidate.

Thus, if people who are nature and trained in the particular job conduct interviews in a professional manner these is a higher chance that they get the right candidate for the job.