The main purpose of the employer is to judge the suitability of the applicant to the job and that of the applicant, to find out whether the needs and requirements of the job would suit him and also whether the environment in the organization would be conducive to his professional growth. He knows fully well the basic details about the career of the applicant.
His aim now is to judge your sense of values, your attitude towards work. He wants to get a feel of your respect for fair play and sense of justice and honesty in the discharge of duties. In fact while conducting the interview he looks

for signs of these traits in your personality.
Every employer, no wonder, wants people around who possesses positive personal qualities and are dependable. The qualifications and the kind of educational background the interviewee has do not give an adequate idea of these important requirements.

PLANNING THE INTERVIEW
Unless you change how you are, you will always have what you’ve got - Jim Rohn

Appearance
Apparel oft proclaim the man.
Physical appearance creates the first impression and tells something about the personality of the individual. Cleanliness and neatness are the first requirement for a smart turn out. Never put on something in which you feel uncomfortable because it may lead to inconvenience and oddities in your behavior while you are being assessed for the job. Pleasing physical appearance should be accompanied by proper deportment and the right poise. How you carry, walk, sit and make an exit- all these are important. Be observant and try to imbibe these qualities from the people who possess a high degree of social charm and poise. These qualities will help you making a mark not only in job interviews but throughout your career.

Mannerisms
Do not indulge in certain mannerisms in your speech or behavior. Expressions like ‘err’, ‘you know’, ‘Oh my God’, ‘well’ etc should be avoided. Similarly, do not use slang and highly colloquial language or uncommon abbreviations. The tone should be friendly but not intimate. Check carefully that you are not in a habit of making odd gesture while talking (friends may also help you in that). Playing with the hair or the button of your shirt, or the keys in your hand creates a bad impression. Fixing your gaze on the interviewer, or a painting, or other objects in the room is also considered as bad manners.

While being interviewed it is necessary to give signal to the interviewer that you are listening to him. Your response may take the form of nod, smile or even sometimes whispering approvals, such as ‘hmm’, ‘yes’ etc. You should not interrupt the interviewer. Wait till he has finished, however, impatient you may be to react to what he is saying.

Cultivate your speech.
Analyze your speech to find out whether you speak clearly, or you eat your syllables and slur over your words. Does your speech sound dull and monotonous or lively and animated? Is the pitch of your voice too high or too low? Do you stress the right syllable and use the appropriate intonation? Daily practice can certainly enhance the quality of your speech.

More important than all these is what you say. Are you clear in your thoughts? Can you express them in plain language? Do you understand your point of view on current issues in unmistakable terms? Do you have a Philosophy of your own which you can put before others with conviction supported by valid arguments? Have you acquired the habit of coolly arguing your case? Do you feel crestfallen when your point of view is not accepted? These are some of the questions whose answers are obvious and you must have been made aware of them in the course of your education. What is required is that at the time of interview you refresh your memory.

Always avoid giving uncomplimentary references to your former employers or other associates and making uncharitable remarks about them.

TYPES OF INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
There is a great diversity in the types of questions that may be asked at an interview. In general, the questions will be based on what you have stated in your Bio-data and your reaction to the organization’s visualization of your role in it.

Direct questions
Used at initial stage, are explicit, demanding specific information: E.g. name, company you last worked in, etc.

Open-ended Questions
Not so straight; only the topic on which information is required is specified and the interviewee is asked to elaborate: e.g. educational background, experience of working on this plant in ABC Company, etc.

Closed Questions
Demand responses from a limited and narrow area. Often these questions provide alternatives from which the response is selected. An extreme form of the closed question is the one which demands ‘yes’ or ‘no’ response. This is also called a Bipolar Question e.g. If selected would you be able to join within a month? Would you like to be posted in Mumbai or Kolkata? We are prepared to give this job to you for a period of three years; is it acceptable to you?

Loaded Questions
Generally demand a response which interviewer expects. They are suggestive in nature and encourage the interviewee to agree with the interviewer. Sometimes it may be used as a trap to discover whether the interviewee is clear in his mind about what he is in for. Ideally, as a general rule, loaded question should not be used by the interviewer. However, as an interviewee, you should be prepared to face any type of questions.

 In a structured interview, apart from these, there are preliminary questions which set the tone for interview and establish rapport between the interviewer and the interviewee. Similarly, at the end there are a few questions to signal the end of the interview. The interviewer aims at helping the interviewee to complete the expression of his thoughts and to clarify his stand before the interview ends.

NUTS AND BOLTS
Interviews are pre arranged. We need to prepare for them. They have a definite purpose. They center upon communication- exchange of information.

Interview is not an outer view. We cannot
judge a person by his dress and superficial behavior and manners. It will be necessary to measure the following:
-Can the candidate speak originally?
-Can he think and answer the question to the point?
-Can he write well?
-Has he a social sense? Can he adjust himself to the changes in environment?
-Can he keep cool under pressure?
-Is he sensitive?
-Attitudes towards Superiors/Subordinates
-Motivation and work ethic.
-Organizing ability - Cooperation
-Personality

EMPLOYER’S EXPECTATIONS
We may classify the information which an employer seeks while considering a person for
a job, into the following sub-headings.

State of Health
Every organization desires its employees to be in a healthy state. Apart from judging at the interview, the organization requires a new errant to undergo a medical examination, the standards of which differ from profession to profession.

Attainments
A probe is made through searching questions to verify what is written by the candidate in the Bio-data and to assess the nature and quality of his achievements.

Intelligence
A close observation is made of the reflexes and responses of the interviewee to discover the extent of his grasp and confidence.

Aptitude
Certain questions are directed mainly to find out the candidate’s aptitude for the job he has applied for.

Interests
An attempt is made to understand the other dimensions of the personality of the candidate by encouraging him to speak about his intellectual or social pursuits.

Disposition
A vital piece of information that all employers would like to have is whether the candidate
has the ability to work with others
Circumstances
A peep into the interviewee’s previous environment and family circumstances may give some clue to the candidate’s capacity to work.
Some employers use an assessment record sheet to judge the suitability of interviewees. An example is here:

ASSESSMENT RECORD SHEET
It is difficult to visualize the questions that may be asked at an interview. However, given below is a sample of questions that could be asked at an employment interview.

A. Educational background

Give a brief resume of your educational career.
Why did you decide to offer-subject in your-?
Have you studied some books in this field other than those prescribed?
Could you name a few such books and describe their themes?
Apart from-which field of knowledge interests you?
Could you name some of the books you have read in this area of your interest?

B. Co-curricular Activities

You have produced a number of plays during your educational   
career. Tell us how you got interested in-.
Do you think your interest in-affected your studies?
What work do you do as the member of the editorial board of your college newsletter?
Do you think this kind of work has added something to your academic experience?
What difficulties, in your opinion, does an editor face in producing a newsletter of this type?
How is it that, although you played badminton throughout your college career, you never participated in any worthwhile tournament?
Apart from physical exercise, does this game impart any other qualities to the player?
What is the size of the badminton court?
Do you play any other game?

C. Experience
Describe the specific work that you were doing
in the production 
department?
What new things have you learnt?
What are the ways of maximizing production/
Did you introduce any new technique or procedure to increase production?
In what way will your experience help our organization?

D. General Knowledge

What is your opinion about the new industrial policy announced by the Government of India?
What are the main causes of inflation in India?
Do you think deficit financing should be stopped? Why?
What further steps should be taken to attract investment from Indians living abroad?
How should the pace of technology transfer be accelerated?

E. Miscellaneous

What do you understand by team spirit?
Do you think it can be cultivated? If yes, how?
What are the qualities of an efficient manager?
Do you possess these qualities?
How can the conflicts between the management and the labor be       
resolved?

SOME USEFUL TIPS

- Be quiet while you are being criticized, and make it clear that you are listening.

- Whether you agree or not is an issue to be discussed later. Look directly at the person talking to you. Only thus can you convey that you are open to what he or she is saying. Gazing out of the window is not so convincing!
- Under no condition find fault with the person
who has just criticized you.
- If or she has used the wrong words or given a minor fact wrong, do not overreact- this implies that you interpret it as an insult. Or you become so busy in marshalling your own forces for the attack that you neglect to heed what is actually being said.

- Don’t create the impression that the other person is destroying your spirit.

- Some people can be belligerent (warlike, hostile, aggressive) at first, and then start acting as though they were at the edge of despair. - Don’t try to manipulate the appraiser by appearing completely defeated.

- Don’t try to change the subject Humor is the way of keeping matters in proportion, but a flippant reaction suggests that a person cannot take criticism seriously. Changing the subject is the more extreme form of taking flight from the issue. Use your mind to help articulate the objection, not to make it disappear.

- Don’t caricature the complaint
If a person says you were thoughtless, don’t ascribe to them the statement that you are irresponsible and then defend yourself against a charge that has not been made. The deliberate exaggeration of a charge against you is a tactic for avoiding it.

- Don’t assume that your critic has some ulterior, hostile motive.

- Take criticism at its face value. The question about the interviewer’s motives should come later, if at all.

- Convey to the other person that you
understand his objectives

Paraphrasing or using a minor question is one good way of doing this. In effect you are saying that the message is received and noted.

- If you feel that the criticism is fully justified, or at least that there is something in it for further reflection, thank your critics for their time and effort.

References:
1. Denny Richard ‘Communicate to Win’ Kogan Page India Pvt Ltd.

2. Vedanta Kesari presentation ‘Values- the key to meaningful life’, Sri Ramakrishna Math, Madras.

3. John Adair ‘Effective Communication ‘Pan Books.

4. John C. Maxwell ‘The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader’, Magna Publishing Co Ltd.

5. Prof. I.V. Chalapati Rao ‘Communication and Leadership’, Booklinks Corporation.

6. John Brennan ‘The Conscious Communicator’

7. Krishna Mohan and Meera Bannerjee ‘Developing Communication Skills’,  Macmillan India Ltd.

8. Eric Watson ‘Correct Manners And Etiquette’ Hind Pocket books, N.Delhi, India.

9. Patti Hathaway, CSP, ‘Giving And Receiving Feedback’, Viva Books Private Ltd., N.Delhi, India.