Managing Successful Interview: Know Yourself Well Before the Interview

Most candidates are clear on what benefits the organization can bring to her/him, but the reverse is not as true! Understand and demonstrate the value of what you can bring to the table. Even though this might just be your first 'real job ' and you would like to treat it more like a learning opportunity than anything else, no company will allow you to treat it as an educational institution. You will have to exhibit your skills, the value you have gathered from your previous involvements in prior assignments, education, co-curricular, volunteer, etc.

• To begin with, assess your skills, interests and values.

• What skills has your previous experience added to you?

• What kind of work engages you?

• What have you learned in the classroom which can be applied in a work situation?

• Where have you been successful in all the activities you undertook?

• What kind of people do you prefer working with?

• What type of work environment do you enjoy?

• What concerns or issues matter most to you at work?

• Are there any evident divergences between what you like to do, what you do well, your previous experience, what matters to you, and the expectations you have?

Apply these through points to the career field you plan to foray into. Deal with these before the interview, not after it.