Top 10 Tips for face to face technical Interview

These are top 10 things we need to take care during face to face technical interview. Very few people are master in this and with these basic skills they clear the technical interviews very easily. First thing we need to understand that the interviewer are most of time are not prepared for very specific questions so they look for basic things, which can be your confidence, your dressing or your attitude in interview. These soft skills can be improved with practice.

1) Practice Good Nonverbal Communication

        It's about demonstrating confidence: standing straight, making eye contact and connecting with a good, firm handshake. That first impression can be a great beginning -- or quick ending -- to your interview.

 2) Dress for the Job or Company

     Today's casual dress codes do not give you permission to dress as "they" do when you interview. It is important to look professional and well-groomed. Whether you wear a suit or something less formal depends on the company culture and the position you are seeking. If possible, call to find out about the company dress code before the interview.

3) Listen

    From the very beginning of the interview, your interviewer is giving you information, either directly or indirectly. If you are not hearing it, you are missing a major opportunity. Good communication skills include listening and letting the person know you heard what he said. Observe your interviewer, and match that style and pace.

4) Don't Talk Too Much

     Telling the interviewer more than he needs to know could be a fatal mistake. When you have not prepared ahead of time, you may tend to ramble, sometimes talking yourself right out of the job. Prepare for the interview by reading through the job posting, matching your skills with the position's requirements and relating only that information.

 5) Don't Be Too Familiar

      The interview is a professional meeting to talk business. This is not about making a new friend. Your level of familiarity should mimic the interviewer's demeanour. It is important to bring energy and enthusiasm to the interview and to ask questions, but do not overstep your place as a candidate looking for a job.

6) Use Appropriate Technical Language

    It's a given that you should use technical language during the interview. Be aware of any inappropriate slang words or references to age, race, religion, politics or sexual orientation -- these topics could send you out the door very quickly.

 7) Show Attitude 

    Attitude plays a key role in your interview success. There is a fine balance between confidence, professionalism and modesty. Even if you're putting on a performance to demonstrate your ability, overconfidence is as bad, if not worse, as being too reserved.

 8)Take Care to Answer the Questions

    When an interviewer asks for an example of a time when you did something, he is seeking a sample of your past behaviour. If you fail to relate a specific example, you not only don't answer the question, but you also miss an opportunity to prove your ability and talk about your skills.

 9) Ask Questions

When asked if they have any questions, most candidates answer, "No." Wrong answer. It is extremely important to ask questions to demonstrate an interest in what goes on in the company. Asking questions also gives you the opportunity to find out if this is the right place for you. The best questions come from listening to what is asked during the interview and asking for additional information.

 10) Don't show Desperation

When you interview with the "please, please hire me" approach, you appear desperate and less confident. Maintain the three C's during the interview: cool, calm and confident. You know you can do the job; make sure the interviewer believes you can, too.

General Questions  

1. Tell us about yourself?
Keep your answer very simple and brief. Don't prolong by telling your family history and schooling. Be brief and focus more on your skills initiatives and adaptability.

2. Why should we hire you?
Because I have all the attributes that this role requires. Knowledge, experience, skills and abilities. You need to be confident while replying and no vague answers.

3. Why are you looking for a change? or Why do you want to leave your company?
Be positive while answering. You want to work with a company where you can make a long term career. Where you can use your skills and learn new skills. Be honest if there was any retrenchment in the previous company e.g. Our Department was consolidated or eliminated.

4. What are your strengths?
Your strengths should relate to the company and job opening. I have a proven track record as an achiever.Positive attitude, good sense of humour, good communication skills, dedicated, team player, willingness to walk the extramile to achieve excellence etc.   Your answer should highlight the qualities that will help you succeed in this particular job. (Back up each point with something specific). Give examples and quantify how your strengths benefited your previous employers. You should also demonstrate reliability, and the ability to stick with a difficult task yet change courses rapidly when required.

5. What are your weaknesses?
Never say you do not have any weak points. Try not to reveal your personal characteristics. I often get impatient with others sloppy work.

The best “weaknesses” are disguised as strengths, such as “I dislike not being challenged at work”. Another good approach is to mention a weakness that is irrelevant for the job or one that can be overcome with training. Try to keep these to one weakness, explaining why you think it is a weakness and what you are doing to overcome the problem – a well thought out strategy you have developed to deal with the issue will turn this potentially tricky question into a positive.

One common variation on this question is to ask about any problems or failures you’ve encountered in previous positions. In describing problems, pick ones you’ve solved and describe how you overcame it. Show yourself to be a good team player by crediting co-workers for all their contributions. To distance yourself from failure, pick one that occurred earlier in your career when you were still learning. Don’t blame others – simply explain how you analysed your mistake and learned from it.

6. What challenges did you face in your previous jobs?
Getting things planned and done on time within the budget. Quote any example that you have experienced.

7. How will you motivate your team?
Bottom line is do it show it and inspire. Involve all the members in the ongoing development and progress of the company. Communicate and interact with the team members. They want regular updates on their personal performance. Keep them updated.Celebrate individual and team performance. Catch people doing something right and focus on recognising excellent performance.Set challenging goals. Team will work hard to accomplish them. Believe in your people. Majority of them want to perform.Motivate employes for the next level. Consistent and transparent with the team. Let the members know why doing an assigned task is important to you the Organisation and them.Set the example for others to follow.

8. “What’s the worst problem you’ve ever faced?”

Here the interviewer is offering you the two ways to trip yourself up:

• First of all, the question doesn’t confine itself to the workplace, so there is temptation to reveal a personal problem. Don’t! Restrict yourself to employment matters only.
• Second, you are being asked to reveal a weakness or error again. You must have a good response ready for this question, one which shows how well you reacted when everything depended on it.

Always show a problem you have solved and concentrate your answer on the solution not the problem.

9. “How would you describe a typical day in your current job?”

You are eager to look good but don’t make the common mistake of exaggerating your current position. Mentioning some of the routine tasks in your day adds realism to your description and show that you don’t neglect important details such as paperwork. Put yourself in the interviewer’s place as your answer. When you’ve been doing a job for years it becomes second nature to you, and you must be aware of all the tasks you undertake. You should spend a few days making notes of your activities at work to regain an outsider’s perspective. Try to show that you make good use of your time, that you plan before you begin your work and that you review your achievements at the end of it

Java Memory Management We are covering here -'Java garbage collection interview questions' or 'Java memory interview questions' in d...

Collection Interview Questions for Java Developers Java util.collections is one of the most important package in java and the important of this package can be understand by...

Java Concurrency Java Concurrency interview question - In year 2004 when technology gurus said innovation in Java is gone down and Sun Microsystems [Now Or...

Design Pattern in Java : Part 1 'Java investment bank interview' generally contains 'Java Design Pattern' questions. If you want to be a professional Java ...

Java Technical Interview Topics:
1) JAVA 1.5 details

2) Java Collection Interview questions

3) XML PArsing

4) JDBC Interview Questions

5) Hibernate interview questions

6) Java Threading questions

7) Java Concurrency questions.

8) JMS interview questions.

9) Spring Framework

Reading :
  http://www.changeboard.com.sg/content/3823/jobseeker/interview-performance/typical-interview-questions-for-senior-professionals/