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 Essential Qualities of Good Interviewer

The success of interview largely depends on the traits and qualities of the interviewer.But there is no universally accepted list of qualities of a good or successful interviewer.

Qualities of Good Interviewer are;

1. Knowledge about the job.
2. Training and experience.
3. Listening attentively.
4. Emotional maturity.
5. Control of anger and aggression.
6. Empathetic attitude.
7. Ability to recognize uniqueness.
8. Stable personality.
9. Extrovert behavior.
10. Physical stamina.

Here are the 10 important requirements/qualities/traits of a good successful interviewer are mentioned below:

1. Knowledge about the job

   A good interviewer is one who has sufficient knowledge about the job for which he/she is taking the interview.
   If the interviewer lacks adequate knowledge regarding job duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required, it would not be possible for him to select the best candidate.

2. Training and experience

   Interviewers should have adequate experience and necessary training to conduct interview effectively and efficiently.

3. Listening attentively

   Good interviewers are attentive listeners. They listen more than they talk.
   The listening tendency helps the interviewer to make a better evaluation. Many interviews fail because the interviewer talks more than listening.

4. Emotional maturity

   The interviewer should be free from biases and undue emotions. He should have the ability to judge the situation based on logic and wisdom.

5. Control of anger and aggression

   Control of anger, arrogance, or aggression is a very important trait of successful interviewers. They should not be aggressive or intimidating.
   They should neither miss-guide the candidate nor should react to the applicant’s comments. When the candidate strays from the track of inquiry, good interviewer guides him back to the point.

6. Empathetic attitude

   Empathy is the ability to understand or share feelings or attitudes of others.
   The empathetic attitude of the interviewer helps to relieve the applicant’s anxiety and nervousness. Good interviewers show empathy to the interviewee by means of friendly and warm tone.

7. Ability to recognize the uniqueness

   Every interviewee is unique in his/her qualities, character, traits, and experience. The successful interviewer is one who can identify the best combination of individual talents and qualities for a particular job.

8. Stable personality

   Personality is the way through which one can create an impression in the minds of others.
   Good interviewer possesses such a stable personality so that he/she can treat all the interviewees in the same general way. He should not show any inclination to any particular interviewee.

9. Extrovert behavior

   Extrovert behavior is another quality of a good interviewer. This quality helps the interviewer to be conversational, frank, and friendly in nature.

10. Physical stamina

    Sound mind goes with good health. The interviewer should possess good physical and mental health so that he can work at a stress with a huge number of interviewees.

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Tips for Improving Your Skills Interviewing Job candidates

There have been a tremendous number of articles written for job seekers about how to do well in an interview -- appropriate dress, conducting background research on the company, questions to ask the interviewer, etc. -- but an interview is a two-way conversation. A skilled interviewer who makes the candidate comfortable will gain valuable information about the person and present a positive image of their company, improving the odds of the best candidate being hired.

This list of 15 actions will help you improve your skills and make your next interview a more productive and positive experience for you and the candidate.

1. Be prepared.

Prepare for the interview by having a list of qualifications and job responsibilities for the open position. Be ready to answer questions about the company’s goals and employee benefits.

2. Make the candidate comfortable.

Make the candidate more comfortable by introducing them to the company staff or offering a glass of water or cup of coffee. These actions will help the candidate relax and provide a more accurate demonstration of their qualifications. If they seem shy, try to put them at ease and encourage conversation.

Make sure that they have everything they need for the interview - such as date, location and if they’ll be in a group interview. Wouldn’t you be nervous if you walked into an interview unaware there would be a bunch of other people there?

3. Be consistent with your questions.

Ask each candidate the same questions. This will allow for consistency in the interview process and a provide a basis to compare candidates. Ask one question at a time and use open-ended questions to encourage more input from the candidate. Do not ask leading or closed-end questions.

4. Learn about the candidate.

Review the candidate’s resume and cover letter prior to the interview. Learn something about them by checking social media accounts and professional sites such as LinkedIn.

5. Be conversational.

An interview is a mutual exchange of information. Make the process feel like a conversation. Break the ice by asking the candidate about hobbies or interests. That will help the candidate relax and encourage them to speak freely about their accomplishments and qualifications.

6. Be flexible.

If the conversation takes a turn off topic, go with it.  But do not let such a diversion change the total direction of the interview.

7. Work on your listening skills.

Develop your listening skills. Being a strong listener will show your interest in the candidate and encourage them to speak of their qualifications. I specifically apply this when hiring remote workers. It'll help you get the best person available and keep them long term, even if they are working remote.

8. Act naturally.

While preparing questions and other information of an interview is important, do not rehearse so much that you appear robotic. Relax and encourage the conversation to flow naturally. Remember, most people can sense if someone is being fake. A candidate will articulate best if the interview is held in a more truthful atmosphere.

9. Don’t worry if there’s silence.

Do not feel pressured to fill the interview with constant chatter. Enjoy the moments of silence and use them to consider the candidates replies to previous questions. These breaks in the conversation can also give the candidate time to think of a question they may have for you.

10. Ask appropriate questions.

Questions are part of an interview, but you must carefully avoid questions that are inappropriate or even illegal. Asking about a candidate’s age, marital status, race or religion is illegal and can have serious repercussions for your company. Questions regarding birthplace, country of origin, arrest record and disabilities are also illegal during the interview process.

11. Don’t make the interview about you.

Do not monopolize the conversation during the interview. While the candidate needs information from you about the position and the company, they also need the opportunity to present their qualifications and demonstrate how they are the ideal for the position. The ratio of talking should be 80 percent from the candidate and 20 percent of the interviewer.

12. Make the candidate curious

Give the candidate the type of information that will make them curious about the company. This will create a good impression of your company and encourage this particular candidate to refer their friends and associates for future openings.

13. Listen for non-verbal language.

Listening is important but you should also learn to read non-verbal clues. Such signs can indicate the candidate’s level of interest and honesty.

14. Look for real solutions.

During an interview you need to provide an actual problem that you have faced and ask the candidate how they would resolve the issue, especially if there has been some problem pertaining to the job for which the candidate will be hired.

15. Follow-up with the candidate.

Contact the candidate after the interview to let them know the status of their application - regardless if they received the position or not. This helpful to the job seeker and leaves a good impression of your company. The candidate will be more likely to refer others to your company.

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10 Best Job Interview Tips for Jobseekers

When you have successfully mastered the dual arts of how to make a resume and how make a cover letter, and you begin receiving requests for interviews, it’s time to understand how to succeed in the job interview so that you are ever closer to your goal of obtaining one or more job offers. This article focuses on the ten most important job interviewing tips for jobseekers.

When you have successfully mastered the dual arts of how to make a resume and how make a cover letter, and you begin receiving requests for interviews, it’s time to understand how to succeed in the job interview so that you are ever closer to your goal of obtaining one or more job offers. This article focuses on the ten most important job interviewing tips for jobseekers.

1. Conduct Research on the Employer, Hiring Manager, and Job Opportunity

Success in a job interview starts with a solid foundation of knowledge on the jobseeker’s part. You should understand the employer, the requirements of the job, and the background of the person (or people) interviewing you. The more research you conduct, the more you’ll understand the employer, and the better you’ll be able to answer interview questions (as well as ask insightful questions” see #8). Scour the organization’s website and other published materials, search engines, research tools, and ask questions about the company in your network of contacts.

2. Review Common Interview Questions and Prepare Your Responses

Another key to interview success is preparing responses to expected interview questions. First, ask the hiring manager as to the type of interview to expect. Will it be one-on-one or in a group? Will it be with one person, or will you meet several members of the organization? Your goal is to try to determine what you’ll be asked and to compose detailed yet concise responses that focus on specific examples and accomplishments.

A good tool for remembering your responses is to put them into a story form that you can tell in the interview. No need to memorize responses (in fact, it’s best not to), but do develop talking points. There are excellent tools available to help you with interview questions and responses. Also, consider using the STAR Interviewing Technique.

3. Dress for Success

Plan out a wardrobe that fits the organization and its culture, striving for the most professional appearance you can accomplish. Remember that it’s always better to be overdressed than under” and to wear clothing that fits and is clean and pressed. Keep accessories and jewelry to a minimum. Try not to smoke or eat right before the interview” and if possible, brush your teeth or use mouthwash.

4. Arrive on Time, Relaxed and Prepared for the Interview

There is no excuse ever for arriving late to an interview. Short of a disaster, strive to arrive about 15 minutes before your scheduled interview to complete additional paperwork and allow yourself time to get settled. Arriving a bit early is also a chance to observe the dynamics of the workplace.

The day before the interview, pack up extra copies of your resume or CV and reference list. If you have a portfolio or samples of your work, bring those along too. Finally, remember to pack several pens and a pad of paper to jot notes. Finally, as you get to the offices, shut off your cell phone. (And if you were chewing gum, get rid of it.)

5. Make Good First Impressions

A cardinal rule of interviewing is to be polite and offer warm greetings to everyone you meet” from the parking attendant to the receptionist to the hiring manager. Employers often are curious how job applicants treat staff members” and your job offer could easily be derailed if you’re rude or arrogant to any of the staff. When it’s time for the interview, keep in mind that first impressions” the impression interviewers get in the first few seconds of meeting you” can make or break an interview.

6. Be Authentic, Upbeat, Focused, Confident, Candid, and Concise

Once the interview starts, the key to success is the quality and delivery of your responses. Your goal should always be authenticity, responding truthfully to interview questions. At the same time, your goal is to get to the next step, so you’ll want to provide focused responses that showcase your skills, experience, and fit” with the job and the employer. Provide solid examples of solutions and accomplishments” but keep your responses short and to the point.

By preparing responses to common interview questions (see #2), you’ll ideally avoid long, rambling responses that bore interviewers. Always attempt to keep your interview responses short and to the point. Finally, no matter how much an interviewer might bait you, never badmouth a previous employer, boss, or co-worker. The interview is about you” and making your case that you are the ideal candidate for the job.

7. Remember the Importance of Body Language

While the content of your interview responses is paramount, poor body language can be a distraction at best” or a reason not to hire you at worst. Effective forms of body language include smiling, eye contact, solid posture, active listening, and nodding. Detrimental forms of body language include slouching, looking off in the distance, playing with a pen, fidgeting in a chair, brushing back your hair, touching your face, chewing gum, or mumbling.

8. Ask Insightful Questions

Studies continually show that employers make a judgment about an applicant’s interest in the job by whether or not the interviewee asks questions. Thus, even if the hiring manager was thorough in his or her discussions about the job opening and what is expected, you must ask a few questions. This shows that you have done your research and that you are curious. The smart jobseeker prepares questions to ask days before the interview, adding any additional queries that might arise from the interview.

9. Sell Yourself and then Close the Deal

The most qualified applicant is not always the one who is hired; the winning candidate is often the jobseeker who does the best job responding to interview questions and showcasing his or her fit with the job, department, and organization. Some liken the job interview to a sales call. You are the salesperson” and the product you are selling to the employer is your ability to fill the organization’s needs, solve its problems, propel its success.

10. Thank Interviewer(s) in Person, by Email, or Postal Mail
common courtesy and politeness go far in interviewing; thus, the importance of thanking each person who interviews you should come as no surprise. Start the process while at the interview, thanking each person who interviewed you before you leave. Writing thank-you emails or notes shortly after the interview will not get you the job offer, but doing so will certainly give you an edge over any of the other finalists who didn’t bother to send thank-you notes.

Final Thoughts on Job Interview Success

Succeeding in job interviews takes research, practice, and persistence. The more effort you put into your interview preparation, the more success you’ll see in obtaining job offers” especially if you remember and follow these ten job interviewing tips.


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5 tips to ensure you're paid equal

Looking forward to that day when men and women are paid equally at work? You may be waiting a while. 

According to reports, no country in the world has closed the gender gap when it comes to salary. In India, the Monster Salary Index (MSI) on gender for 2017 revealed that women in India earn 20% less than men. The gap has narrowed by about 5% points from 24.8% in 2016; however the gender pay gap widens with experience and is highest at 25% for talent with 11 and more years of experience. As many as 69% women at Indian workplaces feel the management needs to “walk to talk” when it comes to gender parity. 
Instead of stewing in the unfairness of it all, or waiting for organizations to catch up with the times, here are five things you can do to get even:

1. Choose a male-dominated career
   The choice of career may have far-reaching implications on your salary. If you choose a traditional female occupation, chances are that you start off on a lower salary rung. Helen Russell, associate research professor at Economic and Social Research Institute, says: “International research shows that female-type occupations tend to pay less and have lower status [than male-dominated occupations]…There is a strong argument that jobs involving care work have been systematically devalued.” 
   
   Over the years, teaching and nursing have become female-dominated professions while engineering and software development tend to be male-dominated. So choosing a career in software is sure to get you started on a higher salary than teaching kindergarten. Harvard labor economist Claudia Goldin has found that college grads moving into such professions can eliminate an average 30-35% of the wage gap.
2. 
   
3. Negotiate from the start
4. According to a study at Carnegie Mellon University, only 7% of women negotiate their first salary. Compare that to the 57% of men who make a case for better pay, and you see why women set themselves up for lower salaries and lower salary bumps through their work life. “A lot of getting ahead in the workplace has to do with being willing to raise your hand... If we as women don’t raise our hands in the workplace, we’re not going to get the same opportunities men do. Because men keep their hands up,” says Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, in Mika Brzezinski’s book, Knowing Your Value: Women, Money and Getting What You’re Worth. 
   Failing to negotiate your salary from the start is a mistake that will follow you and be compounded over the years. So do your research to figure out what you are worth and make your ask. 
5. Make it a point to negotiate smarter
6. 
   In her 2012 book, Pushback: How Smart Women Ask — And Stand Up — For What They Want, top leadership consultant Selena Rezvani discusses how women miss promotion opportunities, plum assignments, and higher pay by not negotiating. She says men not only initiate negotiations four times more often than women, they also set higher targets, and so benefit in the long run. “So while women attempt to negotiate equitably — so that the pie is split in half — men tend to ask for a larger part of the pie,” she says. It’s a fact that women find it tough to negotiate aggressively. When they do, it often tends to be held against them. Try being collaborative; using words like “we” and “our”, and trying to take the company’s perspective is often more effective to get yourself a pay raise. 
7. Make a push for promotions 
8. 
   Early-career promotions are important to put women on the growth track, but women at entry level tend to be more likely than men to spend more than five years in the same role. PayScale, a website that provides information about salary, benefits and compensation information, states that women’s pay growth “stops outpacing men’s at around age 30, which is when college-educated women typically start having children”. So it makes sense for women to try and scale the corporate ladder before they start their family. Speaker, trainer and career consultant Emilie Aries advises painting a clear picture of what the future could hold for the company if you got the promotion. “Why would everyone’s lives be better if you got your promotion? Seriously, make the case for how you would be better equipped to do more for them,” she writes in an article. Ask for your supervisor’s time, make your case, and present it to the best of your ability. 
9. Blow your own horn

Women and tooting their own horn doesn’t go hand in hand. But, it’s imperative to get ahead. Peggy Klaus, a business coach and author of BRAG! The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn Without Blowing It, says: “Bragging is something that everyone needs to do.” A study at Northwestern University revealed that women’s tendency to downplay their successes at work may hold them back. Paola Sapienza, co-author of the study and a professor of finance at Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management, writes: “Men tend to overstate how well they do relative to women. And the people who are making decisions after hearing everyone speak tended to take most people's statements at face value. You’d think that people would discount what men say somewhat and inflate what women say about themselves. But in reality, they didn't do that.” If you don’t want to just brag, take along a self-evaluation that spotlights your skills, achievements, and reveals how your performance has benefited the organization’s bottom line.




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How women can make an Oscar-style

The Shape of Water may have taken home the Best Picture trophy, but the real winner at the 90th Academy Awards ceremony was diversity and inclusion. From statement lapel pins to powerful speeches that championed equality, the conversations that dominated the star-studded evening made it clear that the women – and men - of Hollywood have recognised that personal activism is the best way to #PressForProgress.

As the popular saying goes, ‘Be the change you want to see in the world’. To that end, here’s how this year’s Oscars can inspire you to take action for gender equality at work:

Time’s Up, so close the confidence gap

Several references were made to the “winds of change” blowing through Hollywood throughout the evening. But actresses Ashley Judd, Annabella Sciorra and Salma Hayek coming together to “salute those unstoppable spirits who broke through the biased perceptions against their gender, race and ethnicity to tell their stories” was a clear show of strength. The accompanying video, featuring actors, writers and filmmakers talking about the importance of equality, was a much-needed motivational boost for people in the audience and at home.

What you can do: 

Women tend to undervalue their strength, doubt themselves more and back themselves less than many men. It’s what behavioural experts call the ‘confidence gap’, which Judd cited as one of main reasons why it has taken so long for the women of Hollywood to “speak their truth”.
Closing this gap will take time, as it involves unlearning years of conditioning. But until you take the first step, it will never be bridged. Start by doing one difficult task every day. Action boosts confidence, which in turn inspires more action, and creates a positive cycle of growth. 

Fight for change as equals

The many brave and outspoken supporters of movements like #MeToo, and Time’s Up, weren’t just women. Actors Bradley Whitford, Justin Paul, Benjamin Bratt and The Shape of Water director Guillermo del Toro were all spotted on the Oscars red carpet wearing a signature pin to express solidarity with the Time’s Up movement. Host Jimmy Kimmel’s opening monologue referenced it first comedically, then seriously, when he said, “We can’t let this behaviour slide anymore”.

What you can do:

 Women aren’t the only ones who believe that creating a safer, more inclusive and equal work environment is important. According to the Women of India Inc. Survey by Monster.com as high as 40% women expressed that men fear being judged by their male peers and choose to support gender equality only in private. However, the good part is that 44% men confirm that they can be effective advocates for gender initiative programs at workplace. 

Men are your allies at work, but in the current scenario, they are unsure about how to engage or even express an opinion. Research by the Lean In organisation reveals that almost half of male managers feel uncomfortable participating in a common work activity with a woman like mentoring, working alone, or socialising together after the #MeToo campaign went viral. 
Don’t penalise men for their gender. Talk to them about your experiences and challenges, and enlist their support.

Know that women are good for business

Wonder Woman didn’t receive any Oscar nominations, but it was one of the biggest talking points of the night. The critically-acclaimed film, directed by Patty Jenkins and starring Gal Gadot, became the highest-grossing superhero origin film of all time in 2017, and the box-office clout of women filmmakers and film goers was brought up by both presenters and winners. 

What you can do: Whether it’s to do with leadership styles, or the diverse viewpoint they bring in, all research points to the fact that women are good for business. Keeping that in mind, if you’re in a leadership position in your organisation, work towards creating a pipeline of female managers to follow your lead. 

Lift other women as you climb

While accepting her Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, Allison Janney made it a point to thank yesteryear star Joanne Woodward, who had mentored her to pursue acting seriously. Later on in the ceremony, Best Actress winner Frances McDormand’s rousing speech where she called out for an inclusion rider – a legal clause that Hollywood actors can include in their contracts, to request “more diverse representation in background actors and extras” – was one of the biggest reveals of the night 

What you can do

Don’t pull others down to prop yourself up. Instead, women need to start looking out for one another more. Start by listing down a handful of women in your immediate network and think of how you can support them in some way. Make an introduction, volunteer to share a useful resource, share a few words of encouragement over a cup of coffee or praise them in the presence of a decision maker.

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 Amazon interview questions for software engineers

You may be an engineer with a genius for software, but that may not be enough to help you join the Amazon ranks. For the retail giant’s interview questions for a software engineer span the gamut – taking into account your technical skills for sure, but also looking at other facets of your personality.

Sobit Akhmedov, a software engineer who was recently contacted by a technical recruiter from Amazon, on his blog writes that the whole process “from being contacted to signing the contract took two months”. His three rounds of technical problems included object-related design, an algorithmic question and analyzing complexity for the solution given in the previous problem.

But there’s no set pattern for what the Amazon software engineer interview questions may be. We suggest you try these tips to ensure that you make the cut and land your dream job.

Make sure you practice for the interview

It may seem like you don’t need it, but a mock interview helps you learn how to answer difficult questions, work on your communication skills, develop interview strategies, and reduces your stress. Tigran Sloyan, CEO of CodeFights, advises uses real interview questions to practice. “The #1 mistake developers make when preparing for technical interviews is not practicing using real interview questions. As a great developer you often think 'this is what I do for a living and I am good at it' so it’s tempting to walk into an interview without much practice…[but] you need deliberate practice using the types of questions you are going to be tested on,” he says.

Do your homework and come prepared

Everyone expects an engineer who’s applied for a job with Amazon to be up to speed when it comes to technical skills. But don’t just rely on your skill set as an engineer to get you through. In an article, Dan Melnick, Chief Operating Officer at Reverb.com, says, "If you can nail the technical parts of an interview, such as a pairing code challenge, that’s great. But it doesn’t end there. The best candidates—who eventually go on to make the best team members—come prepared with smart questions that show that they’ve done their homework. Not only can this demonstrate that you understand tech’s broader impact on the company, it also showcases your communication skills.”

Show off the strategist in you

Dr John Sullivans, a professor of management at San Francisco State University and an acclaimed HR thought leader in Silicon Valley, in an article on Harvard Business Review, wrote: “In a 2013 Management Research Group survey, when executives were asked to select the leadership behaviours that were most critical to their organisation’s future success, 97% of the time they chose being strategic.” Refael Zikavashvili, cofounder at Pramp, which offers code interview prep, agrees. “The number one mistake software engineers make on their technical interviews is that they jump into code before thinking through the solution and explaining its correctness to their interviewer. To succeed in technical interviews, software engineers must break down the problem first and clearly communicate their approach to solving it prior to proceeding to implementation,” he advises.

Don’t be afraid to say you don’t know

It’s impossible for any one person to be a know-it-all. Saying a confident “I don’t know” tells the interviewer that you’re upfront and willing to admit to your drawbacks. Interview Cake Founder at Parker Phinney believes that “not saying 'I don't know' [is a mistake]…. Great candidates know there'll always be some things they don't know, so they just give a confident, non-apologetic ‘I don't know.’ (Bonus: throw in a 'but if I had to guess, I'd say X because Y').”

What you must know

Keen to see what kind of questions you might come up against when interviewing for the position of a software engineer at Amazon. Have a look and stay prepared:

• Given a list of integers, find the highest product you can get from three of the integers.
• Give an overview of the Amazon technology stack. 
• Print a tree in level order.
• Implement "File" Java class.
• Write a function to see if a binary tree is superbalanced.
• Given a binary tree and an integer S, print all distinct paths from root to leaves which sum to S. Describe the algorithm and implement it.
• Design a task execution service, which accepts tasks from clients and runs them and returns result. 
• Write a program to find the longest common subsequence in a sequence.
• How would you create an array given two sorted arrays?
• Integers are arriving at a rate of one on a socket stream. At any given time print k largest numbers. Describe an efficient algorithm and implement it in language of your choice.
• How do you find phone numbers of a given format inside large number of different HTML files?
• Given a stream of characters and a set of characters, find the shortest sequence in the stream containing all characters in the set.
• If a linked list is a loop, kth nearest points, sort two sorted linked list into one.
• Write a function for doing an in-place shuffle of a list.
• How do you design a TinyURL for a website? Design an algorithm and write sample code which generates TinyURL for a website.
• Think that 25k jobs are being applied for per second. Scale in such a way so we able to process as many jobs as possible per second. 
• Design a function that counts the number of occurrences of every character in a string.

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