There may be many self- help books telling you how to crack your interviews. After a Doctorate, publications, almost three years teaching experience, almost five years experience of research (excluding PhD research), I imagined interviews would be nothing less than a cakewalk! But, I was so wrong. (And, mind you, these are not even permanent posts, thanks to the job crisis in academics in Delhi, these interviews are for temporary posts of four- five months or one semester!!) In this post, I am going to share after many interviews, my personal experiences of, you guessed it right, rejections. How to clinch defeat from the jaws of victory! Special gifts require special skills, you see. Its difficult, but it seems that I have made a habit of it. Let me list a few pointers, based on my experiences.
1) Dressing up/ dressing down- First things first, your impression or how you present yourself! There is a very thin line on getting it right or wrong. I almost thought, that I had a particular dress which I somehow assumed was lucky for me! Alas, I wore it for every interview for almost a year, until it became the most unlucky dress anybody could have ever worn!
2) Be submissive/ argumentative- Its an interview, so there are bound to be questions. It is up to you if you show too much passion, then discussion can easily become an argument. If you show too much respect, and do not speak much or question the interviewer, you will be labelled as dumb, or as having no opinion! During the defense of my thesis, my examiner (whom I respected too much) severely criticized my approach and ravaged a one-sided war on me. At that moment in my head, I kept arguing with myself how disrespectful it will be, if I talk back and argue. And even before I could settle the debate with myself, it was over! I got my degree, but it left some unfinished business lingering, some loose ends untied! I still have nightmares about the unsaid things, how I could have argued with him!
3) Long/short interviews- I had gone recently for an interview in a DU College, where I had the longest chat with the panel as compared to the rest of the candidates. I told my friends and family, that I enthralled everyone (all panelists) with my performance, and everybody was spell bound looking at me. Long chats do not always get you the job , was my lesson here!
4) Conservative/ technology- In some interviews the questioners usually try and gauge your technical abilities. Some may even ask you to show a few practical tricks by naming the most recent mumbo-jumbo and explain your hold over them. But, the glitch here is technology is forever changing bhai. How much can you keep up?? If you know the basics, you can adapt to anything, but who can explain this to these impatient people, who want to employ a mix of Superman/woman and Iron Man/woman!
5) Familiar/ Unknown- It is always a tricky thing if you know somebody in the panel sitting on the other side of the desk. They can be impartial (sometimes too impartial), can ignore you completely, or even if they acknowledge you, you can not know if that is a good thing or bad. If they know your positive side, they are also well aware of your negative side! People who do not know you, have to make a judgement about you in five mins, that is unfair! It was often my argument whenever I failed my interviews, but when people who do know you,then reject you, that is scary! This excuse does not work then, and you face the toughest Reality check!
6) Brain Freeze... Yes, it happens too, sometimes you can get intimidated by the panel, or have something entirely different thing going on in your head (Sports/lover/ sick pet at home/ universe/ Chetan Bhagat/Rushdie/politics), that even after knowing the answers to the questions being asked, you can tie yourself in knots. The answers may be simple, but you have to indulge in the art of making it complex right at that moment! Well, you are too intelligent for the panel of course, which does not understand your point of view and rejects you! (Losers!Them not us, of course!)
6) Brain Freeze... Yes, it happens too, sometimes you can get intimidated by the panel, or have something entirely different thing going on in your head (Sports/lover/ sick pet at home/ universe/ Chetan Bhagat/Rushdie/politics), that even after knowing the answers to the questions being asked, you can tie yourself in knots. The answers may be simple, but you have to indulge in the art of making it complex right at that moment! Well, you are too intelligent for the panel of course, which does not understand your point of view and rejects you! (Losers!Them not us, of course!)
My dear friends, just like formulas for success can be many- reasons/ circumstances/ situations can be many for getting rejected in interviews too. These rejections enrich your experience, can make you wise, and more importantly, make you buckle up for the next interview ahead! Good luck!(Luck, sometimes that works!)
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