6 Must Have Soft Skills To Ace the Job Interview
Guest Post by Haley Gray – Duke Weekend MBA Student.
Here are a few helpful tips for Interviewing in the USA-
What to bring:
- A few copies of your Resume
- A folder to hold any papers or business cards you are given, and your resumes
- A small bag for your keys, etc
- A genuine smile, and a positive attitude
When you interview, there are generally several types of interviews you can face- panel interview, one on one, technical interviews, and behavioral interviews.
Most of the interviews we conduct here are a one on one technical and behavioral interview.
We try to get a good picture for your technical skills, but what we are really looking for are:
- Your ability to communicate clearly and effectively
- Your ability to learn new topics quickly- there is a steep learning curve here, and we are constantly learning new skills
- Your attitude
- Your fit within the team
- Whether you are a hard worker
- Drive and ambition, tempered with realism
Please note that most of these skills are “soft skills”.
I love getting people that are very strong technically, but they are of limited use to me, if they cannot work with the rest of the team, or are not a strong communicator.
I like to see people who are fun to work with, creative, and have drive to work hard, but also who realize that it will take time, and hard work to achieve promotions and getting ahead.
What do you think?
By pure coincidence, I was JUST advising an Indian law school graduate as to how to get into the proper mindset for her job interview for a role in the legal department of a multinational corporation based in Singapore (I put her up for the role). Raghu, you called it… at a certain point, it’s all about “soft skills,” no matter your technical skills or what industry!
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Dear Manisha:
Your great resume and pedigree got you in the door. Now they will look for the things that don’t show up on paper.
Between us, I think they are looking for someone who is extremely pleasant to work with… but who also has the capacity to demonstrate backbone, command respect, unleash hell, get knocked down and rise up again, present material in a clear, compelling and energetic manner (both internally and in front of customers), and so on. You also have to “make sense” throughout Asia, and reflect that you can cope with a variety of cultural conditions from Delhi to Tokyo to Jakarta to Shanghai to Seoul. So not merely a backroom lawyer type or a drafting wonk.
Not all of this may come naturally to you. But if you can project some of that, or hint that you have those tools in your arsenal, while remaining true to yourself, that would be helpful.
Best of luck, my friend.
Gunnar