The following article is contributed by my student Ms. Shivani Bhan.  She is  presently working in Tech Mahindra. I hope it will be beneficial for the students:

Its been 4 years now since I have been working – during this period I have working in 2 companies however I have given more that 15 interviews, not because I wanted to change, but because I wanted to know where the market is going and what they are seeking in a “Business Analyst”. This not only gave me confidence but also let me know some new things that were there in the market and I was unaware of the same coz my present company did not work on it. So its important to keep exploring the market. Discuss your profile, what you do, how you do etc with someone more experienced and seek their advice, learn from their experiences.

I always used to read the JD carefully and then reframe my resume as per same – not exactly – but yes somewhat similar as per the JD. Then I used to read a lot and explore the new topics – so that I am not blank in the interview room – its always better to say u have little knowledge – rather than saying you have not knowledge. Always do ur homework – as in be prepared with all sort of questions that can be asked.

Being a Business analyst – I had to have knowledge of many of the domains and technologies – thus I sometimes used to attend the interviews, which were not exactly related with my profile but yeah somewhat similar – like the profile of a computer architect etc – only to seek experience and know where I stand in other fields as well. So the key is, even if you know that u r not succeeding in the interview, still be gracious and think that you are not loosing anything rather u r gaining something – inspite of the fact that you did not clear the interview still, u are leaving the positive impression on the interviewer – because u never know that impression might make him call you again for some other promising job.

Whenever you are giving an answer, or explaining yourself – remember there always needs to be an eye contact. Even if it is a panel of interviewers make sure you are making an eye contact with all once in a while. This projects an air of confidence. Talk about your experiences and skills with a positive approach and with pride. Show enthusiasm in the same. Do the research regarding the company, the job profile and the industry as well.

After the interview always make sure to follow up, to know what were your strengths and your weaknesses. Practicing this will help a lot in the next interviews.

Always remember:

1.      Reach the interview venue before time – be friendly with people sitting there and ask them few  friendly questions – this will make u sure as in what kind of people u r competing with and u can reframe things in your mind

2.      Schedule your interview for the mornings always – remember the interviewer is freshest at that time and thus he will seek more interest in u and will be willing to explore u

3.      Dress up is important – u should feel free and confident in whatever u r wearing – not that while giving interview u r sweating coz u chose to wear business suit or so. Look confident and feel confident. Remember u need to impress with ur skills not with your dress. So wear a formal that makes u comfortable.

4.      Whatever you say, it needs to demonstrate your strength and confidence in your capabilities.

5.      If u have something special or some specific skill set emphasize on that point

6.      Make sure whatever reason you are giving to validate a point is unique and does prove that you are good in the stuff you are doing

7.      When asked about skill set – describe on two or three skills that you are best in – do not narrate a story or so – believe me – no one is interested in stories – be sharp and to the point

8.      When asked about weaknesses be honest – but then on the other hand also be sure that you are not shooting yourself or making fool of yourself. Be positive while narrating your weaknesses and ultimately make a smart move saying you are doing so and so to make this weakness your strength

9.      Always read the JD (job description) carefully while giving an interview. Always draw parallel lines in your mind thinking what you have been doing and what is being asked. Try and co-relate both.

10.  Never ever disclose your problems that u have faced with the passed employee. Never make the interviewer feel that your anger is something because of which u r looking for the change – this is the most common mistake people do – they feel they are replying smartly but their gesture or even a single word sometimes reflects the real cause. Generally happen when interviewer cross questions.

11.  Make sure that at the end of the interview u have some good and confident questions that u can ask to the interviewer

12.  Remember in case interviewer asks something for which u do not have much knowledge, ask him rather discuss with him – this will show that u r keen to learn things – which proves positive for u

13.  Before interview – search and read interview questions – make sure u read good interview questions and not the tough interview questions.

14.  Never ever make the interviewer feel – “You are jack of all trades” | “You are multi tasking personality” | “You wear many hats” | “I am honing my skills” >> all lead to a negative impression

Interview questions

Just sharing some common questions – I don’t remember everything from my past interviews, however here are some of the questions that I could recall – answers to these are not exactly the same, but can give an idea as in what I replied:

1.      Tell something about yourself

2.      Talk about some key skills of yours that you are going to use for this profile

I have been working as a System analyst from the past “n” years and during this period I have learned about business modeling, re-engineering processes, business analysis and even resource management.

<< you can enhance while defining your skills – remember what u say u should have had been working on that and are confident enough to demonstrate the same

3.      How can u say that u r different from rest of the candidates waiting outside

Once given the job or the project I tackle the same with best of my skill set and energy. My main goal and aim is to every single thing that I will be put into till the perfection and always achieving the results that are beyond the expectations of my seniors. Moreover I consider myself among those who always starve for excellence and perfection in whatsoever they are put into.

4.      What are your weaknesses

Sometimes it takes me a little long to complete a project – since I consider it is important to be a bit perfectionist I generally do the best I can to make it a success. I don’t like leaving things inbetween or so – its like it has to be done and that too in the proper manner – which sometimes hits the timelines. But at the end of the day, the quality of the project is something that makes all happy and my mistake is generally neglected. These days I am trying to develop my time management skills – so that I do some analysis faster and give the best quality material in time

5.      Why do u want this job – why r u seeking a change

6.      What do you dislike about the previous company

This is the most tricky question – make sure that u do not say anything negative – respond with the good points – best answer can be am looking for a change to fulfill my higher goals which can be achieved only by exploring new opportunities.

7.      Where do u see in next 5 -10 years

People usually repond beautifully by talking about their goals – but I generally do not.

So its upto you what u answer

8.      How do u feel if asked to work during weekends or longing hours

The correct way to approach this question is to say that you would be open to working longer hours to achieve a specific goal or important project. Occasional weekends could be arranged if the need should arise.