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Rahul was an excellent candidate and had many accomplishments to his credit. This included some merit certificates in various competitive exams, internships and diploma courses that enhanced his academic qualifications. Throughout his introductory session, he kept describing every pursuit and success of his in partially incomprehensible jargon and this certainly did not create the right impression. He sounded like a know-all who had nothing left to learn and certainly too full of himself.

Suresh, on the other hand, did not make an effort to highlight his strengths. He was rather elusive about his goals and aims; and treated his interview for ‘just another job’ in a very laidback manner. And as expected, he sounded distant and certainly not in the purview of what the organisation expected from a potential employee.

How does one tackle this very obvious part of interview sessions, without sounding too full of oneself like Rahul or coming across as a disinterested or remote candidate like Suresh? An introductory session should ideally give your interviewer a peek into your personality, and accomplishments that cannot be found in your resume; which he must have already acquainted himself with.

Start off with the customary salutations and briefly highlight your educational background. Move on to the referencing bit, conveying how you actually chanced upon information regarding the interview. In most cases, the interviewer makes the introductory session interactive. He enquires about your achievements. Tackle these questions with ease. It is best to take it in the spirit of conversing with a friend and perhaps, relate a couple of experiences; if you find that the interviewer is interested.

From your conversation, the interviewer should receive an insight into your personality. Are you someone whose aims are in line with that of the organisation? Make sure you do your homework about the organisation, its business objectives, business model, products, management, the awards it has received and the recognition it has got due to its corporate social responsibility related projects. Link your aims to what is expected of the post you have applied for.

The interviewer might also look for an assurance that you are a team player, a person with certain convictions and someone who can adapt to the demands of situations. If you have work experience, you could quote an instance from your previous job experience, wherein you had managed an emergency situation with presence of mind or had been a team leader for a project. The trick here is in understanding what the interviewer wants to hear and then projecting the same by linking them to your experiences and achievements.

There could be certain points to which you could establish a good connection with your interviewer. “It so happened that my interviewer and I came from the same school and she was considerably senior to me. It definitely eased out the situation, as we exchanged a few instances that were integral part of our schooling,” says Neha, a fresh candidate out of college.

You could watch out for those points that catch the interviewer’s attention and interest and perhaps back up information about yourself, by narrating an experience or even enquiring your interviewer about something. Ultimately, the manner in which you converse should make the interview a delightful experience for the interviewer and convince him that you have the right qualifications and attitude for the job.

All along, remember that your interviewer is as human as you are. A friendly and amiable personality, combined with achievements that bear relevance to the job post and a couple of interesting anecdotes can make your introductory session a smooth sail.

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