Monday, 28 November 2011

Technical Phone Interview Questions and Tips















Interview is generally the final step of the employment process. Employers sometimes may conduct phone interview before the personal interview to cut down the list of eligible candidates and filter out the most appropriate ones. This saves time of interviewers as well as candidates. Most employers today are giving a call to the shortlisted candidates for a telephonic interview. Like in a personal interview, employers will ask some common questions in the phone interview. You can stay prepared for answering these phone interview questions and impress the employers with your effective communication skills. Here we discuss the basic tips for technical phone interview and some interview questions. 

Technical Interview Tips 

For the technical interview, employers will ask you technical questions related to your field. You should be familiar and well equipped with the details and basics related to the field. Following are some basic tips that one must follow when appearing for the technical interview:
  • Getting Ready 
            1] Make sure that the phone is fully charged.
2] Have a paper, pen and a copy of your CV at hand.
  • Receive the call in a quiet area of the house where there are no kids, sound of vehicles, etc.
  • Listen to the interviewer carefully and answer the questions accurately
  • Stay prepared to provide the summary of your technical details to the interviewer
  • If you do not understand the question, ask them to repeat it
  • Be enthusiastic and ask the employer about the client location and project duration
  • Ask for the feedback from the interviewer after the interview
  • Thank the interviewer at the end of the interview


Technical Phone Interview Questions 

The interview questions for technical positions depend on the job you are applying for. There are various technical positions. Suppose you are applying for a network administrator position or a Java developer position, the technical questions asked for both of them will be different. Here we discuss some phone interview questions for different technical fields. 

SQL Questions
  • Explain denormalization. Why is it used?
  • What do you mean by inner join and outer join?
 
C# Questions
  • What do you mean by delegates?
  • What is the difference between delegates and events?
  • What do you mean by lamda expression and closure?
  • What is the meaning of function BeginInvoke and EndInvoke?
 
Data Structure
  • What data structure can you use for implementing a dictionary?
  • What are various techniques of resolving Hashtable collision?
 
Networking
  • State the difference between TCP and UDP.
  • How can you troubleshoot the computer connectivity issue?
 
XML Questions
  • How can you authenticate an XML document?
  • What is the basic difference between XSD and DTD?
  • What are the types of Parsers in XML?
  • State the difference between attribute and an element.
 
Know what position you are applying for and prepare yourself for the corresponding technical questions. Make sure that the answers provided by you are accurate and precise. Do not answer the questions if you are not sure. Be polite and confident while answering the questions.

Saturday, 5 November 2011

Important Interview Tips and Techniques




Many people are afraid of facing the job interviews and consider it as a nerve-wracking process. Due to lack of confidence they perform poorly in the interview and lose the job opportunity. Interview is generally the final step of selection for a job. After reaching this far, you won't want to lose the chance. You must prepare yourself well to appear for the interview. Follow some important interview tips and implement the interview techniques to gain confidence and clear your job interview. 

Interview Tips and Techniques

Following are some important tips to follow before you appear for any interview. 

Appropriate Dress Code
Select the proper outfit for your interview. You need to look focused and confident during your interview. Your attire will help in reflecting your confidence. Choose the proper attire depending on the industry and job you are applying for. Wear the clothes that you are comfortable in. 

Be on Time
Do not make a mistake by arriving late at the interview venue. Always be before time. Leave from home as early as possible. You may not know what problem may arise on the way, hence, it is good to start early. 

Behavior
Behave politely throughout the interview. When you enter the interview room, greet the interviewers and ask for the permission to sit on the chair. Sit straight and do not cross your legs or fingers during the whole meeting.

Research
Employers will appreciate the candidate having information about the company’s work profile and applied position. At the time of the interview, employers generally ask the candidates about their knowledge regarding the company. Showing them that you have adequate knowledge about the company will definitely impress them. Make sufficient research about the company’s background before you apply for the job. 


Prepare yourself for Common Interview Questions
There are certain interview questions those are common for all type of interviews. For example, “introduce yourself”, “where do you find yourself after 5 years working in the XYZ position?”, etc. Staying prepared for answering such questions will definitely help you. 

Display Enthusiasm
A firm handshake and eye contact will display your confidence to the employer. Show your interest in the job position. This can be done by asking questions related to your prospective job. This will also show that you have made sufficient research about the company and you are eager to know more about the job profile. 

Listen Carefully
You must listen carefully to the employer during the interview and do not interrupt when they are talking or asking questions. Interrupting in between will create a bad impact on the employer. Many people neglect this interview skill and consider it least important. 

Give Appropriate Answers
Provide appropriate and acceptable answers to the questions asked. Do not answer if you are not sure or do not provide vague or unclear answers. Understand the question properly or ask for further clarification. 

Provide Examples
If the employers ask you about your skills, you can explain with how your skills can help you in your work. You can explain them any particular situation in the past where you used your skills to troubleshoot the problem and work efficiently. 

Follow the above interview techniques to impress the employers and get noticed from the crowd.