{"id":7187,"date":"2016-10-23T07:37:32","date_gmt":"2016-10-23T07:37:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.monsterindia.com\/career-advice\/7-ways-to-make-use-of-an-informal-interview-7187\/"},"modified":"2023-10-11T13:22:25","modified_gmt":"2023-10-11T07:52:25","slug":"7-ways-to-make-use-of-an-informal-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.foundit.in\/career-advice\/7-ways-to-make-use-of-an-informal-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"7 ways to make use of an informal interview"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"interview<\/span><\/p>\n

There is a lot of pressure when it comes to formal interviews, for both the candidate and the interviewer. Let\u2019s say your resume has proved your worth, but boss doesn\u2019t quite want to commit to a formal interview. Enter \u2018The Chat\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHey why don\u2019t you come into our office for a casual chat?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t fool yourself into believing this is anything less than an interview. You should be just as prepared for this type of meeting as a formal interview, as it\u2019s the first time they are going to meet you and have a chance to get to know who you are before deciding whether to move along the hiring process.<\/span><\/p>\n

An informal interview is often at a cafe, over the phone, or even in the office. Here are some rules to follow so you don\u2019t miss the mark:<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Be as professional as in a \u2018real\u2019 interview.<\/strong> Be on time, cordial, polite, and prepared to answer why you want this job. Make sure you have a mental recap of your past work experience and that you\u2019ve done your research on the company.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Come prepared with questions.<\/strong> This is also a chance for you to find out more about the job and show that you\u2019re eager. The best part about this is you can ask more casual questions than you would at a formal interview (but don\u2019t get too casual), such as asking the interview about why they like working there.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Dress up.<\/strong> Casual refers to the dialogue, not the dress code. Go for something like a casual blazer with a dress shirt with jeans, or for women with a smart dress. You want to look well put together, but not like you\u2019re trying too hard. Don\u2019t turn up to a cafe meeting in a full suit or five-inch heels.<\/span><\/p>\n

4. Be personable.<\/strong> This interview is a good opportunity for a potential employers to get a feel of your personality. Be friendly, make jokes (tasteful ones!), smile a lot and don\u2019t be afraid of the small talk to kick off. Ask them how their day is going, and offer up information about yourself to get the conversation flowing.<\/span><\/p>\n

5. Don\u2019t push too hard.<\/strong> If the vibe isn\u2019t there, don\u2019t push it. Be courteous and see the chat through professionally, then end it on a positive note – but without leaving any doubt that this is the end of the road. Such as, \u201cthank you so much for taking the time to meet with me. I\u2019m not sure this role is exactly what I\u2019m looking for right now, but I really appreciate your help in finding out more about your business\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

6. Tap into their networks.<\/strong> If the purpose of your casual chat is to find out more about a new type of role or the industry as a whole, don\u2019t be afraid to ask them to connect you with other people who can also help give you advice and guidance. Particularly if the conversation is going well, they typically won\u2019t mind helping out a young professional.<\/span><\/p>\n

7. Who picks up the tab?<\/strong> If it\u2019s just a coffee, the general rule is that you should always offer, but typically if they have invited you, then they will pick up the check. If they\u2019ve invited you for a fancy lunch, they will also pay for the interaction. However, if they\u2019re doing you a favour by meeting at your request, then you should always be prepared to pay.<\/span><\/p>\n

Looking for interview tips? Click here<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There is a lot of pressure when it comes to formal interviews, for both the candidate and the interviewer. Let\u2019s say your resume has proved your worth, but boss doesn\u2019t quite want to commit to a formal interview. Enter \u2018The Chat\u2019. \u201cHey why don\u2019t you come into our office for a casual chat?\u201d Don\u2019t fool […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7188,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-7187","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-interview-tips"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.in\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.in\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.in\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.in\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.in\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7187"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.in\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7187\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21464,"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.in\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7187\/revisions\/21464"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.in\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.in\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.in\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.in\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}