Informally Formal - Interview at 11

I was 11 years old when I was being interviewed for the very first time in my life.



Till then, I was aware about English language as that was taught in our school books and my knowledge never went beyond that.

My parents thought way ahead of the time to make me superior in this foreign language. And decided to give me a proper coaching in it which was really advanced to my fellow classmates at that age.



So, we went to a reputed class of English for my admission.

Before let me in for the class, the teacher wanted to examine me at what level of learning I was.



And it went into a very formal kind of interview.

He was seated on a classic wooden old age officer style chair.

He himself arranged a folding chair in front of him for me in a way that, I could see only him and my parents being seated behind me.

I was expecting the questions being asked in school oral exam like English alphabets, numbers, words and at max, the spelling and their meaning in Marathi i.e., both of ours mother tongue.



But, beyond expectation, right from the start, it went a complete formal interview.

First few question were normal like ‘what is your full name?’ ‘what is your school name?’ ‘what are your favorite subjects?’ and I was in comfort zone.



And all of a sudden, he said, if I could answer the next question, then only he will get me admitted in his class else, I have to go back.

At that moment, it built a tremendous pressure within me.

My parents were seated behind me and I do not wanted to disappoint both of them.

It was both of their dream that I could speak English like a gentleman and this class was start for me on that way.

What if I failed to answer the next question? What my parents will think about me? How could I learn this language? What will it take to learn it if not in this class? All as such questions crowded in my mind.

My legs started shivering, I started feeling heaviness in my head, my heart beats suddenly increased and I was under very much high pressure to perform my best.



And from his very genius mind, sir asked me, ‘what is the exact difference between the two languages – English and Marathi?’

At the very first place, I thought, what stupid question is this?

Just for the sake of answer, I said, ‘English is English and Marathi is Marathi.’

Next chance, ‘Marathi is our mother tongue whereas English is a non-native language.’

For him, it was a childish answer. He said, ‘No, give me the difference.’

Then I brainstorm myself and said, ‘English contains English words and Marathi contains Marathi words.’ Stupid answer.

‘English is a new language, Marathi is an old language.’ That was purely my consideration. Wrong answer.

And the series of such non-sense answers continued for next 10 minutes.

Non-sense because, every correct answer from my perception was equally immature on the scale of his ‘exact difference’.



At the end, he answered to his own question:

“In Marathi grammar, the basic sentence structure is ‘subject + object + verb’ whereas in English grammar, it is ‘subject + verb + object’. And this is the main and exact difference between the two.”



He continued to speak, it was really not expected from a boy studying in 6th standard and that was the very first lesson of his class.

He appreciated my ‘expected’ answers to earlier questions and knowing my ‘skillsets’ I acquired till then, he was ready to teach me further and gave me admission in his class.



****



The lessons learnt for me (actually, for all of us) from that incident, especially for the interview processes:



1.      The interviewer when ask you a question, he / she has some predefined answers in mind. Your answer is expected to beat that or at least reach to that level.

2.      When it is being said, ‘next question will decide whether you are in or out..’, don’t fall under pressure. Just keep calm within, let the question come in.

3.      Before answering, gather the relevant data, arrange it in sequence and then present it.

4.      Importantly, think,

a.      Why this particular question is being asked?

b.      At what position of knowledge and experience the interviewer is being seated?

c.      From that level, what is being expected from you to answer?

d.      How the question is relevant to the position you are being interviewed?

e.      And then, how could the answer be like?

5.      Sometimes, some questions are being asked purposefully where you might fail to answer or tend to answer wrongly. Think, what could be the intention behind that particular question? Then, wrap your answer in kind of ‘diplomatic’ way by which, although you are failed by some means, still be an impressive candidate.

6.      Importantly, if you don’t know the answer, it is better to be honest than try to lie and make false impression.

7.      Mental stability is most important which keep you physically stable and sound to answer further questions.

8.      Use the ‘emotional intelligence’ because, in today’s world, your EQ is being more weighted than your IQ.

9.      At the end, thank the interviewer(s) to give you an opportunity.

10.  If you are failed, analyze the ‘why’ behind that, work on it and move on.



Comment below and let people learn from you as well..

How was your first interview?

What are your learnings from your interviews?





- miPratik





#miPratik #interview #lesson

(pre-posted 11th Decemebr 2019 in LinkedIn articles)