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Working for an Indian Startup - The Upside

In the pre-bust era of Dot Com Dominance, it used to be "cool" to say that you worked in a startup. Though much of that romance has worn off now, there are still some advantages to working in a small organization or a startup.


Lenovo IdeaPad Y650 Multimedia Laptop

The Lenovo IdeaPad Y650 is a large, fairly capable and highly stylish multimedia notebook offering. The glossy 16-inch widescreen is impressively large, as is the multitouch capable touchpad. Throw in an Intel Core 2 Duo P8700 2.53GHz processor, 4GB RAM, a 320GB HDD, a 256MB NVIDIA GeForce G105M GPU and you"ve got yourself some respectable internals to go with the gorgeous externals. And did we mention the weight is only 5.6lbs, and felt like less? If only the price were a little lower and the keyboard a little larger, this laptop would have some pretty high marks all around.


Interview Questions to Prep for

As a minimum, go prepared to answer 3 questions:  1)  Why you?  2)  Why us?  3)  And do you have any questions?

1.  Why you?  Why should we be interested in you?  What do you have to offer?  What skills/strengths/expertise can you bring to the role?

Prepare examples of your "strengths in action".  Here"s an example of how it might sound in an interview:

I perceive* my greatest strength for this role would be that I am a revenue generator.

Probably* one of my better examples would be when I worked as a Sales Rep., from 1992 to 1997 at Sales Inc. (situation).  My job was to sell training courses to SMEs in the UK market and I chose to target sales rep"s in the pharmaceutical sector (action).  I successfully acquired 5 key accounts, and in doing so generated 68k in revenue over 3 quarters (result).

I think* I was successful because I researched my target market, I know my products and I try get the potential client in front of me or on the phone to do most of the talking.

Another of my strengths is that I am strong in client management.  The best example of this that I have is...

I am also process-oriented...

Here"s the structure for writing about your strengths in action:

a)  Name the strength.

b)  Give a example of the strength, using STARð€™s:  STAR stands for:  situation or task, action, result

c)  Explain the method behind your strength:  Before explaining the secret behind your strength, gauge the interest level of your interviewer.  Chances are if you manage to name and give an example of a couple of your strenghts in action, you"re doing great already.

*Use modest and suggestive language.  Don"t be the know-it-all that says he has super-heroic strengths.  Rather, suggest that these may be your strengths. 

The trick is to prep for your dream job backwards - 1st prep for the interview and then update and edit your cv accordingly.  Whatever strengths you want to highlight during an interview, you want to have also highlighted in your cv.

2.  Why us?  Why are you interested in this company/role? 

Research the company.  Look at company"s website for the company"s current CEO  ð€× annual revenue  ð€× mission statement  ð€× products, emerging products ð€× culture, etc.

Research the position.  Why do you think you would be suitable for this position? Why should we pick you?  Look at the job spec and job spec"s for the same position at different companies.

 

3.  Prepare 3-5 questions for the interviewer :

Your questions confirm your interest in the position.  Do not to ask questions where the answer is on the web site.  Avoid asking about salary and benefits until those subjects are raised by the employer.  Possible questions might focus on the kind of person they are looking for, the job itself and/or the starting date:

Ideal candidate:  What are the most important qualities are you looking for in a candidate? Can you describe an ideal individual for this position?

Actual job:  What are the day-to-day expectations and responsibilities of this job?  How will my responsibilities and performance be measured? By whom?

Starting date:  When do you plan on making a decision on this position?  When would you expect the successful candidate to start?

 

 






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