If you are called for a personal interview then it is most likely that you have already given some kind of written test and passed through it. Usually a personal interview is conducted by a HR representative and you must clear it before facing the technical round. But sometimes, this is not fixed, technical round may come first or both technical and personal rounds can be combined in a single interview. Unlike the technical round the result of personal round depends more on how you conduct yourself during interview and less on your knowledge and skills. Following are some tips for preparing for the personal round of the interview.
Research This involves gathering information about the company or organization involved. You should find out about the company, its size, major products and / or projects developed by the company, etc.
You should find out as much as possible about the interview itself, such as who is conducting the interview, how long is it expected to last, what documents you should bring with you, etc.
Prepare for Expected Questions
You should prepare a list of questions which are expected to be asked during a personal interview. You can ask the help of your seniors or gather such questions from the internet. These may include questions like, 'Tell me about yourself?', 'Why do you want to work for this company?', 'What are your salary expectations?' etc. Prepare answers to these questions in advance. The purpose is not to remember the exact answers, which will be time consuming and will sound rehearsed in interview, but to organize and clarifying your own thoughts and expectations.
Be careful when answering such questions. For example, when an interviewer asks you about yourself he doesn't want your life story but information about you that is relevant to the job. When talking about the salary expectations never give an exact figure but a range of salary which is realistic based on the industry norms. If you don't know the standard salary be safe and say that it's negotiable.
Strengths and Weaknesses
It is likely that you'll be asked about your strengths and weaknesses. Highlight your strengths like previous experience, skills, certifications etc relevant to the job on the table. When asked about weakness, do not say that you don't have any. Focus on something that does not affect your ability to perform the job or something that you have already dealt with.
Rehearse
Rehearsing is one of the best things that you can do to improve your chances in a personal interview. Ask one of your friends to act the part of interviewer and take the interview just as if were real. This will provide you with invaluable insight in to your weak and strong points where taking an interview are concerned, as well as boost your confidence. If at all possible, take multiple interviews, preferably with different persons acting as interviewer.
Planning
When all is said and done the personal round of the interview is all about presentation. It does not focus on your ability to do the job, these would be tested through written tests or technical interview, but things such as your attitude, willingness to work for company, communication skill etc. The result of interview will depend more on how you conduct yourself in the interview than on whether you know something or not. Following points may help you with your presentation in the interview.