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10. How to prepare for Client interview in Consulting ? Technical or Functional ?

Getting a client interview is a huge thing these days. Odds of getting a client interview are very less with more and more people available in market. You do not want to screw up the interview. The following post will explain how to prepare and what should you focus on.  This post is part of the series  Everything you need to know about How to get a Job & face interviews in US
Would it be Technical or Functional?
It depends on the client and the only way to figure out is by asking for the interviewers details. Ideally, the vendor gives all the information like who will be in call and what are their names and background.  Vendors have more knowledge about the people who are on the call because they work with the client often. So, it is a good idea to ask the vendor for more info on the people who will be on call.  Sometimes, they exclusively say, we will have a technical round and then our manager will call next.  Sometimes, there will be manager and technical people on the call.  It all depends.
What to prepare for the client interview ?
First and foremost thing is, you will have to look at the requirement and look at what the client needs. They will mention most of the times their need. It is your job to focus and talk in the interview based on their need. You will have to be able to tie in the technical and functional scenarios to the client’s need.  Most of us are used to technical questions, but the reality is, clients usually look for more business scenarios. What should you do?   If you have work experience, you already have the business scenarios and you want to explain to client on that and do emphasis on the client’s need in your scenario. If not, you better work on that. You can write them on a piece of paper and practice for better articulation. Look below for more info. If you know there are technical people on the call, then you focus on the technical information. You never need to learn syntax, know the logic on how it works and how to do it.  It is kind of knowing the algorithm and technology aspects that are specific to the implementation of project.
How to prepare , if you are having less experience ?
If you have less experience, then you will have to work on creating a business scenario. Think in terms of Business and tie in your technical skills to that scenario. Most of the less experienced people have hard time talking in terms of business that a big drawback.  Here is a sample scenario that can be thought of , “You worked for the sales department of the company and  the website you worked on focused on sales orders. Sales people track their orders on the website, you get the data from SAP systems or other backend systems and process them and display for the sales people based on the selection criteria.  You did some customizations for sales team to report sales number in a region, by rank, etc. You worked with business client s for requirements gathering for Invoice handling”.  If you look here, it is a simple sales scenario.  You can add in fine details as needed.  A good way is to ask someone already working in a company and get some scenarios. Seniors or mentors can help you here with building your scenario.
Gather client’s info :
When you prepare, you better have an idea of the company’s business. Look up on internet or their corporate site about the company. It will give you chance to ask questions and ask more about them in the interview. If you know anyone working  in that company, then talk to them about what the company culture is like and how are the interviews.
Prepare on Soft skills or your personality related questions
It does not happen very often, but there are instances where the client asks what is your working style or what are your strengths and weaknesses, etc. You be prepared for these kind of questions. I will write about these in the next article. But the point is, prepare well on soft skills too.
By heart your Resume :
You should know your resume by heart.  You should know where stuff is and what it means. You should not stutter anytime when a question is asked about previous companies, clients and what you did there. You should know the meaning of every single technical sentence you wrote in resume.
Mock interview for less experienced:
For someone who have less experience, if you can get a mock interview from some seniors or mentors asking them to focus on the requirement, it gives you an idea where you stand and what to prepare.
More to continue in next posts on: how to be prepared for phone interviews, questions asked in interviews and how to answer the questions… Subscribe to stay tuned!

   

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4 Comments

  1. Hi my name is Sushanth I am completed retail sales associate training sentar in Hyderabad Tata Strive training sentar I have passport I am looking from a good job in retail fild any interview conduct in Hyderabad information me my mobile no 9849192853. Thank you so much

    Reply
  2. Surendra, as I posted in the last couple of lines, I am going to write a post exclusively on questions and other type of stuff they ask in interviews as a part of the series. I will also focus on what you asked too. Please stay tuned.

    Reply
  3. Could you give me some more useful information on this topic like what type of questions interviewers ask. would they concentrate on technical aspects or would they ask us to explain the bussiness scenario's.I have attended somany interviews in india and having 3 years of experience.But still waiting for technical interview in US since 6 months.The interview would be like as in india or the interview process here will be diffrent.I think you understood my point…..

    looking forward for your reply..

    Thanks,
    Surendra…

    Reply

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