Secrets to a successful
Client Interview
Congratulations on clearing the Cognizant Interview. It might have
been a multi-step process. As a next step, it would be crucial for you
to clear the client interview. With some preparation and the right
mindset, you can be confident to ace the interview and unlock new
career opportunities. You will face questions that will assess how you
would handle various situations in the workplace. Your answers show
your experience, maturity, and ability to deal with future challenges.
Below are a few tips that can set you up for success. We are eager to
welcome bright minds like you to our company!
Below are the 4 steps that can set you up for success for the upcoming client interview:
Click each “+” to learn more.
1
Research &
Resume
+
3
STAR
Framework
+
2
Having a great
conversation
+
4
Power
Closing
+
Research & Resume
Success in any interview is all about preparation. By preparing for your interview,
you’re honing valuable skills that increase your odds of shining during the meeting.
Additionally, you’re ensuring your interview strategy is on point, and you’ve learned
critical information to help you stand out.
Do your research
Nothing is worse than attending an interview unprepared, especially when so
much information is available to help you prepare. Below are a few questions
which can help you prepare. Clients do not generally ask direct questions about
themselves; however, they expect you to know their context.
Typical questions for researching a client:
• What is the client’s industry?
• What platforms and technologies are likely to be used in the project?
• Which geographies do they service?
• What are the required professional capabilities for the role?
Click each “+” to learn more.
A valuable skill that can benefit you throughout your career
is crafting an effective resume. After conducting thorough
research on the requirements of the role, it’s essential to create
a resume that aligns with those needs and sets you apart from
other candidates.
Your resume must have 5 key sections:
Understanding your client helps tailor your expertise to their needs. Share
relevant details in your resume, provide examples, and ask questions to
demonstrate your understanding of their business.
Prepare an Effective Resume
+
+
+
+
+
1. Tailor your resume
2. Use the right resume format
3. Feature your name and job title in the
header
4. Pick a readable font
5. Choose the best font size
6. Set your margins to the ideal width
7. Use hard numbers
8. Don’t use pronouns
Resume
Guideline
9. Use action words
10. Do not undersell or oversell yourself
11. Do not include a photo in your resume
12. Don’t make it too long
13. Proofread thoroughly
14. Save your resume as a PDF file
15. Use a professional file name
Click each tab to learn more.
Having a great conversation
Prepare for an impactful self-introduction
Your introduction is the first positive note that you strike with your client. Your generic
introduction and an introduction for a client interview will vary.
Script your introduction- Give a snapshot of yourself
Name Background and
experience if any
Previous
projects and
what role you
played
State key
attributes you
bring to the table
and how that will
benefit them
How are you
going to use
your skills to
benefit them
Remember, practice is the key. Interview yourself in front of a mirror or on video. That way,
you can watch your body language and practice eye contact to get everything working in
your favour.
Observing your client’s body language during your conversation is crucial. Look for signals
indicating confusion, surprise, or doubt, and address any concerns before proceeding.
During the interview
Begin the interview by establishing a friendly and
professional tone. Introduce yourself and thank the
client for taking the time to speak with you. Below tips
can help you ace your interview.
Limit background distractions
Check your lighting
Make eye contact
Tackle those nerves
Sound positive, confident and polite
Think through your answers
Click each tab to learn more.
Dress to impress
Test your equipment
STAR Framework
USE the STAR Method to construct an organized, specific, thoughtful and concise answer.
Client looks for behaviours that demonstrate collaboration, leadership and problem-solving skills,
ability to learn, business acumen and emotional resilience. The questions aim to get to know the real
you; there aren’t necessarily wrong answers.
The STAR Method is a classic approach to answering such questions. It allows you to turn a generic
response into a compelling story. These questions are easy to recognize. They often have openings
like:
Tell me about a
time when…
What do you
do when…
Have you ever…
Give me an
example of…
Describe a…
State the business
requirement. For example:
“A customer rang up
complaining that they’d
waited more than two weeks
for a reply from our sales
team regarding a product
query.”
For example: “I needed
to address the client’s
immediate query and find
out what went wrong in the
normal process.”
For example: “I apologized,
got the details and
passed them to our head
salesperson, who contacted
the client within the hour. I
investigated why the query
hadn’t been answered. I
discovered that it was a
combination of a wrong
mobile number and a
generic email address that
wasn’t being checked. I
let the client know and we
offered a goodwill discount
on her next order.”
For example: “The client not
only continued to order from
us but posted a positive
customer service tweet.”
What was the context of
your story?
What was your assignment
in this situation?
What tasks were involved?
What actions did you take? What was the outcome of
those actions?
S-Situation
STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Results. It’s an approach for outlining how an event arose and played
out, making it ideal for structuring how you discuss an accomplishment.
With the STAR Method, you can make sure the interviewer has every critical detail. You’re showing them how you
put your skills to work, giving them important context about how you perform on the job.
T-Task
A-Actions R-Results
Closing an Interview
Don’t miss the opportunity to make yourself memorable and set yourself up
for success by asking thoughtful questions before closing the interview.
Finally, it all comes down to PREPARATION. You are good enough, smart competent enough, and qualified. Interviewers need to
make tough decisions, and preparedness may be just the thing that sets you apart from the others. may just set you apart from
the others. Rehearse out LOUD.
Remember to be yourself. Authenticity is always best.
Click each tab to learn more.
• Show interest in the project!
• Ask the interviewer their expectations/ role fitment.
• Show the interviewer keen interest to be part of their team without being obvious.
• Do not ask for feedback or results.
• End on a positive note, thank the interviewer for their time.
• After the interview follow up with your recruiter and ask about the next steps.
Tips for closing
an interview
Questions you can Ask
your interviewer
Questions to Avoid
