There are several important differences between an interview and an exam. First, an exam usually signifies the final stage of a process of learning. An interview, in contrast, signifies the beginning of a similar process of learning in a different setting. Secondly, preparing for an exam usually involves learning and remembering purely technical concepts, but preparing for an interview warrants much more attention to other aspects as well.
The people interviewing you are, at the end of the day, employees of the company. Therefore, in any company, the interview process is usually a mini demonstration of how the workplace is going to look like once you join, conceptually as well as contextually. The interview often brings to the table the overall management culture, the amount of creativity encouraged by the managers, the approach to problem solving, etc.
This is extremely helpful to you as a candidate for two reasons. Firstly, if you are in a position to decide between two ore more job offers, your comfort level in the interview would be a clear indication and one of the most important factors of consideration when you make your choice. Secondly, and as you may not always be in a position to choose between job offers, the mood in the interview helps to prepare yourself psychologically for the work environment you will experience once you are selected for the job.
Thus, the third key difference between an exam and an interview is that the former is usually an assessment of how much you know and remember, while the latter is a simulation to check if there would be a three-way fit between you as a future employee, the interviewer as your future manager and the company as your future employer. So remember that the creative genius in you, your systematic approach to problem solving or your personality itself could score higher in the mind of your interviewer than mere technical knowledge that you may possess!
Niranjan Srinivasan
(as written for eccgetsetgo)
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