Interview? No sweat
Published: Monday,Aug15,2005, visakhapatnam
Overcome the phobia first. Your ease should show. For all this, preparation is absolutely essential.
Like any other engineering graduate, Pradeep (B.Tech. Mechanical) had gone for a couple of
campus interviews held by companies like Wipro, Satyam and TCS just before his final year examinations.
But he qualified for none though he was one among the above-average students in the college and had a sound knowledge of the core subjects.
Had one asked him why he could not qualify two months ago, he would have blinked as he did in the interviews. Today, he is on a different mode and would confidently say, "I just could not come out of my shell with satisfactory answers to the questions. I was sweating and shivering even before I could enter the interview hall. I was unable to answer the question on why I had chosen engineering. But I am ready for the showdown now.''
Pradeep is not only confident of cracking any interview but the shy guy has broken the shackles of inhibitions to come out openly to describe the girl next door to his classmates, thanks to a few sessions he had undergone at a personality development institute.
According to A.S. Prasad of CTC Communications, a personality development institute, most freshers carry the interview phobia.
"Students cannot come out openly at the interview due to various reasons like inhibitions, shyness, stage fear and the fear of failure, though
they may be meritorious students. In today's job market the demand is for a good communicator, team-man and a person who is at ease in any given
situation; academic score is only an added advantage," says Mr. Prasad.
Though the human resources departments of companies have their own set of parameters for selection, a few points stand as common principles. Most recruiters assess candidates and develop impressions in the first couple of minutes only. They draw a sketch or profile of the person as soon as one comes in and takes the chair. They categorise the profile into three - aggressive, passive and assertive - by the way the interviewee comes in, walks to the chair and takes the seat.
The general demand is for assertive people and the one who exudes confidence from the word go.
"We prefer people who carry a confident and decent body language and one who looks into our eyes with confidence," says Rajagopal, the centre head of Mafoi.
Catch questions
According to Mr. Prasad, most students falter even at common questions like `why do you like to join our company' and `why do you think that we should recruit you?'
Says he: "Despite all the preparations, candidates fumble upon these questions. The best way to handle them is to do a self-assessment before any interview. One should know his or her strengths well, their focus areas and how he or she would like to improve them. Invariably a huge chunk of students make their way to the interview room without a set idea of life, and that is the reason why they fail to answer these basic questions confidently.
They should clearly make an analysis about their strength, design their goal and do a little bit of homework on the interviewing company before the D- day.
"Once a student takes up this task, he or she would be in a position to present them suitably to the interview panelists. For example, a student of computer science who has done a live project on data warehousing and after doing a bit of homework on a particular company comes to know that the company has opened a new job on those lines - he or she can quote the project and that's where he or she could fit in. Such preparations are a must before every interview."
Gel well
Unable to shed inhibitions is a common problem for mofussil students. Their upbringing and environment make them shy and passive.
Just like assessing the strength one must also assess one's weaknesses, and if opening out is a problem, then the three or four years in the college is the place to get out of it.
Says Mr. Rajgopal: "Take part in a number of group tasks and public speaking programmes like debates, mock group discussions among friends, college dramas and outings with friends. College is the grooming ground for all; enjoy and have fun doing constructive group activities and things would automatically fall in place. Peers are the best facilitators and teachers, too. Communication skills and the ability to gel well in a group are the key parameters for recruitment and success. If still unable to get over the problem, then join a personality development institute for a few sessions and get rid of that inhibition factor."