7 tips to score high in campus interviews

7 tips to score high in campus interviews

The final year at college, the one that passes in a jiffy, is also the one where towards the end comes a storm of desperation to get placed as soon as you bid the final goodbye to your alma mater. Getting placed at campus interview is an icing on the cake.

You don’t have to run around job portals with your CV and there is that instant gratification of announcing to the world that you not only have a degree but also a job. Cracking the campus interview is important. Put your heart and mind into it and you save yourself the trouble that waits after.

Here are a few tips to guide you through the most exhilarating as well as apprehensive walk of your life:

1. Sorting out the resume

Your resume is the window to the first impression that the employers are going to get about you. Perfect it as much as you can. Make sure it gives a clear idea of your strengths and positive aspects. If you have had previous work experiences, get your referral or certificates attached.

Do not add unnecessary details, those of which you are not sure about. Students often make the mistake of adding extra qualities just for the sake of creating a good impression and when they are asked a few things on it, they falter.

Have a clear idea of what your resume says about you and make sure it’s the real you and not the person you want to be. Being confident about your resume definitely gives an upper hand while facing the interview. Keep extra copies of your resume.

2. Research well

Since you are reading this, we assume that you have started putting that free or paid internet to good use already. Use it further to research facts and details about the companies you are about to face in the interviews. You can find plenty of good sources that will review and offer help on the companies of your choice. Knowing beforehand about the companies you’re about to face will definitely boost your confidence. According to your field and job description, you can also find a guess list of questions that could anticipate in the interviews. Do not rely on them wholeheartedly. Those are just an insight into what could be asked. Prepare yourself for other alternatives too.

3. First hand information

Nothing better than first hand information coming from someone who already cracked the interviews of those companies which you are about to face. If there have been seniors who were selected the previous year on the campus, talk to them and know what they were questioned and based on what were they judged. Knowing what the nature of the interviewing is going to be like can also help big. You can also find these details in the past placement papers of the firm conducting the interviews. Take help from the placement committee of your college and clear all your doubts and questions before the interview. They are made to help, make use of them instead of pretending that you know it all.

4. Improve your communication skills

You know the answers to everything they are going to ask you in the interview. That is what they taught you in the last four years of college. They are not there to test your knowledge – that is clearly visible from your assessment records. They are there to know you, to know if you can be a good employee and to see if you also fulfill the behavioral requisites for the position.

Listen to the question well and if you did not understand it, say so. Take a moment to think before you answer. Appear confident and stick to the truth. You should be able to maintain a smooth flow of conversation throughout the interview if you want any chances of being selected. It is best that you start that practice in advance. Practice with your friends and in front of the mirror. Learn to maintain eye contacts. Do not sweat it out, just keep it real.

5. Subjects

Prepare your subjects well too. They are not looking forward to testing your knowledge but that doesn’t mean there won’t be any related questions. They might be looking forward to see how well you remember things under a stressful situation such as this. Do not unnecessary brag your knowledge. Stick to the point of the answers and do not try showing off that you know it all. Showing off might challenge the interviewer to ask you hardest of the questions in the toughest of the ways. You do not want that.

6. Dress well

Unless you want to show that you are a total hippie, you wouldn’t dress in casuals ever at the interview. Pick formals in the lighter shades and appear smart. Some amount of grooming wouldn’t hurt too. For women, it is sleek and smartly done hair with clear skin and a slight hint of make-up and for men it is clean shaven look with neat hair.

Do not empty the entire bottle of perfume on you. Your fingernails should be well maintained too and not the nervously chewed up type. Neat shoes always get a good first impression.

Girls should keep jewelries to the minimum and boys should avoid any. Boys should definitely skip those tacky magnet earrings for the interview unless they are being interviewed to be a model.

7. Staying calm and composed

Even if it is your first time of facing an interview, you have to put on that brave façade. It is okay to be a little nervous as it is your first time but look around, most of them are there for the first time and the interviewer knows that too.

Try to relax and stay calm or else you might start sweating even before you are sitting before the team of interviewers and that is not a good sight.

Tell yourself that it is going to be fine and that you are going to get through this. Breathe if you are nervous or have a problem talking to people. Even if the interviewer tries to trick you with questions and you fail to answer them, do not lose your calm. Smile through it and apologize when required.