Interview tips for freshers

You have completed your education and are heading towards a new phase of life. The first job hunt process brings with it a mix of emotions like fear, enthusiasm and zeal. As you enter this phase, you don’t want to goof up; rather you want things to go just right. We bring you 5 interview tips that will make the sail a little smoother for those starting out.

Clean Up those Digital Images: Yes, you had a lot of fun in college and you loved showing it off to the world. You have drinking/smoking pictures with your friends on all social networking sites, you may have made absurd racist jokes on Twitter and your facebook profile is like a college fun diary which has a mention of everything (nasty-fun things) you did in the past four years. Clean all that up. The world is becoming more and more tech-savvy and your prospect employer is not likely to have been left behind. Interviewers try and do a background check and tend to look you up on all social networking sites. Keep in mind that your future boss is unlikely to want to hire someone who portrays a too casual or bohemian an image. What was cool in college is not so cool at the workplace.

Tell me about yourself: Remember people, the guy sitting in front of you is not someone you met on in a coffee shop, if all goes well, he will be your boss/employer. So, when you are asked ‘tell me about yourself’ you make sure you come with an answer that covers the following

• 3 accomplishments, if they are related to the industry, it’s going to be an advantage. (Remember, I changed 7 girlfriends in 4 years of college is not an accomplishment!) 

• A few personality traits. (Team player and love to be busy would be nice to mention.) and

• Why they should hire you? (Showcase your passion and enthusiasm for the role and let your tone and body language complement your enthusiasm.)
If you are applying for a job in the IT industry, tell them that you like reading about the current industry trends, that you are always on a look out to learn something new and you could also mention some DIY (do-it-yourself) projects.

What is your Greatest Strength: Prepare for this one before the interview. List your strengths and try and find ways to back those traits. For example: You are a punctual person then you may want to say something like, “I don’t like carrying stale baggage, therefore I try and finish my work before time. I have submitted all my projects before the deadline date and have never been late for a class.” You could also mention something like, “I have leadership qualities, I was captain of the college football team and lead a team of four in a paper presentation competition at the university level.”
But make sure whatever you say is true; lying in an interview is a complete no-no.

What is your Biggest Accomplishment: The interview realizes you are a fresher and does not accept you to boast about how good you are at the work that you haven’t even started, so relax. If this question is thrown your way, you should respond by saying something like, “I’m at the start of my career and feel that my accomplishments and achievements are ahead of me, but I am really proud of my involvement with a XYZ project. I contributed as a __ and learnt a lot in the process.” By doing this, you make your interviewer think that you are a realistic person and by stating what you learned, you are highlighting a positive quality about yourself.

Don’t argue: The person sitting in front of you is not your college professor. He does not know you for the past four years and he is going to outright reject you if you keep negating his ideas/ viewpoint. We don’t say that interviewers are always right and yes, they may be wrong, but you are in no position to argue with them. Present your point of view like a professional and if you disagree with theirs so be it. You should try and understand their perspective and know that what he says is backed by years of experience; who said