Ready

Ready yourself
yourself for
for
Placement
Placement
 Ready
Ready yourself
yourself for
for Placement
Placement
Interview Handling skills

At the end of this session you will

be able to:

•Create a CV.
•Prepare for an interview.
•Dress for an interview.
•Present yourself .
•Deal with common interview questions
•Handle difficult situations
 Ready
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yourself for
for Placement
Placement
Interview Handling skills

What’s a good CV?

A good CV or résumé contains:
•Objective which is focused
•Experience
•Education
•Technical Skills
•Interests
•Personal details
- Name
- Mailing address including email ID
- Telephone number should be prominent.
- Mention your date of birth and not age.
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Placement
Interview Handling skills

What’s a good CV?

A good CV or résumé contains (contd.):

•Avoid spelling and typing errors.  

•Give a consistent and symmetrical look. Font style should be (12-
Point size).
•Use terms and phrases relevant to the industry. Check for
alignment , the margin should not exceed the printable area
•Make the résumé short and concise.
•Make the résumé clear and readable.
•Add a cover letter
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Placement
Interview Handling skills

Preparation for Interview

Be sure you know :
• Time, date and location of the interview
• Name of the interviewee where appropriate.
• How much time required to reach the venue - do a dummy run if
necessary. Plan half an hour before the interview time, anticipate
delays.
• Plan what you are going to wear in advance
• Take the bare minimum of belongings necessary.
Two copies of your updated résumé.
The call letter ( if you are provided one).
Reference letters or name.
A pen.
Certificates, If you are asked to bring
• On arrival ensure the receptionist knows you are there
If you are well-organised & planned for the day your confidence will increase.
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Placement
Interview Handling skills

Preparation for Interview

Dress for Success!
Some tips!

• A formal dress code is the safest.

• Have manicured nails.
• Brush your teeth.
• Comb your hair neatly.
• Wear a dress that is properly ironed and that has no stains.
• Put a dash of deodorant to avoid unpleasant odor.
• Wear minimal jewelry.
• Use sober make-up ( for women).
• Shave properly (for men)..
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Interview Handling skills

Pre-preparation for an interview

• Create/Update your CV.

• Make notes about the details mentioned by you in your CV.

• Rehearse on these areas:

 A formal introduction about yourself and your family.

 A description about your educational background.
 A description of your ambition and future career goals.
 A description of your strengths.
 Revise the content of previous semesters.
 Revise the content of any previous course mentioned in
your résumé.

Practice appropriate tone, pace, and correct pronunciation while

speaking.
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Placement
Interview Handling skills

Pre-preparation for an interview

Research about the company

• Read the company’s recruitment literature and their annual report (if

available).

• Read relevant newspapers/professional journals and surf the web.

• Ask friends, acquaintances about the organization.

• Try and speak to an employee already working in the organization.

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Interview Handling skills

Pre-preparation for an interview

Research about the job

• What does the job involve?

• What are the future growth prospects?

• What skills will I need to perform?

• What skills do I have for this job?

• What examples can I give to show that I am the perfect candidate?

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Interview Handling skills

Pre-preparation for an interview

Research about latest technology

• Find out about the latest in information technology from magazines,

newspapers and the Internet.

• Be updated about the new books in the market related to your

technology skill-set.

• Find out about benchmark companies across the world in the same
technology domain.
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Interview Handling skills

Answering interview questions

A few general rules:

• Speak up when answering questions.

• Avoid yes or no answers.
• Understand the question then answer Don't worry about pausing before you
answer
• Be as honest.
• Be prepared for hypothetical situation questions.
• Be prepared for the unexpected question
• Thank the interviewers for their time when you leave

and

• Do not forget to smile

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Interview Handling skills

Presentation and body language

Actions speak louder than word by Carole

Martin

Some nonverbal pitfalls

The handshake
Your posture
Eye contact
Your hands
Don't fidget
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Interview Handling skills

What all interviewers want to hear (and don't want to hear)

√ A highly motivated individual

× negative about yourself

× criticizing former employers and/or managers/ Institute
× talk about your skills and knowledge
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Interview Handling skills

Questions in an interview can be categorized into the

following:

General questions

Technical questions

Since Technical Questions will only be applicable for a person applying for a
technical role, we will limit ourselves here to only General Questions.
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Interview Handling skills

Examples of General questions

• Why should we hire you?

• What do you know about our company?
• How would you describe yourself?
• What is your greatest weakness?
• Do you prefer working alone or in a team?
• How do you react under pressure?
• What is your greatest achievement?
• What is your salary expectation?
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Interview Handling skills

Examples of General questions

Why should we hire you?

Sell your strong points
Skills
Academic Qualifications
Experience (if any)
Don’t apologize if you have no experience .

Stress on positive personality traits such as:

Willingness to take initiative
Having a high grasping power
Ability to work hard
Being a team player
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Interview Handling skills

Examples of General questions

Why do you want to work for us?

* Describe how your skills would benefit the company

as per your research before the interview.

* Answer not only from your point of view,

but also from the company’s point of view.
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Interview Handling skills

Examples of General questions

What do you know about our company?

* Describe what you have learnt about the company from your

pre-interview research.

* Do not mention anything negative about the company.

* Briefly describe how your skills would fit in with the company’s
objectives.
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Examples of General questions

How would you describe yourself?

* Describe professional strengths and skills.

* Use examples of incidents to illustrate these skills and

strengths.

* Do not focus too much on skills that are not job related.
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Examples of General questions

What is your greatest weakness?

There are two ways to tackle this question:

* State a strength disguised as a weakness.

Examples:
“I am fussy about details.”
“I feel frustrated when tasks are not completed in time.”

* Describe your weakness briefly, and expand upon what strategies

you use to overcome the weakness.
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Interview Handling skills

Examples of General questions

Where do you see yourself ten years from now?

Never admit that you are not sure.

Give goals related to the profession for which you are

applying.

Present a realistic plan as per your present age and

situation.
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Interview Handling skills

Examples of General questions

Describe your dream job.

Give an answer related to the profession for which you are

interviewing.

Describe a realistic situation.

Describe your strategies for achieving the job mentioned.

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Interview Handling skills

Examples of General questions

Do you prefer working alone or in a team?

Give a middle-of-the-road answer.

Reflect your interpersonal skills.

At the same time, reflect your ability to work

independently.
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Interview Handling skills

Examples of General questions

How do you react under pressure?

Describe strategies that you use to deal with pressure.

Describe an incident when you were under pressure and used

these strategies effectively.
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Interview Handling skills

Examples of General questions

What is your greatest achievement?

Describe an achievement that includes personal qualities which

would be important to the job.

Be honest.
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Interview Handling skills

Handling Difficult Situations

Difficult situations are unpredictable and can occur at any

time. The following factors could make interviews
difficult:

Embarrassing moments

Harassing moments
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Interview Handling skills

Handling Difficult Situations

Embarrassing moments

You could respond to embarrassing moments in any of the

following ways:

Ignore the mishap, and carry on with the interview.

Remember to keep your cool and be as positive and confident

as possible.
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Interview Handling skills

Handling Difficult Situations

Harassing moments

You may respond to harassment in any of the following ways:

Tactfully steer the conversation away by changing the topic.

Ignore the remark/gesture and continue the interview.

Confront the interviewer in a polite and mature manner.

Terminate the interview right away.

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Placement
Interview Handling skills

Summarize

•Create a CV.
•Prepare for an interview.
•Dress for an interview.
•Present yourself .
•Deal with common interview questions
•Handle difficult situations