UNIT 2 INTERVIEW PREPARATION AND GROUP DISCUSSION 

Meaning and Types of Interviews [ Face to Face, Telephonic, Video]  Interview procedure [ Opening,
Listening, Closure]  Preparation for Interview  Resume Writing  LinkedIn Etiquette  Meaning and
methods of Group Discussion  Procedure of Group Discussion.  Group Discussion simulation 
Group discussion common error

INTERVIEWS • An interview is a discussion or conversation between a candidate and a

potential employer. In common parlance, the word "interview" refers to a one-on-one conversation
between an interviewer and an interviewee.

TYPES OF INTERVIEWS • 1. Telephonic Interview - This usually takes place with either
the HR or recruitment to assess the candidate in general. This may include asking interview questions
based on the resume, roles and responsibilities of the job profile. In most cases, telephonic
interviews are the first and last stage of the interview.

• 2. Face-to-Face Interview - Once the candidate’s basic profile is screened and shortlisted, it is
processed further. The candidate and interviewer meet in person to discuss your profile. This may
include the employer, someone from Human Resources or a recruitment consultant. Based on the
interview round, you will either be assessed in general or on technical grounds.

INTERVIEWING SKILLS • Research capabilities - Read and analyse the job description
and customize your resume based on that research.

• Interview questions preparation - It is always a good idea to practice such questions before facing
your potential employers.

• Verbal communication - During an interview, employers may pay close attention to your tone and
pitch.
• Non-verbal communication - Non-verbal communication includes body language, posture,
gestures, facial expression and eye contact.

Time management - You should reach the interview venue at least 10 to 15 minutes ahead of time

• Confidence - Self-confidence is the ability to stay confident in your skills and abilities. This is an
essential skill because it shows that you have trust in yourself.

• Honesty - As most employers perform a background check on their new hires, there is no point in
exaggerating about your experience, skills and qualifications.

• Politeness - It is imperative to be friendly and polite to everyone, as it shows how well you can fit
in the organisation and work with others.

• Group discussion is defined as a form of group communication in which the participants

share ideas and exchange information on a common topic. Group discussions are widely used in
many organizations for decision making and problem solving

• In this form of communication, a particular number of people meet face to face and through free
oral interaction, originate, share, and discuss ideas to arrive at a decision or solution to a problem.

• They help to shortlist candidates for a final interview.

• Select students for admission to professional courses.

• The participants sit facing each other almost in a semi-circle and express their views on the given
topic/issue/problem.

Key Points of GD • It is not structured. • No chairperson • No secretary • Any member can give a
preview and summary • Discussion proceeds smoothly • Display of anger, emotion and excitement
has no place in GD. • Topic of the GD may or may not be disclosed to the participants.

Role of Different Skills in GD

• Leadership skills: Ability to take leadership roles and ability to lead, inspire and carry the team
along to help them achieve group's objectives. Example: To be able to initiate the group discussion,
or to be able to guide the group especially when the discussion begins losing relevance or try to
encourage all members to participate in the discussion.

• Communication skills: The participating candidates will be assessed in terms of clarity of thought,
expression and aptness of language. One key aspect is listening. It indicates a willingness to
accommodate others’ views. Example: To be able to use simple language and explain concepts
clearly so that it is easily understood by all. You actually get negative marks for using esoteric jargons
in an attempt to show-off your knowledge.
•Interpersonal skills: Is reflected in the ability of the individual to interact with other members of
the group in a brief situation. Emotional maturity and balance promote good interpersonal
relationships. The person has to be more people centric and less self-centred. Example: To remain
cool even when someone provokes you by with personal comment, ability to remain objective,
ability to empathize, non-threatening and more of a team player.

Persuasive skills: Ability to analyse and persuade others to see the problem from multiple
perspectives without hurting the group members. Example: While appreciating someone else's point
of view, you should be able to effectively communicate your view without overtly hurting the other
person.

• Problem solving skills: Ability to come out with divergent and offbeat solutions and use one's own
creativity. Example: While thinking of solutions, don't be afraid to think of novel solutions. This is a
high- risk high-return strategy.
• Structured Group Discussion: In this type of group discussion, the topic is given to the participants
by the selectors and a time-frame is allotted to complete the discussion. This is the most commonly
followed technique for a group discussion.

• Unstructured Group Discussion: In unstructured group discussions, unlike in the case of structured
group discussions, the candidates themselves decide the topic with mutual consent. This formal
method of group discussions is rarely used.

• Role Play: In this type of group discussion, the candidates are given specific roles to play in the
backdrop of a given situation. Within the framework of their role, the participants have to solve the
problems inherent in the situation given to them.

• Group Discussion with a Nominated Leader: Generally, noone is nominated as leader of a group
discussion and all participants are treated as equal. But in this type of a group discussion, a person is
nominated as a facilitator or a leader of the group. He may summarize the discussion or solutions
discussed at the end of the group discussion. Sometimes the leader is nominated by the group
members themselves.

Resume

• Resume comes from the French word, resume, meaning to sum up. This
is usually crisp and focuses on your skills.
Resume is job oriented and highlights your skills for that particular job. This
makes it easy to scan through and get an idea of your skills.

• A resume is a selective record of one’s professional and educational

achievements like formal education, work experience, qualification, and
abilities and so on.
 • “Your resume is a one-page document that summarizes your skills,
experiences and qualification for a position in your field”. Often the term
like curriculum vitae and bio-data are used synonymously for resume.
Features of Strong Resume
• Well organized: It should be well organized and integrated to present
one’s career aspirations in the field, and showing interest in the offer,
as a part of accomplishment of longterm career objective.
• Short and Precise: It should be written in short sentences and
Paragraphs.
• Unique: Giving generalized details won't help much. By creating a
unique resume dealing with organization specific requirements, one
can attract employer’s attention. It needs to cover all remarkable
academic achievements to create an extra advantage.
• Authentic and realizable: It is disastrous to give imaginative or
highly unrealistic details. One must offer relevant and realizable
things to figure out his skills in the field to provide effective and
efficient services. Thus, while building resume it is necessary to be
realistic and concrete.
• Justifiable: Resume should be clear and justifiable, covering essential
details about work excellence, and internship projects completed. For
example, if you are applying for customer service position, you can go
through customer service resume objective examples to design the
most effective objective, showcasing your talent at handling customer
service and customer relationship management functions.
• Crispy and attractive: One should Create a resume to cover his
internship experiences at dealing with relevant functions, and build
effective coordination between his career aspirations and the field
requirements.
• Professional: It should be reflecting one’s professional attitude to
solve the work associated queries and problems. Hence, it is
necessary to incorporate an objective statement, which will satisfy the
employer's interest.
• Avoid unnecessary Information: Any personal information which is
not directly related to the job target should not be included.