The Art of Acing Placement Interviews

As the academic session for final year engineering students nears to an end, the college campuses buzz with placement interviews. It is the most unnerving time of the year, where students rush from one interview room to the other. Acing a placement interview can be tricky. You need to be technically sound as well as have a strong communication and analytical skills.
We understand that many B.Tech course students may feel extremely nervous before the placement interviews start. However, your success at the interview will depend upon how sorted you are in your head and how well you can hold your nerve.
Placement interviews are usually held in two phases. In the first step, students are screened through a group discussion round. A personal interview round follows this.
In this write-up, we will be discussing, how students should be conducting themselves in both the rounds –

Group Discussion Round
The atmosphere and the dynamics of the group discussion round can be intimidating. Students are eager to make a point, but at the same time fear being judged. Below are some relevant points to remember before appearing for a group discussion round-

Do a little Homework
The topic of a group discussion can be anything under the sun. It could be a topic that you are well versed with or an entirely new topic. However, this does not mean that you should not prepare for the sound. For starters, do a little research about the company. Go through their website, understand their business model, read the blogs/white papers, etc.
There could also be an instance, wherein the topic of the group discussion centers around current affairs or top breaking news. Therefore, a couple of days before the interview, make sure that you are abreast with all the current affair, world news, etc.

Do not Hesitate to Speak Your Mind
You are not always expected to know the right answer. Therefore, do not hesitate to speak your mind. Put across the points in clear diction. Back your answer with examples.

Pay Attention to the Body Language & Expression
Group discussion has the potential to become quite heated. There are times when you could feel very eager to make your point and unconsciously don an aggressive stance. Therefore, even for a moment do not take you focus away from the body language and expression. Sit in a relaxed manner and try to less confrontational and more engaging.
Listen
Don’t be eager to speak and pay attention to what others are saying. This is essential part of a group discussion rounds. In fact, many recruiters look for candidates who are patient and have good listening skills.

Personal Interview Round
Once you have successfully cleared the GD rounds, you will have to go through the PI round. While communication, analytical and listening skills are judged in the GD round, in the PI round your technical and managerial skills are most likely to be judged. Take a note of the following suggestions before the big PI rounds-

Customize your CV
This is the first pre-requisite to appear for a personal interview round. You need to create a very compelling and impressive CV that states the details of the projects you have worked on, internship, workshop and seminars attended, etc. Do not fabricate information, however, do customize your CV based on the Job description and the company for which you are taking the interview.

Dress Formally
Make sure that your attire is impeccable. Arrange for clothes a day in advance. Even the minutest of details about your clothing will matter. The clothing will determine that you are serious about the interview and will indicate a good start

Be very Professional
Don’t get flustered with the difficulty level of the question. Instead of acting timid, be bold and confident. Try to analyze the question and speak even if you do not know the answer. Remember, there are no wrong answers?

Be a Starters
Most interviewers start the session with – tell me about yourself? This is the first step to divert the interview towards your skills, achievement, and interests. Therefore, make sure that you have a ready answer for this question. This is the best way to take charge of the interview.

Final Thoughts
As a student enrolled for a B.Tech course, you want to land the most promising job. To improve your chances to find a job at the end of 4 years will depend upon your performance throughout those years. Make sure that you start preparing for the placement interviews at least 8 to 10 months before the recruitment seasons commence. Work on to make your CV impressive, improve your communication and soft skills. These self-help lessons can go a long way to help you.