The Ultimate Interview Guide for Fresh Graduates

A phrase that scares the life out of fresh graduates is “job interviews.” But little do they know that interviews are the only gateway to the corporate world. Interviews are the key to unlocking the first doors to their ideal professional lives.

Being prepared for formal job interviews is indispensable, but it is simple too. With a little attention to some imperative tips, you can add a lot of ease and peace to your job interview preparation.

This advice will help you get a job offer, as well as improve your overall persona and presentation, benefiting you in many spheres of personal and professional life. So here’s the ultimate interview guide that will get you all prepped up.

Practice Makes You Perfect

It is indeed true that practice can make anyone perfect. And this perfection should come across in every interview you take, whether it is your first or your fifteenth.

• Mirror Interview: Having a little chit-chat with yourself before the interview will definitely help you. Stand in front of the mirror and enact an interview with yourself. You’ll be amazed how doing so magically improves your vocal skills and boosts your confidence as well.
• Mock Interview: Another way to practice for any interview is by going for mock interviews. Many career services offer mock interview sessions. You just need to treat them like real interviews in order to polish your skills.
• Video Interview: Record your mock or mirror interview and show it to your friends, mentors, or parents. Ask them to give their honest feedback and work on the negatives that they point out.
• Live Interview: Another way to get better at doing interviews is by experiencing some real ones. Choose some companies where you don’t really want to work and go for a real interview. This will help you feel excitement and nervousness without the stakes being high.

Do Your Homework

Not doing your homework on time can have serious consequences, meaning you’ll be rejected for the job you want.

• Know the Company: Going for an interview and not having any clue about the company will not merely leave you tongue-tied at various questions. It will also make you look like a less serious candidate. Detailed research about any company is important for giving the recruiter a good impression.
• Know the Interview Process: Knowing the interview process of a company will help you prep better for it. You can search Google to find countless blogs or search sites, such as Quora or Glassdoor, for relevant information.
• Know Your Resume: Your work does not end at creating a great resume. You also need to be thorough with it to look confident.

Here Comes Your Body Language

Your smile, your walk, your eyes and your talk—everything is important when it comes to your interview.

• Eye Contact Matters: Use the 60-70% rule when making eye contact. You don’t want to stare into the eyes of the interviewer, nor should you let your eyes wander here and there all the time.
• Keep the Smile: A single smile can solve many problems. It will not only relieve your tension but will also help ease the stress between you and your interviewer.
• Know Where Your Hands Are: Too much hand gesturing can be annoying, while keeping your hands hidden beneath the table will reflect your nervousness.
• Look Confident, but Not Over-Confident: This is the first and foremost rule in any interview. Don’t fiddle with your hair or touch your face too often. Also, do not position yourself casually on the chair. Learn the fine lines between being under-confident, confident, and overconfident.

Prep Your Speech

Having “talking points” for an interview ensures that you cover all your important skills, best stories, and problem-solving abilities in the interview.

• “Tell Me About Yourself”: This is usually the first question an interviewer asks. Have a 1-1.5 minute long “elevator pitch” talking about yourself, your skills, habits, passions, and your interest in the job.
• “Do You Have Any Questions?”: Prepare some intelligent questions beforehand so you don’t just shake your head when you hear this question. Avoid talking about salary in your answer to this question. Rather, ask about the job profile and other aspects of the job to show your interest.
• “Why Should I Hire You?”: This is one of the most dreaded and complex questions you can get in an interview. Talk about your skills and how they are a fit for the job. Master the art of answering this question to strengthen your chances of getting hired.

Follow-Up and Grab the Offer

Sending a “thank you” note after the interview will set you apart from the rest of the candidates. It shows that you are serious about the job on offer. Most people also have the tendency to take “no response as a no,” but that’s not how it works. If it’s more than a week and there’s no sign from the recruiter, don’t just give up all the hope. Instead, contact them yourself.

All the above tips will holistically improve your performance and presentation for job interviews. So just keep calm and use the above guide to get a boost of self-confidence. Stay positive, wear your smile, and you can win any position with this interview guide by your side.

Save

Save

The following two tabs change content below.

• Bio
• Latest Posts

Anurag Gupta

Anurag Gupta works for PlacementIndia.com, one of the leading placement portals of India. Anurag keeps a keen interest in ongoing placements trends in the country and has delivered many articles and blogs for both job seekers and employers.

Latest posts by Anurag Gupta (see all)

• The Ultimate Interview Guide for Fresh Graduates - April 5, 2017