Students’ Speak: Know tips to make a good first impression in an interview

By: Manish Motwani

Pre-placement preparation can be crucial for setting a solid foundation for your career. Manish Motwani shares some simple yet very effective tips to use your Pre-placement preparation to leave a good first impression during an interview.

Pre-placement is a very important phase in a student's life from the perspective of building a successful career ahead. The preparation done during this phase helps inculcate professional attitude in you, deal with the interviews and secure good job offers. The more hard work you put in this phase, the more it helps to get into a top-notch company with a higher salary package. So, let’s understand some simple tips that will help you sail through the grueling placement process with ease.

Pre-placement talks and gatherings are arranged usually with two contexts in mind — first, allowing students to know the corporate world and the company they are going to be interviewed with, and second, the preparations, introduction tests and personal & technical rounds of interviews. Students should have clarity about the company, it's history, background and what products & services that company offers. In addition to that, the student must also know about the job profile and details regarding it. One must always realize that interviews are not just about the knowledge and skills. Employers also want to assess your willingness to work and commitment to the organization. In many cases, students have selected basis their attitude and then being provided on the job training.

The other important aspect during placements is the presentation. A student must be formally dressed and both the male & female candidates should be well groomed. The first impression is like a canvas on which you are going to paint the rest of your interview. In technical rounds conducted in off-campus drives, too much importance is not attributed to such small details, specifically for the position of a Developer or Technician. However, it is always recommended to maintain a professional appearance and follow a proper code of conduct.

One more important tip never says ‘No’ in response to any question. The use of words such as ‘No’, ‘Don't’, ‘Never’, ‘Neither’, creates a negative impression in the mind of interviewer and reduces your chances of selection. Instead, try a different response, perhaps a relevant answer or simply express your willingness to learn it soon.

At Lovely Professional University (LPU), we have a separate division known as 'Division of Career Services' under which the Training and Placement Cell falls. The cell provides placement assistance to us in the form of Trainings, Mock Interviews, Study Material, Coding Tests, Interviews, other preparations and various formalities related to the campus drives. We are also provided with platforms such as Co-cubes, E-litmus and AMCAT where we can create our profile and secure job offers. Another important advantage for us is that if we are selected before our final year, we can go for industry work and directly appear for our exams. The classroom attendance requirement is waived off for the students in such instance.

Final words placements are very important to set a solid foundation for our professional careers. Therefore, being prepared from the beginning will help you stay ahead of others and provide a strong launching pad for your career.

About the Author:

Manish Motwani is a third year Computer Science Student from Lovely Professional University (LPU). He is passionate about counselling students and solving their career related queries. Manish is also a tech enthusiast and loves travelling to new places.