Students’ Speak: 11 important things to keep in mind before appearing for a placement interview

By: Nimisha

Brush up your aptitude knowledge because in many companies the first basis of shortlisting is aptitude and psychometric tests. In case the company is offering sales profile, make sure that you fill the psychometric test.

Our college has a placement and a training cell. While the placement cell is responsible for bringing companies to the campus, the training cell shows the pathway to the students about how to prepare for the companies which are going to visit the campus. Training cell provides reading material consisting of details such as company profile, job description, domain insights, etc.

Before preparing for an interview, just follow the below process:

1. Read the job description sent by the company properly.
2. Find out what skill sets and domain knowledge are they looking for.
3. In case the profile which the company is offering is of marketing, brush up your basic concepts and models.
4. Read newspaper daily and keep some facts in your mind so that you can say them in your Group Discussion.
5. Just be confident before every interview. You may not know the exact answer. But just give a try in front of the recruiter. Don't pretend as if you don't know.
6. Brush up your aptitude knowledge because in many companies the first basis of shortlisting is aptitude and psychometric tests. In case the company is offering a sales profile, make sure that you fill the psychometric test as you are good at meeting the targets, are hardworking, passionate about work, have a lot of patience, know how to deal with people and you have manipulating skills.
7. Make sure you have done some basic certifications, for example, Digital Marketing Course, NISM, CFA, etc.
8. Before sitting for the interview just be calm, read as much as you can about the company so as to understand the working of it and be confident.
9. Inside the interview hall, don't get nervous and sit straight. Work upon your communication skills, whatever you want to convey should be clear and crisp.
10. If you are an introvert, practice about, "tell me something about yourself", in front of the mirror. During group discussion, try to be the opener of the session because it would be difficult for you to jump in in the middle of the discussion.
11. You should know each and everything on your CV. Have a good knowledge of what's written in your CV. They may also ask you about the co-curricular activities which you have done during your graduation or school days. For example, if you have written that you are a champion in table tennis then you must know what is the size of the TT table.

About the Author:

Nimisha is a second-year student at IMI, Bhubaneswar. She is currently a member of Corporate Relations team at IMI Bhubaneswar wherein she deals with campus placements. She has also presented a research paper at an international conference.