Students’ Speak: Tips and tricks I employed for placement preparation

Group Discussion is as important as the final interview because a candidate is first screened in the GD process only. Hence, if your GD skills aren’t strong then all your hard work may go in vain.

Placement is one of the most important parts for any MBA institute and the same is applicable for a student who is pursuing an MBA programme. For me also, placements were something I was eagerly looking forward to and the preparation started for it right from the initiation of the second year of my MBA.

I always had a feeling that getting a good placement would complete my hardships of two years and hence did not want to keep any stone unturned. Finally, when I landed with good placement, it was one of the most satisfying feelings for me.

Here are some of the tips and tricks I employed for placement preparation:

• Focus on 1-2 subjects of the domain in which you want the placement: This is a very important part of any interview wherein the interviewer definitely asks the favourite subject of the domain (marketing, finance, etc.) in which one is seeking a job. The questions can be as grilling as possible and hence one should be thoroughly prepared for all sorts of questions from that subject.
• Always be updated about the industry you desire your job in: Industry knowledge is as important as the subject knowledge as it shows the awareness of the candidate. MBA is all about keeping up with the pace of the industry, hence one expects you to be updated with the same. Reading newspapers, online portals, etc. can come handy in this.
• Focus on GD: Group Discussion is as important as the final interview because a candidate is first screened in the GD process only. Hence, if your GD skills aren’t strong then all your hard work may go in vain. So, remember to follow the basic GD rules, and practice well about some of the prominent GD topics at least. The placement preparation cell can come handy in this.
• Prepare for HR questions well in advance: Why do you want to join this company, where do you see yourself after five years, etc. are some of the very common questions asked in an interview. Although the questions seem easy, their answers can be tricky sometimes. Hence, I suggest that the answers to some of these basic questions should be prepared before-hand so that you do not have to think a lot while answering them.
• Research beforehand thoroughly about the firm in which you are applying: Quoting insights about the firm for which the interview underway always gives a good impression about the candidate and shows a willingness to join the firm. Hence, never forget to do this homework as it can get you the much-needed brownie points in the interview.

I hope, keeping these points in mind, one would definitely be able to crack the interview of the desired firm with a lot of ease.

About the Author:

Anmol Gupta has studied MBA from Indian Institute of Management, Rohtak. He is working as an EA to the Directors at Inthree Access.