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Interviews form one of the most important stages of any recruitment process. They represent an opportunity for employers to know their prospective employees better, to identify their strengths and weaknesses, test their practical intelligence as well as their communication skills.
For freshers who are new to the corporate world, interviews can be a source of anxiety and preparing for them can seem like a huge challenge. This is because freshers often don’t have adequate training and guidance regarding how to prepare for interviews.
Let’s try and clarify some misconceptions around interviews and provide useful interview tips for freshers so that you can sail through your interview and secure your dream job.
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What Do Employers Expect From An Interview?
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The Most Common Interview Questions
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The Most Important Interview Tips For Freshers
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Prep With Professionals
What Do Employers Expect From An Interview?
Before looking at the best interview tips for freshers, it’s important to understand what employers are looking to obtain from an interview. The following list will give you an idea of what an employer or interviewer expects to get from you when you have been in called in for an interview so that you can better understand the subsequent job interview tips for freshers:
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A clear idea of how you stand out and what new qualities or skills you can bring to the organization
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A comprehensive account of your biggest achievements as well as a couple of failures where you have learned a lot
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Your people skills and management capabilities
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Your technical skills as required for the role you have applied for
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Your ambitions and goals, both personal as well as those for the organization you want to join
The Most Common Interview Questions
No list of personal interview tips for freshers can be complete without briefing you on the most common questions that you can expect to be asked in an interview, irrespective of the job sector or the role. Here are some questions, along with a guide on how to answer them:
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Where Do You See Yourself In Five Years?
Nobody can predict the future, so don’t try to be arrogant or too precise with your answer here. The best approach to take is to talk about your career goals and where the next five years fit in as part of your career trajectory. You can, of course, mention designations or roles that you aspire to, but be careful to not give the impression that you’re obsessed with personal promotions. Instead of job titles, you can choose to talk about the qualities and skills that you would like to add to your profile over the next five years.
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What Can You Add To The Organization That Others Can’t?
In theory, this is impossible to answer with any degree of accuracy, since you have no idea what the other candidates are like. However, most interview preparation tips for freshers would suggest taking a two-pronged approach. First, talk about skills that most people have but few can optimize—like the ability to work smart as well as hard, besides being able to maintain a range of professional relationships. Second, talk about skills which you possess that aren’t so common—these can be technical or involve multi-departmental and multi-disciplinary skills. Your final answer to this question should project you as a versatile candidate with enough specialized expertise.
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What Are The Values You Stand For?
This is among the most abstract questions you can be asked at an interview. For this question, you don’t have to be creative or too clever with your answer; be honest and emphasize the values you believe in. Most people tend to cite values like transparency, teamwork and integrity. In case you can locate some specific values that the organization concerned is known for championing, make sure you include that into your answer.
The Most Important Interview Tips For Freshers
Here’s a list of job interview preparation tips for freshers, covering everything from how to dress to how to negotiate when the big interview occasion finally arrives:
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Dress smartly and comfortably, don’t wear something that inhibits you in any way
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Use simple and concise language in your answers, remember an interview is not a test of your vocabulary
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Clarify a question if you don’t understand its meaning or context; never proceed to answer without having an idea of what you are talking about
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If you’re stumped by a question, try not to show that in your gestures and expressions
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Always maintain eye contact with your interviewer, be it in an in-person or a virtual interview
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Do your share of research about the organization before the interview; if possible, speak to current or former members of the organization to get a better idea of its culture and values
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Ask questions to the interviewer when you get the chance. This helps you show that you’re curious and want to absorb as much information about the organization as possible
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When it comes to quoting a salary, don’t over quote or underquote unless you’re sure it’ll give you some leverage
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Maintain a positive body language at all times irrespective of how the interview may be panning out
Prep With Professionals
Harappa's Ace The Interview course is packed with interview tips for freshers that are sure to give you an edge. Through a combination of rigorous modules, mock interview scenarios and personal analysis, this course not only offers excellent job interview tips for freshers but also allows you to keep track of your progress and self-evaluate. Enroll now and give yourself the best possible shot at cracking that interview!
Explore topics such as General HR Interview Questions, How To Improve Interviewing Skills, Pre-Interview Preparation, Successful Interview Techniques & What Is An Exit Interview from Harappa Diaries and crack your next interview.
