Interviews... putting your best foot forward - Part II

Finally the day of your interview has come, a day that you will possibly remember for the rest of your life. So, special preparations need to be made for this. On this day you have to advertise yourself, the best things within you need to be showcased. Dress up like you have done before... most importantly... dress smart. Smart dressing will make a good first impression on you. Don't forget to take all your required documents (original & photo copies) with you along with your CV. Although these days most companies give you a form which acts as your temporary CV. Do not make spelling errors or even grammatical errors.

As the day progresses you will have to go through a possible registration & then an aptitude test. Keep yourself cool, calm & focussed during the test. Do not get tensed n nervous seeing a lot of questions n too less time. Keep doing all questions you find easy & solve them as fast as possible but make sure you dont do silly mistakes. By now you must be aware of how to do MCQ aptitude questions. Sometimes, you dont need to solve the full question & you can easily check for the right answer by back calculation. Quanti section will always seem lengthy & possibly tough for some (me for example). Dont worry, do as much as possible & leave the rest to luck. Dont panic in the situation & mark wrong answers. Dont try to peep into someone else's paper or screen (in case of online exam). You may not only mark wrong answers but possibly get your paper cancelled. So just concentrate on your paper only & do as best best as possible. Ask the people present whether there are any -ve marking, if not then you can freely mark as much as possible. But make sure you calculate how much you have done correctly; the interviewer might be interested in knowing.

If you cross the aptitude test, the next round would be the interview(s) round(s), if there isnt any GD round in between. Stay calm during your interview. Dont look nervous, wipe off those sweat off your face before you approach the interviewer. Be as nervous as you want to be, but do not show it on your face. Put a nice smile on your face while greeting him/her. Do not immediately sit, ask for permission before sitting. Put your hands on the table & cross your fingers. If there's no table, just put your hands on your lap the same way. Lean a little towards the interviewer, but be seated comfortably. Do not shake your legs, arms, scratching n itching are an absolute no-no. Answer questions as they are being asked. Be confident & answer frankly, promptly & accurately. Do not be on back foot if you are challenged during an interaction. But do not unnecessarily argue with the interviewer. Make sure you stick to your stand. Do not give one word answers, explain in brief in every question. Smile when answering a funny question or while answering something like that. Use as much hand gestures as possible while explaining some answer. Do not just sit like a robot, use your non-verbal communication skills to the fullest along with your verbal skills. While coming out do remember to greet the interviewer.

The key to cracking an interview is to be confident, cool, prompt, frank answers. Remember honesty is the best policy. Whenever you get a chance, do not fail to show that you are an honest person & that you speak your heart out. Beyond this the rest is sheer luck... So good luck to everyone giving an interview; wish you all the very best.