Preparing for interviews

By Our Special Correspondent

Initiation based on general awareness

This is a slightly difficult type of initiation. There is no limit to the questions that can be asked here. Questions may be asked regarding current affairs, both national and international, the current political situation in the country or any other important news item. For this you should prepare yourself on current topics and general knowledge / awareness. You can do this by:

· Regularly rereading the newspaper.

· Collecting information pertaining to subjects of general interest from books like India 1993 published yearly by the Government of India.

· Reading monthly magazines like Career and Competition Times, Competition Success Review or Competition Master, you will find a monthly summary of main news items in these magazines.

· Reading popular magazines like India Today, Sunday or Frontline so that general information on current political situation in the country is kept up-to-date.

Initiation through academic topics

This method of initiating the interview is based on the candidate’s academic record. Suppose your interest is in economics or biology, be prepared to answer some basic questions on these subjects.

You should know your basics and be able to explain some common or fundamental concepts of your discipline. A student of economics, for example, may be asked, “Could you explain, in layman’s language, what economics is all about?” Similarly, a student of marketing management, for example, may be asked questions on the concept or definition of marketing. A student who has specialized in personnel management may be questioned on his understanding of concepts such as industrial relations, human resource development or appraisal system. The answers here are expected to be short and precise. For such initiations you must brush up your knowledge of definitions and basic concepts of the discipline of your specialization.

Initiation through odd questions

Remember that the interviewer’s main task is to analyze your overall personality and not to trap you. He has to convince himself about your suitability for the job. He may ask you odd questions which might confuse you but they are meant to assess your behavior in a tricky situation. Some confusing questions may be, as follows:

· How did you reach this place? If the candidate says by taxi, they may ask the taxi number or the fare the candidate paid to the taxi driver.

· How did you reach this floor? By the lift or the staircase? Here, you have to be very careful. If you came by the lift, then say so because it may be possible that the lift might not be working on that particular day due to power breakdown. Sometimes they may even ask how many steps you climbed to come up.

For answering such questions you have to be alert and pay attention to detail so that you are able to give spontaneous responses.