INTERVIEW What To Do...

DO'S

AND

DONT'S

Know the exact time and location of your interview. Arrive early. 10 minutes prior to the interview start time should be fine. Bring 2 - 3 copies of your resume and a list of references with you to the interview. Before entering into the room, enquire by asking, 'May I come in sir/madam'. Offer a firm handshake, make eye contact, and have a friendly expression when you are greeted by your interviewer. Do wait until you are offered a chair before sitting. And do remember the body language and the posture, sit upright and look alert and interested at all the time. Listen carefully to the interviewer's question before replying. Ask for clarification if you don't understand a question. Your answers should be two to three minutes per question unless you are asked to explain it in detail. If you do not know the answer to a question, it is better to acknowledge it, rather than trying to bluff through it. If you make a mistake, don't feel bad about it. Continue concentrating on the rest of the interview. Stress about your achievements but don't say any negative information about yourself. Have a high confidence and energy level. Ask intelligent questions about the job, company, or industry. A positive attitude is the most important facet of a successful interview. Give positive answers to negative-based questions.

What Not To Do... Don't chew gum or have bad breadth (including smoking). Don't have your cell phone on ringing mode during the interview.

Don't be nervous. Be cool and confident. Don't make excuses. Take responsibility for your decisions and actions. Don't make negative comments about the previous employers or professors or others. Don't be unprepared for the typical interview questions. Don't give the impression that you are interested only in the salary; don't ask about the salary and benefits issues until the subject is brought up by your interviewer.

Cover Letter

VIGNESH.S, S.M Street, Bangalore 634234 Date : 26th October, 2008. The Manager, S.M Street, Bangalore 634234 9876542342 Dear Sir/Madam, With reference to your advertisement in The Hindu, I am applying for the post of the Software Engineer. I believe that my credentials and technical experience will make me a suitable candidate for this position. Over the past five years, I was working as a Software developer in Chennai. Through out my career, I have acquired a very good knowledge of Web technologies like PHP, Perl, .Net and Scripting languages. I was working as a team leader for various projects and have guided new trainees. Now I am looking for new opportunities in this field. I have enclosed my resume for your review. I would welcome the opportunity to participate in the personal interview to answer any of your questions and better present my qualifications. I am looking forward to hearing from you soon. Thank you for your time and consideration. Sincerely, Vignesh.S. Enclosure : Resume

Your body language can strengthen your chances of getting through the interview :

Shake hands with the interviewer(s) at the beginning and the end of the interview. Maintaining eye contact is a very important aspect. Always maintain direct eye contact. Fickle eye movements suggest insincerity. If you slouch or hang sideways in your chair, it might give the impression that you are not that interested in the job. However, sitting on the edge of your chair can come across as being a little tense and might give the impression that you feel uncomfortable. Sit up straight, and lean slightly forward in your chair. In addition to projecting interest and engagement in the interaction, aligning your body's position to that of the interviewer's shows admiration and agreement. Folding your arms across your body can be interpreted as a defensive move. It is better to let your hands lie loosely on your lap or place them on the armrests of your chair. Don't rub the back of your head or neck. This shows that you are not interested. Rubbing or touching your nose suggests that you're not being completely honest, and it's gross. Speak clearly but not too fast: a deeper calm voice suggests authority, whereas an excitable louder voice suggests a nervous personality. If more than one people are interviewing you, you must pay attention to both of them and return your attention to the person who has asked the question. Good posture and a friendly expression will indicate that you have a positive approach.

A Group Discussion (GD) is a formal discussion involving ten to 12 participants in a group. They will be given a topic to discuss. Some time will be given for the participants to collect their thoughts. Then the group will be asked to discuss the topic for 20 to 25 minutes. There will be usually 3-4 panel members to evaluate. Group Discussion is more a technique than a conventional test. It is one of the most important and popular techniques being used in most personality tests. It is a technique or a method used for screening candidates as well as testing their potential. It is to test the candidate's team ability.

Skills that are judged in group discussion

Ability of communication with others. Ability of listening skills. Ability of expressing your views. Ability of leadership. Abiility of analysis and decision making skills. Ability of Problem solving. Ability of critical thinking skill and your attitude

Notes for group discussion Try to initiate the GD. When you initiate a Group Discussion, you have grabbed the opportunity to speak, and also have grabbed the attention of the examiner and other candidates. Keep eye contact with every team member while speaking in GD.

Listen to the speech of others and pay attention while others are speaking. This makes you to get involved in the group positively. You will surely make people agree with you. If you don't agree with other's thoughts, don't interrupt them while speaking. Make some notes and clear the points when it's your turn. If you can't get a clear idea of someone's statement, ask them to clarify in a polite manner. Don't speak eloquently. You must speak in a proper tone. If any group is distracting from the topic, then simply take initiative to bring the discussion on the track. This is the best point to score max. If you disagree with the statement made by other group, deliver your points politely to make others agree with you. If you are speaking about a complex topic, explain it in a simple manner so that other members can easily grasp it. Be confident and keep positive body language. Do not try to dominate anyone. Show interest in discussion.

A conclusion is where the whole group decides in favour or against the topic. During conclusion, do end with the conclusion note that shows your leadership quality.

Resume Writing

What is a Resume? Resume is a self-promotional document that presents you in the best possible light, for the purpose of getting invited to a job interview. Why your resume is important? It's the first meeting between you and a prospective employer. Your value and your importance can be easily decoded from your resume. Use your profile design that grabs attention. What should the resume content be about? Your resume should be focused on the company's needs. Your resume should convey that you are the perfect candidate for the job. It's about YOU - how did you perform and what did you accomplish in the past jobs, especially those accomplishments that are most relevant to the work you want to do next. A good profile predicts how you will perform in that desired future job. Resume Design Follow a simple design, which gives maximum information in the minimum number of pages. Make the profile readable by using a minimum of a 10-point font for text and 11-point

for headings. Use an easy to read and commonly used font like 'Times New Roman' or 'Verdana.' Do not underline heavily. The length of your resume must have atleast 2 pages. Word Usage Simple language, lucid expression with good grammar is the thumb rule. Watch your tenses carefully. Use short and simple sentences. Never use long sentences, and never go with errors, unusual punctuation and incorrect capitalizations. Make your resume concise. Never use \"I\" or other pronouns to identify yourself. Highlight your strengths Highlight your strengths and what is most relevant to the potential employer. Every resume is typically reviewed in 10-30 seconds, so put forth the effort and determine which points most strongly support your job search objective. Put the strongest and most relevant points first where they are more apt to be read. You can have many more interviews by tweaking your resume and cover letter so that they address the specific skills that each employer needs. Experience Quantify your experience whereever possible. Only by analyzing your resume and your past contributions to the previous company, recruiters will offer you an employment in the company. Always be honest and confident about describing your career profile. Many experienced and professional recruiters can easily understand whether you are describing the truth or not. Use bullet statements when appropriate Bulleted information is more readable and tends to stand out more than the same information contained within a paragraph. But bulleted information also takes up more room. It's better to combine the two. BASIC POINTS TO BE COVERED IN RESUME Contact Information Your name, address, phone/fax numbers, and email address. Objective Form a solid, clear objective that will help you carry a focused message throughout the resume. The objective summarizes your skills and emphasizes your strengths. Education

Most of the fresher resumes do not suffer from space constraint . However, it is a good idea to include only those educational and professional qualifications which are relevant. Put your qualifications in a reverse chronological order. i.e. the recent ones first followed by the earlier ones. Entry level resume should also mention the names of their school and college, years in which they passed their board examinations. However, include only the marks in which you have shown a good academic performance. Work Experience If you have any work experience, list it in the reverse chronological order. It must include the company name, location, timeframe of work there, responsibilities and projects. Publications, Patents, and Awards List these or anything else that is relevant to your job function in this section. If you have many publications and patents, consider listing them on a separate page and attach it to your resume. Computer Skills This section can include hardware, software, programming language, and operating system experience. Other Skills and Activities This section can be used to show that you are a well-rounded individual. It can include membership in industry-related societies. It includes

Community Services, if any Leadership Activities Accomplishments Affiliations Publications or Presentations Certification/Licensure

Personal Profile Your personal profile includes name,father's name, date of birth, marital status,nationality, address and contact number.