Be Confident; Mould The Interview Your Way

Pratham Dwivedi is from English Journalism batch of 2011-12. He is currently working with Doordarshan News as Content Executive and also runs his own business.

I have heard many times that some students do well in IIMC written exam but fail to make a mark when it comes to interview. The confidence they exude in writing their answers, vanishes in the air when they go for the interview.

This happens due to the pressure of the interview and nervousness. Confidence is the key to success in any interview and you will be confident when you are equipped with information about the field you are getting in.

If you are confident, you can mould the interview your way through your answers.  When asked about your favuorite newspaper, last book your read, last movie you watched, which beat you prefer; you should name things you are confident to speak about.

If you don’t know the answer to a certain question, instead of making a guess and making a fool of yourself, simply tell the interviewer that you don’t know the answer. He won’t shoot you down if you don’t know the answer but it will definitely send a wrong message if you beat around the bush and give an inappropriate answer.

Interviewer may also ask tricky questions. For example: What is the difference between American English and British English. If asked such question do not jump into conclusion immediately. Take few moments to understand the question, and then answer accordingly.

Take care of the following before you go for the interview:

• You should be aware of all the issues that have been in news for last couple of months, the changes made in the government and the corporate sector.

• Do remember the name of the Editor-in-chief of the news paper you read. Also the name of the special pages and the columnists who write for that news paper.

• It’s very important to know about the place you come from, i.e. any river that flows in your home state, the name of the MP and MLA of the area you come from.

• Prepare a good answer for your hobby. For example, if you say reading novels is my hobby, you may expect the interviewer to ask about some writers.

• Do prepare an answer for questions such as: Which book you read last? Which T.V. serial you like to watch? Which movies you watched last? Why journalism? Why IIMC? Etc.

All the Best !