How to appear for an interview

Prof Jaishankar, an IIM Kolkata alumnus, has been there, done it all.

Calm and composed, he is the embodiment of the proverb, “silent waters run deep” and to the deep he takes his students, whatever the subject may be.

Thus, when it was announced that Prof Jaishankar will be conducting a session on how to appear for an interview, to set the ball rolling for the ensuing placement season at the Bhawanipur Education Society College (BESC), the excitement in the campus was palpable and even students who were not otherwise eligible for the placement drive wanted to attend his talk – talk of reputations preceding the speaker! The gates of the college auditorium had to be closed once the headcount reached about two hundred and what followed was indeed a mindbender for the audience.

Starting with the basics – the etiquette of the meek, the confidence of the silent and the silent signals of body language – he took the assembled students on a whirlwind orientation course, preparing the initiated for the corporate world.

One area that he singled out for special focus was the preparation of the Curriculum Vitae – the calling card of the candidate.

He rued how most candidates do not accord this vital document – on which often careers are made (and broken) – content on filling in ready-made forms that are downloaded from the net.

He showed examples of CV’s that have creativity written across them, CV’s that stand out and grab attention, CV’s that scream to be noticed and explained how with some basic tweaks, candidates can present a bio-data that provides the right data but does it with élan.

Prof Jaishanker then went ahead to hold a series of mock interviews through which he sought to and prepared the students – not only to overcome the inherent fright that attacks the first-time applicant, but also to highlight a number of small things that add up to make the difference between the winner and the also-ran.

“It was literally an eyeopener” said one student who emerged from the session, obviously excited.

“I sure am grateful to the college for providing us with this opportunity, for today, I learnt things that will last me a lifetime.

First they bring in the corporates to give us jobs in the campus itself and then they teach us how crack the interviews that are to take place – it’s like having the fruit and eating it too” he gushed.

Prof Minakshi Chaturvedi, who is coordinating the placement drive for the college expressed her deep gratitude to Prof Jaishanker for taking the time out from his otherwise hectic schedule and taking the students on a step by step guide to muster the art of appearing for interviews.

Prof Dilip Shah, the Dean of Student Affairs of the college was equally thankful to Prof Jaishankar “BESC students are known as go-getters” he said, “trained as they are to take the Bull of Life by its horns.

However, it is people like Prof Jaishankar, and the effort they put, that transform the BE-ites into champions!”