4 Mistakes to avoid during campus interviews

Its been close to an year that I had given a couple of interviews during campus placements ( Well more than a couple infact). In retrospect, I can see that there are couple of mistakes which I had repeatedly done in multiple interviews which I should have avoided ..........

So the following post is a summary of those mistakes. Since these are what I perceive to be mistakes which may not actually be , take the advice with a big teaspoon full of salt :)

• Too much rambling:  Everyone would appreciate short and sweet conversations. But nervousness during interviews can make one ramble too much , in other words beating around the bush. Doing this shows that either one is not prepared enough or not confident enough

• Being too rigid: Last year there are couple of interviews where I mentioned that I am very much interested in Industrial Relations and would love to start my career in that area. Though I have taken caution in ensuring that I said this point in those companies with IR profiles, I now think that not many would be interested in taking a person who is hell bent on one area. A rather better answer would have shown my inclination towards IR , but at the same time open to other areas

• Missing out on areas mentioned as favourite/Interest:  In one of the interviews I mentioned a particular project I had done in one of the fieldworks is of much interest to me, but as luck would have it, I have not gone through the project before the interview and did not remember some of the factual basics from the project. My interview went on downward spiral from that point on wards ....In another interview , I have stated upfront that I am interested in IR and that's my strong area. For the best part of the interview , panel tried to prove it wrong and they were quite successful at it :)

• Leaving out the behavioural questions: This should have been a no brainer ,because most of the interviews start with the question "Tell me about yourself" . Unless answer for this is prepared well in advance there is a good chance of rambling stuff...There are other questions "strengths, weakness etc" which should be prepared well in advance

Some last words of advice : Since its a final placement, most companies would like to hire some one who will fit well into the culture of the organization. So its a good idea to have a word about work culture ( whether its an aggressive organization, kind of work done , how people interact etc) . Last but not the least, when some one asks whether one would be flexible with relocation, answer isalways expected to be YES ( unless there are genuine concerns with location)

So best of luck to every one sitting for placements  :) :)