“Back up your answers with relevant evidence in an employment interview”, says Ms.Gurmeet Sodhi, Assistant professor,JIMS,VK-2.

The aim of any course of study is to prepare one for a profession. Once the course of study is over, the next step, consequently, is looking for a suitable job. Given the complexity of the business world today, this can be daunting if one does not prepare him/herself well for the selection procedure. While it is important for a candidate to find himself an appropriate job, it is equally important for the companies to find the right candidates for the positions in question.

Looking for the right candidate for a given job, companies have selection procedures that include Group discussions, Aptitude tests and personal interviews. In some organization, a Group discussion round is replaced with an extempore.  By and large, however, a candidate is made to sit through these three rounds before he/she is selected. Each round has its own significance in the process of selection.  An organization’s aim is to hire a candidate who is not just intellectually sound but is also a good communicator with a positive attitude and the right skills.  

Group discussion round

A Group discussion, normally the first round,  gives a candidate an opportunity to showcase his ability to communicate and persuade the panel about his or her point of view on the given topic. This is where a candidate also presents a proof  of  his analytical ability and team playing skills as also that of his general awareness.  The GD round is crucial in terms of deciding a candidate’s movement further ahead in the selection procedure. A smart candidate will, therefore, prepare himself well for the GD so that he gets a chance to try his hand in the next two rounds.   

Aptitude test

The role of an aptitude test in deciding a candidate’s professional fate cannot be discounted either. It is usually an assessment of his verbal, quantitative and logical abilities. This allows the employer to understand and gain insight into his ability to work on a given task in a certain capacity. His intellectual strength is gauged from the score he manages to get in this round. A candidate who manages to do  well  gets the opportunity to sit for a personal interview round.

Personal Interview round

Interviews are usually a one to one interaction with the prospective employer. This is an opportunity to put one’s best foot forward and explain why s/he should be selected for the position in question. The questions asked in the interview give a chance to the prospective employer to understand a candidate’s psychology as also his/her philosophy towards work. It is, therefore, important to understand not just the words but also their import. One should try, as much as possible , in this round, to give relevant answers to the questions being put up. Let us take, for instance, a question that expects one to say why s/he should be hired for a given job. The answer should be restricted to creating a logical link between the skills a candidate possesses  and the ones demanded by the job profile in question. A vague  response such as ‘I am the best candidate you can find for the position’ does not convince the interviewer.The interviewer  wishes to know the specifics and so one must have the specifics ready. Another very common but pertinent question asked in the  interviews is ‘Why do you wish to join this organization?’ The response should revolve around the opportunity one will be getting to work on a certain project or concept in the new organization. Likewise, one must make sure that any answer that one gives is backed by supporting evidence . Remember, one is hired based on what s/he can contribute to the organization using his skills and abilities. The answers, should , therefore be as specific as possible. 

Presence of mind combined with an intelligent threading of words together is key to success in an interview. We at JIMS,VK-2, make sure that the BBA students are prepared well before they face a company’s selection procedure. Regular group discussions , aptitude tests and mock interviews are conducted on a regular basis to make them ready for the selection procedure.

Gurmeet Sodhi

HOD-BBA

Jagannath Institute of Management Sciences-VK-2