Interview blues!

I was so nervous the first time I was to give an interview. I sat there waiting in the reception area of an elite office. The environment was new and uncomfortable. Thinking about the heavy breakfast I had been forced to eat by my mom, hoping there isn’t anything stuck in my teeth! The reoccurring thought was what if I freeze and end up saying nothing? Am I wearing the right clothes? You know what they say the first impression is the last impression! Then another thought stuck me, do I have enough copies of my resume? Did I forget to carry my passport photographs?
Well if anyone goes in for an interview like me, a nervous wreck then it is but obvious that you’re not going to get a job!
So I thought of some guidelines which might be of some help here -
1. Mostly all jobs involve a face-to-face interaction, so make sure you are confident and learn to communicate effectively. Do your homework about your potential new employer beforehand.
2. Always try to anticipate likely questions and think of valid answer’s. Do look at the company's website to find out all you can about them. Prepare yourself to ask your interviewer questions too; those obviously should be meaningful! It actually shows that you’re interested, well-informed and intelligent.
3. First impressions are vitally important, especially your appearance, even if the employer has a relaxed dress code. So make sure you're smartly dressed, be neat and clean. Especially for the girls, hair should be tied back neatly, nails should be well manicured, and preferably little make-up should be applied and no bold pieces of jewelry should be worn. This will show how much importance you give the company and the position on offer.
4. Never be late, instead be15 minutes early so you can relax, check your appearance and read any notes you may have written earlier. Go through corporate literature on display, and you can even chat with the receptionist - both can be vital sources of information about the company.
5. Make sure you know the interviewer's name and position in the company.
6.On meeting your interviewer, smile, greet them respectfully, make good eye contact and deliver a firm handshake - it will all help you feel confident and will give them the impression that you’re a strong, resourceful character.
7. Always be prepared to give a detailed verbal account of your background (they'll be testing your communication skills). Don’t make vague statements, be specific. Don’t hurry, think clearly - and take all the time you need to deliver your information concisely, smoothly and logically.
8. Place particular emphasis on your recent experience and skills relevant to the job on offer.
9. Always listen carefully and if you don’t understand a question, ask the interviewer to repeat or clarify it. You can also carry a small note pad.
10. If you don't know the answer to any question, just say so and don't be afraid to make it a point of discussion, giving you the chance to turn matters to your advantage.
11. Always be positive, and wherever possible, give positive responses to questions asked, beyond a simple "yes" or "no".
12. Before the interview ends, make sure that you have mentioned all of your relevant experience.
13. If you feel your interviewer may not have covered everything in their questioning you can always try to summarize your understanding of you understood and what they’re looking for so that you can get their agreement or clarification where it might seem necessary.
14. If you are still keen on the position at the end of the interview, reinforce this before you leave. Ask the interviewer about what happens next, when a decision will be made?
15. Most importantly, ALWAYS thank them for seeing you!
Well eventually all my experiences helped me to finally get a job, so hoping all of you out there remember these do and don’ts. All the best!

- Tanya Paul

The art of speaking the same thing in different ways

Alert: Shameless warnings against an internship which intends only to teach you a lot. Work work work alone, can make the interns a dull lot.

I Learnt a lot as an intern but what I learnt the most is the Art of speaking the same thing in different ways over and over again, yet not get tired.

‘Not all who wander are lost’ and I firmly believed the same before I decided to be an intern in a marketing company to accelerate my career. But now I don’t wander anymore, I am simply Lost. Since hours I have been sitting in a meeting. The topics have already been discussed infinite number of times. Six bored faces, one talkative guy. The pompous ass! We have been talking the same issues with different words and sentences since four hours. The agenda of the meeting is long lost but meandering discussions never cease to be. It is difficult and strenuous to keep your eyes open but you will have to show interest even if all you can think about is to dump everything, go home, take the pillow and ensure yourself a good night’s sleep. The talking never stops.

The guy sitting next to me is scribbling on a paper, making cartoons, drawing national flag, chewing the butt end of the pencil and am sure is feeling all brutal urges to bring a dead end for the chatter box. Same here! The girl across the table is deafened by the on-going noise. All three of us are interns- lost, confused and totally harassed. ‘I want to sell my idea’ so how do I go about it? Let’s begin by eating the peaceful brains of the peace-loving interns. ‘I am convinced already Sir, so spare me the trouble of this unnecessary hazard.’

Every time my boss looks at me, I will have to pass that smile of total understanding, interest, eye-full of curiosity and vigor. Hungry till the pit of your stomach you need to force yourself to take notes even after knowing that you can frame the same sentences much better than your boss. Yet, the man is known for his approach towards marketing and guess this is it all about.

Moral: Want to be the Next Marketing dude of the world? Speak, speak, speak non-sense till your mouth gets dry and your audience drop dead. It is only this unique art form that can make the door either shut on your face or open it for you once and for all.

PLACED BY COLLEGE PLACEMENT CELL

Readers,
Hear an intern’s honest confession and words of gratitude in simple realistic style.

Placed by Placement

Sitting, chatting, gossiping,
I used to cherish my lazy time.
Surrounded by my pals and best of buddies,
Wading away from all worries,
I cherished my idle time.

Café was our hot spot and
Life tasted complete wth flavored” chai” ,
Mixed with spice and” masala” from the campus.
Happening and careless, sitting and sleeping in the class
I cherished every minute of all that.

I was least bothered, I was least caring
But had to wake up from the sleep.
Placement Cell of college did the rest of it.
I was placed a position, I was given a designation.
Placement cell placed my career at a height.

- MADHUMITA

N.B. Unnecessary bunking, sleeping in class, i-pod in the ear during a heated lecture, unfinished syllabus, making the canteen of the college as a permanent address in the working hours can be SERIOUSLY injurious to health.

One Year as a paying-guest in Delhi:

We all dream to live our life independently. Same with me. The teenager that I was, I came loaded with dreams to venture the city of Delhi. A dream to live alone and experience everything, in short to “live life”! I am in Delhi, far away from home and staying as a paying guest. So, guys you might be wondering that it must be all fun to be the master of your own life, the boss. True, far from home, away from all those “do’s and don’ts” everyone is suppose to be happy and gay about it but reality is bitter. It is just not the way it seems and especially being in a metropolitan, the game turns out to be a rat-race where Darwin pokes into your mind every minute saying- ‘My son, survival of the fittest’.
We, initially think that life would be “romantic” once we are out of our house. But, let me correct all you people out there. I won’t disagree that we become more responsible once we are the master of our own tiny existence, but life becomes more challenging and difficult once the cuckoo is out of its nest.
Everyday you need to fight against your will, against your society, against laid down norms, conventional rules and hegemonised beliefs. Adding to the misery is the fact that you are a girl and you are a paying guest in a city which believes only on Speed. Their would be a constant apprehension about your roommates, tensions about an unseen ‘tomorrow’, about apparently insignificant things like food, dirty clothes, kleptomaniac roommates, sly land-lord, etc. Beside that, there would Be constant intervention from your pg owner (nothing better if she is woman), who can at times successfully make your life hell. Very few are lucky if they can survive on the pg food and trust me on it. In most cases, they’ suck’. I am not kidding. Your appetite gets ruined; you feel dizzy; look mal-nutritioned; faint in between meetings and whole day all you feel is Hungry. Anyway sounds scary but nevertheless, truth it is.
Alright, alright no need to feel depressed or anything! Please don’t. There are more stuff to scare you. The constant thought about your amazing life back home will get you out of your wits, in short, what we call as ‘home sickness’ can be a real terror. Some deny being a victim of it. But that is a plain lie, a bull shit!
My intention was at the least to scare you. Come on, I introduced you to the reality. But after reading these don’t change your mind. Against all the cons that I mentioned few things in life do contribute to your making and a Pg life can be one among them. I learnt and I learnt a lot. I know every household chore now that you can gather in your imagination. I am a stronger woman now, a person who can decide her life course all by herself and knows all the tricks to survive amidst all the odds. Pg life in a city like Delhi can make you, or break you. The choice is yours. Personally I would suggest, there is no loss in being courageous, trust me!

Madhumita:)

Got that ‘funky-ethnic’ touch in you? Intern as a Fashion Designer!

It must be a constant stress to worry about ‘what to wear’ after opening your closet every day? You stand gaping at it for hours infinite? What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about dressing for college? Something funky, punky, colorful? or something which is street smart? Let me be a little helpful here. A combination of blue mixed with green, or yellow with red or more vibrant colors mixed with proper accessories can become a fashion statement and trust me would do enough justice to kill the early morning blues of a hectic week. Most fashion columns and magazines say more about color, different style and designs, hit among the mass but then they are mostly unaffordable for us .Mix matching is an art, and it is not in the hands of many to create amazing designs out of random wardrobe stuffs yet simple ideas can create real buzz in the campus.

Well many of us are guided by the fashion designs which we see our Bollywood and Hollywood actors sporting out there. Nothing abnormal. It happens. They are trend-setters but what if the magic wand is in your hand? Bollywood and Hollywood is an inspiration. Those intrinsically designed lehangas, classy churidars, sarees , skirts, gown , dresses, and many other designs which come out from designers work becomes fashion statements and we all tend to follow it. Both Hollywood and Bollywood are known for creating amazing designs and decors, which ranges from classy , traditional patterns to funky , fashionable trendy wear.

Don't we feel at times what if we could design our own clothing and accessories? What if we could become a trend setter instead of a follower? Well, I can assure you that it is not a very difficult task. If you have some knowledge of colors, different styles and interest you can be a designer. For many, fashion designing is a lucrative career option and needless to say, fashion industry is a flourishing and happening industry for now and will remain so for the coming years. A combination of effort, hard work and interest can give you fame and name so come on, an internship in fashion designing wont do much harm. Give it a shot! Try something new.

- MADHUMITA