Some General Job Interview Tips

 Take 2 copies of your CV with you.

 Wear suitable interview clothes.
 Arrive on time for your job interview.
 Any applications handed before the interview begins, are to be filled in as accurately as
possible, make sure they match the information in your Cv and Cover Letter.
 Always greet the interviewer by his/her last name and try to pronounce it correctly.
 Have a good firm handshake.
 Look alert and interested. Scan the room once and then keep your eyes on the
interviewer.
 Wait until you are offered a chair before you sit down.
 Stress your achievements.
 Always conduct yourself professionally and if something beyond your control occurs,
show a sense of humor.
 Be enthusiastic and show it in your replies and body language.
 Answer the interview question by more than a simple yes or no but try not to go over the
60 second limit.
 Avoid at all cost complaining about your current or former employer in your job
interview.
 Do not answer questions about politics or religion if the job is completely unrelated.
 Do not raise salary discussions on your first interview - this is usually done on the second
interview. Make sure you do your wage research before hand.
 Do not smoke, chew gum, or eat garlic beforehand.

Common mistakes in writing resume

Your Resume is your one chance to make a first impression from employer

So be sure to avoid common mistakes when writing your resume.

1) Using small Font: Many people use small font to get the fit the reusme in less No. of
pages.  

Make sure that your document is legible. A recommended font size is 11 or 12.

2) Spelling mistakes: Many people prepare resume in hurry and do not check whether
the resume is with out spelling mistakes or not.

Use the spell-check tool,. Be sure that there are no spelling errors, poor word choice, or
misuse of language. These mistakes are not acceptable as it might appear that you are
negligent with your work.
3) Inconsistent layout of resume:Present your resume in a consistent layout. Set your
margins evenly (right and left sides 1" margins; top and bottom). Have an even amount
of space between each heading.

4) Using someone else's words:  It can be obvious that what is written is not in your
own words when you do not speak like you write.

It is important to prepare your resume in your own words.

5) No cover letter:A cover letter should be sent out with every résumé. The cover letter
is your sales document. It will augment your résumé.

6) Unprofessional email address: Use an email address that is professional. Your

professionalism has to come through in your resume.

7) Cluttered information:Filter out information that might seem irrelevant to the

position. Be wise in choosing certain facts to be included on your final resume.

8) Using abbreviations or shortform of words:Remember your resume is a formal

document; be sure to omit abbreviations orshort form of words in your words or
sentences.

9) Long Sentences:Avoid long sentences at all costs. Employers tend to glance at and
skim resumes, rather than read them from top to bottom. To make things stand out,
therefore, you should use short sentences

10) Too Creative resumes Such as brightly colored or decorated paper (think

fluorescent) or unusual formats (distracting layouts or unusual presentations, such as
brochures). These may get attention, but possibly not the type of attention you
intended.

11) Skips the extras: A common mistake is neglecting to mention any extra education,
training, volunteer work, awards, or recognitions that might pertain to your particular job
area or industry. Many employers view such "extracurricular activities" as testament to a
well-rounded employee, so leverage such things as assets to distinguish your résumé
from the hordes of others out there

12) Resume is not bulleted:Use a bulleted style to make your resume more reader-
friendly.

13) Resume lacks keywords:Job-hunting today increasingly revolves around the

mysterious world of keywords. Employers' reliance on keywords to find the job
candidates they want to interview has come about in recent years because of
technology. Inundated by resumes from job-seekers, employers have increasingly relied
on digitizing job-seeker resumes, placing those resumes in keyword-searchable
databases, and using software to search those databases for specific keywords that
relate to job vacancies.

14) lisinting references directly on your resume:Never listed specific references

directly on your resume. List them on a separate sheet, and even then, submit
them only when specifically requested by an employer.

Even the phrase, "References: Available upon request," is highly optional because it is
a given that you will provide references upon request. If you couldn't, you would have no
business looking for a job. The line can serve the purpose of signaling: "This is the end
of my resume," but if you are trying to conserve space, leave it off.

15)  Poor photocopies:Always use good original laser prints. Poor quality copies
suggest you're sending the CV out to lots of companies because you're desperate.

GD TOPICE

1. Is coalition politics here to stay?

The following points could be discussed under this topic:
Nature of coalition politics. Indecisiveness of elections. No particular party is getting the peoples
mandate. Advantage of coalition politics in enabling formation of government. Flipside of
coalition politics- a party with a handful of seats become powerful. Government falls before
tenure. Fresh elections each time. Suggest a way out of this problem, for e.g.: once a party
pledges support to a coalition, it will not withdraw its support until it has watched a governments
performance for at least three years...etc The future -will it only have coalitions ,emerging
political trends...etc...
2. Does India need a dictator?
The following points could be discussed under this topic:
The current political structure. Drawbacks of it. Bureaucracy, layers in decision making,
anarchy. Dictatorship would mean centralized power and faster decision making. But, country
run on whims and fancies of an individual. Freedom on individuals could be clamped. etc.
...Present a balanced argument for and against and take up your position on the issue.
3. Is India moving away from a secularist state?
The following points could be discussed under this topic:
Define secularism. Constitution calls our country such a state, but how things have changed over
the last 50 years. Spread of nationalism. Division into majority and minority groups-e.g. benefits
given to minority groups perceived as a threat by others. Role of non-tolerant neighbors in
fuelling fundamentalism. It is a passing phenomenon. We have the national character to
overcome this....Points along these lines can be discussed.
4. Education in India-or the lack of it.
The following points could be discussed under this topic:
Discuss current education system. Discuss our sociological structure. Poverty which forces kids
to drop out to supplement family income. Vicious circle-poverty due to lack of education and
vice versa. Suggest solutions to get out of this-for e.g., governments are doing a commendable
job with the midday meal schemes but we need more of such efforts. Going down further , why
restrict it to government alone? why cant private people, NGOs and other voluntary bodies come
forward to do the same? How about tapping corporate funds for such causes .....etc.....
5. What ails Indian sports?
The following points could be discussed under this topic:
A nation of 950 million, we fail to produce great champions barring the occasional
Vishwanathan Anand or Geet Sethi. Sports system steeped in bureaucracy. Overriding popularity
of cricket leading to neglect in other sports. Traditionally, sports not accorded much importance
by us as a career. Need to develop sports from the primary school level-"catch em young".
Various incentives to be given to budding sportsmen like academic credits, sports in lieu of a few
other subjects etc. Development of sports infrastructure, making it amenable and
affordable...etc.....
6. The Age of Information.
The following points could be discussed under this topic:
Today a plethora of sources to provide information-Newspapers, radio, Television, Internet etc.
Information available at the touch of a button. Greater decision making power to the individual.
Also easier decision making for the individual. Information is the key to ones success today. One
who is more informed forges ahead. The flipside-information overkill. At times deciding is tough
due to too much information ...etc.....
7. Is Philosophy just arm chair theory?
(This is an example of an abstract topic which is thrown up to students once in a while by the
examiners)
The following points could be discussed under this topic:
Talk what you know about this topic . Talk of its relevance in day to day life( or irrelevance if
you feel so..). Talk of its influence in literature e.g. Influence of Kant on the romantic poets
especially Wordsworth or of Bacon , Voltaire et al on the "Enlightenment"period etc. Talk of its
influence in politics e.g. Influence of Nietszche on Hitler and subsequent genocide during Nazi
regime etc. Talk of ethics and morals and their importance in life. talk of Indian philosophy. the
Gita . Discuss whether we use any of these in our lives and their importance in moulding our
values...etc...
8. Success is all about human relations
The following points could be discussed under this topic:
The most important skill for success in to have people on your side. One can get a lot of work
done by superiority and hierarchy but one cannot be a leader of men unless one maintains
excellent human relations. Its importance not only in professional life but personal life too.
Knowledge and expertise does one no good if one cannot maintain proper human
relations...etc.....
9. Borderless worlds-Dream or reality?
The following points could be discussed under this topic:
Globalization of business. Opening up of the various economies. Cross cultural exchanges. More
and more people getting an opportunity to work in different lands among different peoples and
absorbing a bit of their values and culture. This leads to greater tolerance and understanding of
others' problems. The other side-people despite all this have nationalistic and regionalist
chauvinism . A world divided into first, second and third worlds. People still talk of "their"
economy and not world economy. Europe has shown a step in this direction with EU but its
feasibility remains to be seen. So while people clamor for globalization, they still think only in
terms of their national interests...etc...
10. Quality is a myth in India.
The following points could be discussed under this topic:
The Indian products and manufacturing techniques. Why are we unable to sustain against global
competition. Our mindset towards quality. Indian attitude of "chalta hai" which leads to an
undemanding customer which in turn lets people get away with substandard products and
services. Today competition is forcing our industry to adhere to global standards so we are
getting there in terms of quality. Examples of our software industry which is recognized for its
ability to meet global standards etc. Since the topic is general, we can extrapolate it to our quality
of life-the air, the water, the facilities we have, the infrastructure we have, the services we get
and put up with etc.