• Be as concise as possible in the resume without omitting any important details. Remember that your resume is not an essay writing competition. The recruiter will read it for less than a minute. You have less than a minute to catch the recruiter's eye
• All achievements aside, your resume should be reader - friendly. Important points should be highlighted in bold. Ensure that the resume does not become too glossy.
• It is surprising to note that a number of students fail to proof - read their resume for grammatical mistakes. It reflects poorly on the applicant if any grammatical errors are found on his/her resume.
• When you write about your projects/hobbies in your resume, it is expected that you know everything that there is to know about it. If you mention that you have done a project on a particular topic and are not able to talk about it or answer questions on it, it shows the hollowness of your preparation and lack of interest in the organization
• A resume can be used smartly to LEAD the interview into your area of comfort. Else it may divert into areas in which the interviewer is very comfortable and you might find yourself clueless
• Take feedback from others about your resume. They will be able to give you an unbiased opinion.

• Research: Before attending the interview, ensure that you have all information about the company including its product range, businesses in which it operates and recent news features. Being informed revels that you are keen enthusiastic to join the company.
• Body language: Always maintain eye contact with the interviewer. It reveals your confidence. Never droop in the chair. Sit upright and keep track of your hand movements while answering questions.
• Prepare for basic open - ended questions: The interview is a process by which the interviewer can judge whether you match the requirements both academically and as a person. Generally, the interviewer will throw up some open - ended question like "Tell me about yourself". This is meant to relax the applicant. This can be used as an opportunity to divert the interview into your areas of strength. Open - ended questions like those on hobbies, achievements, etc reveal a great deal about you as a person. Treat these questions very seriously.
• Listen: Listen to the question before answering it. Understand what the interviewer is looking for. If you need time to think about the answer, request for the same. Most interviewers would comply with such a request. But after you have taken time to think, better come up with a good answer.
• Ask questions: Generally, the last question of the interview is "Do you have any questions about the company?" Use this opportunity to ask something relevant about the company. If you do not ask any questions at this point, chances are that you may come across as a person who is not keen to join the company.
• Be yourself: Do not try to be someone you are not during an interview. Be natural. An interview is a process by which the candidate and the interviewer get to know each other and the candidate's role in the organization is established. Any mask that you may don for the interview will wear down in no time.
• Mock interviews: It is always a good idea to attend mock interviews and use the feedback to improve your interview skills.

• Stay calm: It is seen that many group discussions degenerate into a fish market. This is because the participants lose their sense of calm. They panic either due to the topic under discussion or due to other participants. Regardless of what the situation may be, it is important for you to maintain your composure. Stay calm in the face of adversity is the main quality of a leader
• Meaningful contribution: Some participants enter a group discussion with the impression that the more they talk, the greater is the chance of being selected. This cannot be further from the truth. How long you talk is irrelevant, what you talk is important. Repeating the same points over and over again shows the lack of content in the candidate.
• Reaching consensus: Decisions in real life business situations are normally taken by a team. It is a case of give and take. Flexibility in your thought process is crucial. Being adamant on a point just because you do not want to be seen as backing down reflects very poorly on the individual.
  Understanding the other person's point of view is very important. If you feel strongly about what you believe in, push forth your point but in the form of clear reasons. Repeating the same point serves no purpose. It is well known that in a group discussion, reaching a consensus is extremely difficult. The fact that the group reached or did not reach a consensus is not relevant to your being selected. What is of relevance is what you did in order to try and reach a consensus.
• Be seen: Regardless of how many points you may have, unless you ensure that the group and the evaluators hear them out, they remain just what they are - ideas. To make them count you have to ensure that you are heard. Rarely will anyone gift you with an opportunity to speak. You will have to create that opportunity. And once you get that opportunity, make it count.
• Listen: Some candidates have so many points to put across that they find the time limit too short. So they end up occupying a lot of airtime. This shows favorably in terms of knowledge but is a poor commentary on team skills. In most business situations, decisions are seldom taken independently. You have to let others express their point of view.

Sample open ended questions for interviews.

• Tell me about yourself
• Tell me about your background and accomplishments
• What are your strengths and weaknesses?
• What outside activities are most significant to your personal development?
• Why should we hire you?
• What are your career goals?
• Do you consider yourself a leader or a follower? Why?
• Describe your greatest accomplishment in life.
• Describe your greatest failure in life.
• What is your favorite subject?
• What are your hobbies/interests?
• Where do you see yourself five years/ten years down the line?
• How would your closest friend describe you?
• How would your greatest enemy describe you?
• Why did you join this B-school?
• Why did you pick up this stream?
• Describe a challenging situation that you had to face and how you dealt with it.
• What motivates you?