How to Survive first Interview as Intern and What to expect in Internship!!

In the beginning of every year, most of the companies go for hiring interns and majority of the students also look for internship opportunity in well known companies. Most companies approach Career Counseling Services of Academic Institutes to offer internship opportunities. Here are few tips for potential interns to appear their best in interview and what to expect during internship period:

1. If your CV is going to be processed by your Career Service office, make sure you inform your career office about your desired career track and what type of industry you want to build your career. Because HR, Marketing, IT, and Finance work vary depending on the industry you chose.
2. If you have Double Major make sure you know which area to focus on. It is true that you cannot build both your career in Marketing or Finance, or Finance or HR. You have to choose. If you are not sure take advice from your Career Counsel, your professor, Alumni or Family, or ask yourself the following questions:

• What you love?
• What you are good at?
• What the world needs?
• What you can be paid for?

It is a Japanese concept known as ‘Ikigai’, to find your purpose in life. As your entering the corporate world it is better to have clear idea about your life purpose, as internship is going to be part of your CV, and in future recruiters may chose based on this, so, it is better to be prepared from the beginning.

3. The screening process starts for any position as soon as the employer companies circulate their job, and candidate’s starts to response against that circular, and the CV if you are sending hard copy or soft copy in Doc or PDF format, please make sure you have formal photograph attached with your CV, and the photograph should be recent. Make sure the Doc file open in 100% view, recruiters get annoyed if your CV is opening in 25 or 50% view. Make sure your CV is in printable format, and make sure to write your ECA or Extra Curricular Activities as when we look for intern we go for those people who along with good cgpa have out of the box knowledge.
4. Many times recruiters prefer to take phone interviews, so when potential recruiters calling you make sure to answer the phone with good manners, with a formal greetings, address the recruiter as ‘Sir/Madam’, not ‘Bhaiya/Apu’, Make sure to have noise free background, avoid ‘ammms/hmms’ in your conversation, sound enthusiastic and avoid local dialect. Even if you have plenty offers from different organizations and the recruiter in phone is not the one you are considering yet be pleasant with them and say no to them nicely and thank them for choosing you for this opportunity.
5. I know it is good to be over demanded but do not sound too over demanded that your recruiters stop showing interest to you.
6. When they call for formal interview, please be really formal. It is better to take a ‘portfolio’ with you in interview, where you can show your ECA and works, projects and presentation you have did in your academic life, and use your creative brain to make it as eye-catching as possible but not too flashy. Wear formal clothes with sober colors nothing flashy or glittery. Prefer to wear heels which is manageable not those Stilettos or pencil heels. No noisy jewelry or big earings, it is better to have your hair tied, and keep your make up muted or nude. For boys avoid sneakers, T-shirts etc. It is good to have a light fragrance so that you do not smell.
7. Arrive the interview venue on time or at least 15 minutes before your scheduled time so that you can adjust with the atmosphere and have a mental depiction of the interview.

Now let’s come to the point after you join the company as an intern. I believe it is the trickiest part. As you are not the employees of the company you are not bound to follow their culture but it is expected of you to follow their culture, so the best technique is to be highly aware of the culture and people of that organization. Try to understand what way they are communicating with each other, how they are dressing, what rules they are following and try to make a mental map of this and starts to follow.

After first month everything become really easy and as you have already tasted and survive one month in corporate world.

Wish you all the best !!!!