six ways to ace your first job interview

Talk about your internships:
Employers take your summer internships seriously, so it's take time to stress the specifics of what you've learned. "Some grads make the mistake of expecting to be hired on the basis of their degree alone," says Ali Chambers, vice president of ClearRock, a Boston-based executive coaching and outplacement firm. "They need to remember that they are competing with many other candidates for the same job, and some will have valuable internship experience." If you haven't landed an internship, spend time on a consulting assignment, temp agency employment or internship after graduation to get some real world experience.


Understand required skills:
Simply reading the job title before applying for an open position is not enough. Go beyond to truly study what kind of skills are needed for a successful applicant. For example, an accounting job will require you to speak in detail about specific examples of your analytical skills. "Practice interview responses that include examples of how you have demonstrated such competencies and skills in the past," Chambers suggests.


Prepare closing questions:
Once the interview is almost finished, don't just walk out the door. When given an opportunity to ask questions of your potential employer, make sure you're prepared with something that is thoughtful and can help you standout, says Sheila Curran, career expert and founder of Curran Careers Consulting. "Read the [company] site really carefully and craft questions that go beyond what you see on the site or in the news."


Cite examples:
Whether you'd drawing from class projects that you've completed or other coursework, it's important to demonstrate how you can be a fit. If your interviewer is looking for teamwork skills, be sure to bring up a specific example of a senior-level project that you worked on with several classmates. Ways you've demonstrated leadership is another common area where an employer will want to hear your story.


Keep details in mind:
Everything from arriving late to being less-than-neatly dressed can eliminate you from the running. To really land the job it's important to be well-prepared and on time. With such a tight job market, even the smallest mistake can ruin your opportunity. Curran even suggests doing a test run to scope out the company's location to prevent any chance of tardiness.


Be courteous to non-interviewers:
Even if the front desk person or intern at the company looks like they have no pull, there's a large chance you could be wrong. When hiring for entry-level positions companies may ask different employees what he or she thought of a candidate. "Be nice to receptionists they have much more power than you think," Curran says.
Taking time to prepare for the interview can eliminate any pre-interview jitters. Rehearse answering questions out loud and practice telling career-related stories that could help you land the job. Having a clear understanding of what the job is can also help you better prepare. "Take it apart and pull out every aspect of the job description," Curran says. If possible, reach out to alumni who work at the company to further help with interview prep.

Source:Placement Ready - Recruitment, Assessment and 24*7 video based Training