There are a lot of freshers out there who want to tackle their personal interviews [PI as some call it] with flying colors...well this article might be one of those which could prepare you for making a good impression and perhaps winning you the job.

RESUME

First, let's see the importance of your resume.UIf under any circumstances, your resume is going to play a key part in you interview[in cases of shortlisting and appplying through mail,resume is key],then your resume should be the best.

How do you make it the best?

well here is the answer,Don't ever copy the style of anyone's resume!.May be you can review a few resume, before you work on your own,but never copy.Because if you try to reproduce a good resume you saw somewhere,it is not going to help.The first part is maling a good objective statement in the resume.It will show you how committed you are willing to be to the job.Don't try to flatter by saying "working hard" or "to work in a company that is professional...."Just use simple english to say that you respect the company you are trying to join,and how the job is going to mutually benefit the company and you.

Never try to be general saying you would like to work in a company that offers scope to do things,blah blah blah...It doesn't impress many since all company try to offer a proffesional environment.

To summarise,the objective should be specific for the company you are applying,just be straight about why you want the job and how you are going to be beneficial to the company.and please don't start the objective with "To join" or "To work",it feels like you are answering a question try "my career objective is" or " The aim for me to apply for this...." think of something creative

The next important thing in resume is the educational qualification.There is no specific format to presenting this,it is only needed that when the interviewer wants to know about your educational qualification,he/she can review it easily.And make sure you back up any gaps that you may have during your education.

Talent is more expected than education in some jobs, so you've got to try and give importance to your talents as an individual and as a team by mentioning them in the resume.It could be in the form of personal traits,or achievements,or extra curricular activities.And the most important thing is dno't try to mention the usual traits like "i'm honest","workaholic","punctual",etc., try to present traits that are relevent to the company you are applying for.For example being organised for an accountant job is more important than being creative.So think and present your personal traits

The next thing that you've to work on is your technical abilities that are added advantage to the job you are applying for,for example you could mention your projects,the conferences and seminars you've participated in, and technical skills like progamming, handling machinery or specific software,etc.

These were the most important sections of your resume,but there are other parts too.If you know about the format of any standard resume,you'd know what are the things that are not discussed here.(And most important of all, keep the text and formatting to a clean readable layout,thinking to create decorative, don't ruin your resume!!)

Once you have a good resume, you are ready to tackle the interview easily because, since there is less chance that you and your interviewer have met each other before,the resume is going to act as a guide to knowing you before hand,and most of the time the interview would revolve around your resume.So be Careful of the information you put up on you resume,at any given time you must be able to backup you resume!!!

As for the personal interview, you've to prepare for it atleast a week before the actual day(if time is short, make sure you have ample time to prepare)because it is a great practise to get ready for the interview beforehand than tacking the interview without any preparation,since it'll place you in a comfortable positon and probably boost your confidence.

By preparation,I mean that you've to try to frame questions based on you resume and based on the company you are applying for.This might sound a bit tedious but believe me,it works!!.make sure you know your resume thoroughly and you are ready to give brief details on any sections in the resume.

• Now for the talking,behaving,and interacting part, you've to sound like you've woken up to a bright day, and you are happy to be there in the inreview.It shouldn't sound like you are sorry for being there at the interview nor should you have a voice of authority-have a suppressive,yet convinsing tone.
• And for the behaviong part,you need not be a bodylanguage expert,don't bother what people say,just act normal and try not to draw attention much by your actions.Because if you are not prepared enough,you'll start to concentrate more on how you talk,how you look,or how your voice sounds when you must be actually thinking about the answer for the question asked or you must be thinking different ways to impress the interviewer
• For the interacting part, try to be open minded, whatever the interviewr throws at you-tricky question,personal question,questuin that makes you uneasy,etc., try to be calm and think abot tackling the suituation smoothly.Don't try to argue,(unless there is a strong belief you don't wwant the job)try to react to the questions and conversations as normally as you could as if you were taking to someone you knew,because the instant you try to become defensive or too tightened up, you get nervous.

Remember,every question asked to you is an opportunity to impress the interviewer.Try to migle facts in your speech,examples that show one of your abilities.The three things that will most probably impress a interviewer are:

1. Convincing the interviewer that you are ready for the job and you are determined for that particular job
2. Showing that you've done some research about the job you are applying for,you researched about the company that you are applying for and you could relate yourself to the company by means of your motto/aim,etc.,
3. Showing why the interviwer must choose you out of the pack full of candidates that are applying for the job(sometimes called the x-factor)

That's about it.This might not be of great help,but this article should get you started in preparing for your interview.I'd suggest searching for videos,tips and comments from interviewers or employees,research on resume and the questions that might be asked duriong the interview.

These links might get you started.

http://jobsearch.about.com/od/jobinterviewvideos/tp/interviewvideos.htm