Research Objectives

To focus on the importance of communication skills for campus interviews

 

Key Words:

Campus Interviews, communication skills, effective communication, self-improvement, inter-personal skills, verbal communication, non-verbal communication, listening skills, speaking skills, writing skills.

 

Bio

Prof. Sheelu Singh Bhatia

Prof. Sheelu Singh Bhatia is a Professor of English in one of the leading Universities of India. She has more than twenty years of teaching and research experience. She specialises in Diaspora Literature. She also studied language and linguistics. Her articles have appeared in various International Journals.

 

Subir Mandal

Subir Mandal has done MBA with Marketing specialization from Pune University. Now he is currently engaged with a Training & Placement Department at Starex University. He is also taken care of build a positive mindset of the final year students, professional resume writing, career counselor, interview preparation, guidance and mentoring the students. Trained around 1500 students from various institutions (Engineering College & B-school) and also conducted 18 workshops at various institutions.

 

Abstract

Thousands of bright students leave college each year with the intention of finding employment to pursue their aspirations. Some people are fortunate enough to land a job through campus interviews, while others must look for work on their own. Do you count among them? Why should the hiring manager choose you over your friend or any other recent graduate from a different college for the open position? You can claim that you are the ideal candidate for the position or that your academic record qualifies you for the position. The interviewer will look for more than just your academic background, though, unless you are applying for academic positions. Any campus interview has a number of selection phases that vary depending on the university and degree. Your attitude, aptitude, academic knowledge, extracurricular activities, verbal, strategic, analytical, and other skills are frequently evaluated. When it comes to interactions between interviewers and interview candidates, these are the major fields which are being evaluated. Communication skill development is a self[1]improvement process, and as such, it has good consequences on personality, mood, and overall quality of life. Communication skill development is a self[1]improvement process, and as such, it has good consequences on personality, mood, and overall quality of life. Even the most basic “how to enhance communication skills” templates will have positive results in some cases. In this research paper, we have tried to focus on the importance of communication skills for campus interviews.

 

Introduction

Any campus interview has a number of selection phases that vary depending on the university and degree. Your attitude, aptitude, academic knowledge, extracurricular activities, verbal, strategic, analytical, and other skills are frequently evaluated. When it comes to interactions between interviewers and interview candidates, we’ve developed a few pet peeves through the years in the different administrative and management jobs we’ve held. We gladly share the many lessons that these experiences have taught us. One such annoyance was reading a candidate’s résumé who listed communication skills as one of their biggest assets, but whose resume and cover letter were jam-packed with typos and a variety of other errors. We would occasionally, but very infrequently, ask a candidate for an interview if we thought they had a little bit of potential, and one of our first queries would be, “Tell about your good communication abilities.” They often started by focusing on verbal communication and hardly ever mentioned writing or listening as alternate forms of communication. When we think of “communication skills,” we immediately think of speaking and language abilities, which are academically relevant and mostly used in our personal life. We frequently disregard its usefulness and significance in our line of work and career. Effective communication skills are a need because we all need to interact. with peers, co-workers, superiors, and both internal and external customers and moreover we need good command on communication skills at the time of interview, that too, when it is for a fresher. Figure 1 highlights elements of effective communication skills.

It’s not the simplest chore to learn how to communicate effectively, especially if you don’t know how to approach self-improvement in general. Any person or a fresher can be benefited greatly from developing their existing interpersonal skills and their ability to communicate effectively. Developing one’s communication skills will have good effects, including a rise in happiness and productivity at work and at home. Increased connection fosters greater trust and understanding, which help you and those around you form more enduring and fulfilling relationships. Simply because humans are creatures of habit, many people struggle greatly to improve their communication skills. Through childhood and into adulthood, we strengthen our communication skills. They take time to develop and adapt to; they are ingrained firmly within us. It takes courage to step outside of our comfort zone and remove our armour against the opinions of others in order to make changes, even positive ones, to our tactics and ways of interacting. We have to let go of our defences and plunge headfirst into the turbulent sea of life. It is a frightening thought. People frequently find it difficult to give up the tools and protections that have prevented others from seeing them as they think they would be. They say that the first step to solving a problem is acknowledging that you have one. However, often people are reluctant to accept that they need help or that their abilities need to be improved.

illustrates a nine-step problem solving model that can be followed to help find solutions to problems. A thorough assessment of current abilities as well as a determination of where and how to make improvements is the greatest place to start when trying to improve communication abilities. The ideal way to complete this process is with a partner. Since communication skills are built from a young age, it’s possible for people to form patterns that lead to “blind spots”—areas or talents they lack but are unaware of. Other times, people acquire specific abilities earlier in life, and as a result, their personalities evolve around certain communication skills to the point when employing other skills feels like they are acting like someone they are not. However, it’s crucial to avoid taking the procedure personally.

Nobody is attempting to alter who you are; instead, they are merely attempting to provide you with more means of expressing who you are. Your ability to communicate better can increase your likeability, diversity, and emotional stability. Avoid using any cookie-cutter templates to assess or develop your communication skills; as people differ greatly from one another, their improvement process should take into account all of their peculiarities. The crucial variations come in the form of taking the less-travelled path. The consequences should all be similar, though, as a well-rounded set of communication abilities should appear almost the same for everyone. Some people will have more to learn than others, and people learn in a variety of ways and at varying rates. Some people will need to practice their abilities more to make sure they are fully assimilated into their toolkit of efficient communication techniques. Every person will also have varied schedules and time constraints that must be accommodated for this self-improvement. Communication skill development is a self-improvement process, and as such, it has good consequences on personality, mood, and overall quality of life. Even the most basic “how to enhance communication skills” templates will have positive results in some cases. Finding 45 issues or contradictions in your repertoire of actions, words, tone, or grammar; identifying them; determining the contexts in which you feel confident enough to make changes (such as with your closest friends or family); and finally putting these new or unused skills into practice could all be part of the process for you. While there are many other communication abilities that companies are searching for, the following would be the top picks. You’ve undoubtedly heard someone discuss interpersonal skills. What exactly do interpersonal skills entail? When we speak with a single individual or a group of people in person, we use interpersonal skills. It is how we interact with other people. Our interpersonal abilities serve as a barometer for how well we communicate. Any person aiming for the top should consider being successful at developing strong interpersonal relationships through good communication to be a very valuable asset. One can speak on a personal level as well as a professional one thanks to interpersonal skills, which elevates the relationship. It promotes teamwork and aids in finding common ground among workers. When talking about communication abilities, verbal communication is undoubtedly at the top of the list, but what about nonverbal communication?

Have you ever thought that before you ever open your mouth, your body language communicates extremely loudly and clearly? While you wait for an interview, it can be considered impolite or show a “I don’t care” attitude to lean back or slump in your chair. It may be a sign of anything to hide if you aren’t looking the speaker in the eyes. Crossing your arms could come across as protective or as someone who is closed off to the process.

Then there is speaking persuasively, not simply verbally. How can we tell if our communication is effective? We must first understand our intentions and purposes for speaking in order to communicate or speak effectively. If our goal is to inform, we must speak in an informative manner. This ability enables us to successfully handle daily meetings, one-on-one interactions, and brain[1]storming sessions. As they mirror their uncluttered thoughts and leave little room for ambiguity in the listeners’ thinking, clear and eloquent presenters are typically the most effective. Given that people’s attention spans are getting shorter, it is always a good idea to speak clearly and succinctly while concentrating on the most important parts of the conversation. A lot of focus is placed on the development of linguistic abilities that engage others and aid in reaching a consensus while receiving communication skills training.

Presentation is a key component of interpersonal communication. If a candidate showed up to the interview in flip-flops and jeans, especially when hiring is taking place in the hospitality industry, presentation points were automatically taken from the top of their score. Meetings, video conferences, and presentations are all part of a busy business executive’s day. It could involve presenting concepts, data, or product specifics to an internal team or a prospective customer. An effective presenter makes a presentation compelling and emotive by using anecdotes, stories, and references. Effective communication skills include the ability to positively influence the audience in order to achieve the intended result. Making eye contact with the audience, maintaining a laid-back demeanour, and adding a little humour are all crucial components of an engaging presentation. Figure 3 illustrates how individuals can dress for success.

Your character and your level of respect for both yourself and the organisation you are interviewing with are strongly influenced by how you present yourself for an interview. There are no situations that come to me when wearing flip-flops to an interview would be appropriate. The only exception would be if you received explicit instructions to dress that way.

Another important aspect of successful communication skills is active listening. This ability has often proven to be the most crucial, in my experience. Active listening should be considered a skill because it differs greatly from hearing. Everyone should develop the habit of listening more often than speaking. You can easily outperform the competition by becoming proficient in this talent and showcasing your capacity for active listening. The ability to listen, comprehends, and responds to the perspectives of others ranks as the most important skill on the list and is regarded as being extremely important in the corporate world. Listening demonstrates that you value the other person’s viewpoints, are prepared to take them into consideration, and are receptive to novel notions and ideas. A person who is actively listening will always pause while they are speaking to hear the audience’s answer, repeat it, and also pose questions to show that they are engaged in the conversation.

Even though writing isn’t always a social skill, it should be at the top of your list. When interviewers must choose who will go to the next round of interviews, it could be a turning moment in the process. Written Competencies: Social media, presentations, and email are all vital components of today’s enterprises. Regardless of the business activity one is involved with, all employees should be able to write clear and correct emails. You should be able to concentrate on the key ideas without waffle, reusing, or utilising superfluous words. Additionally, it’s crucial to use the proper tone while avoiding becoming overly informal because doing otherwise could jeopardise a perfectly good business relationship with a possible client. Proper follow-ups and closing the communication loop are two aspects of good writing that are prized in the world of clogged electronic mail. Any communication training module devotes a significant amount of time to developing this ability.

 

Conclusion

Although it was beyond the scope of this paper to delve into the specifics of the aforementioned communication skills, you must be aware of what employers are seeking when you highlight these abilities on your resume. If you feel comfortable doing so, it can be helpful to get feedback; if not, make sure to carefully watch yourself as you make improvements. As always, tolerance is key. Take your time; it could take a while for you to develop excellent communication skills the way you want them to. Any worthwhile endeav[1]our should be completed with care, , and self[1]improvement of any kind should never be rushed. The development of effective communication skills requires practice—lots of practice—just likes most other skills. Because of this, the individual must not be scared to practice what they have been working on with them[1]selves in front of others. Therefore, you need to be careful with everything. Be assured and simply strive to be yourself! You will be picked for your desired management institute once you completely prepare for your campus interview.

 

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