To be successful at interviews it is important to be yourself, said P.V.S. Ravindra Varma, Management Consultant and Chief Executive Officer of Career Pundits.

“If you pretend to be someone else, or employers do not see the real you, you may or may not get the job, but it won’t be too long before you are looking for another one,” he said while delivering the BL Club Guest Lecture at Nalla Narasimha Reddy College here. The BL 2013 lecture series is being sponsored by the State Bank of Hyderabad.

Varma pointed out that it was good to know the question behind the question, which ultimately boiled down to: Why should we hire you? “Be sure you answer that completely,” he advised the students.

Words, express only 30-35 per cent of what people actively communicate, he went on, facial expressions and body movements convey the rest.

Varma offered the students many tips on how to face interviews and drew attention to the fact that most often the gap between students in a competitive environment was not to with the subject.

It was to do with soft skills, or the way they expressed themselves or presented themselves to the interview board.

He had a word of encouragement for students who think they cannot speak good English: learning English and speaking fluently is not difficult. A little interest, a little determination and a little commitment is enough, he suggested. In short, equipping oneself with communication skills, engaging in extra-curricular activities and possessing self-belief and confidence are aspects a student has to look into.

> somasekhar.m@thehindu.co.in

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