‘Your CV must be tailor-made to the requirements of the job interview’

Eshika Mantri decided to pursue an MBA program to further develop her leadership and management skills. She also believed that an MBA degree will increase the probability of bagging good job opportunities and add to her career growth. The student of Apeejay School of Management (ASM) recently bagged a job offer from HDFC. Read Eshika’s interview to know how she cracked this:

What role have you been hired for at HDFC? Did you always aspire to work in the banking sector?

In HDFC, I am placed as a Personal Banker. I have always been naturally fascinated by banking and finance. When I started college, a career in personal banking seemed like an obvious choice to me based on my personal interests and skills. Banking is a profession that offers a variety of opportunities as well as the possibility of rapid career progression. 

Tell us about your placement preparation strategy? 

So, the first thing you need to do for campus recruitment is to build a strong and crisp resume that highlights all your achievements – both academic and extra-curricular. Your CV should be tailor-made to the requirements of the job interview you are appearing for. Before preparing for an interview, it is very important that you thoroughly research the company. Doing this will help you prepare better, and will also let you know if the company is the right fit for you. Just be calm and focus on the right things. I started preparing right from the first year itself – why wait for an ideal time to start preparation, when you can start right now. Preparation for placements should begin with the first year itself. So it is better to start early then to regret later.

Did you appear for mock interviews? How does that help? 

I attended mentoring sessions and that helped me in preparing for an interview. It also helped me to boost my confidence, and to know what my strengths and weaknesses are. 

How did ASM help you in preparation?

Not only in job interviews, ASM helped me to improve my overall personality in these 2 years. College faculty is very supportive and friendly, and are always ready to help students in every step. Internship Program, mentoring sessions, extra-curricular activities helped me to develop necessary skills and knowledge that became beneficial during my interview preparation and will always be helpful in my career. 

1.Research about the industry/company well

2.Clarify your “selling points” and the reasons you want the job

3.Think positive and be confident

4.Do mock interviews, but don’t over prepare