In India, lakhs of MBA graduate students pass out every year with distinction. Then, there are MBA students from various categories: full-time, part-time and distance MBA and Online MBA in India from top institutes, colleges and Universities. According to a report, there are 5000 management institutes in India and 3,00,000 students cleared MBA every year. However, only 45% of MBA students found jobs. Then, do not forget the number of management business graduates that pass out each and every year across the world where India has the second largest number of MBA graduates in the world!

If you are a Master of Business Administration (MBA) graduate student looking for your first job, you have to face tough competition from your peers in the globally available job markets. Getting a UGC and DEB accredited degree from University and the necessary employability skills both are the basic requirements, for your first step towards getting a landing first job and clearing the written and interview round for an offer letter. An interview is an overall assessment of your qualification, skills, and experience which is best fit for the available market jobs.

Here are some useful interview tips, and techniques to bear in mind for your coming next interview.

Brush Up Your Skills
The interviewer may ask you questions related to your course subject and your past expertise. So, whether you have completed MBA in marketing, finance, human resources, operations, hospitals, IT, or any other field, you need to be aware of the fundamentals and what you studied during the course. 

Stay Abreast with Current Trends
Now the business world is so dynamic and digital that everything changes in every few months. What they taught you in your MBA courses may either be no longer relevant anymore, due to volatile market conditions or some new technological or situational developments may have taken place between the time you passed out from your university and appeared for an interview. So, keep yourself updated with the latest market trends and understand the best business, sales and marketing practices in your field. Learn the latest industry-specific case study. In this way, if the interviewer asks you questions related to current developments and market conditions, you would be able to answer like a pro.

Know the Company
Don’t land at the interview venue without doing some background research on the company and make and notes. Visit the company website, its Google local listing, LinkedIn profile, Twitter page, employee review website and other social media handles. Go through regular and past employee reviews and online testimonials to understand the work culture of the organisations. Learn about the product and services offered by the company with customer service response. Read the brief job description of your profile thoroughly and try to establish a company’s expectations of you as per your knowledge.

Pay Attention to Grooming
If you were the chief interviewer or HR Manager and a candidate walked in dressed shabbily, what is the first impression you will get in mind about candidates? Now, reverse the roles think about them and practice them well. A well-groomed candidate from head to toe creates a good first impression on interviewers for a long time and set an example for others. The interview board should understand that you have made a sincere effort to present yourself honestly. Moreover, it instils a sense of feel-good confidence, something you require in abundance both before and during the interview!

Body Language and Manners
When sitting in an interview, be attentive to your body language. Do you have your hand in your pockets? Is your handshake cold? Are you avoiding eye contact? These all are the nervousness signs that you are sending the wrong signals to the interviewers. At the same time, your manners should also be very polite and active. For example, simple words like 'Hello' 'Please' and 'Thank you' can go a long way in establishing your first impression while communicating.

Prepare Your Answers
It's impossible to anticipate every single question that may be thrown your way during the interview. Some common questions which may be asked practice it more:

Tell me something about yourself.
What is the reason behind your desire to join our company as an employee?
Why should we hire you?
What are your strengths and weaknesses?
What are your future plans?
There might also be some unconventional questions – seemingly out of context, yet they serve to provide valuable insights into your background and capabilities. 

Some of these below questions you can also prepare:

Who is the present business leader that inspires you the most, and what are the reasons behind your admiration?
Which is your favourite book and why?
If you could embody an animal, which one would you choose to be and why?
Which are your favourite places and why?

Listen Attentively
Be confident at times, interview candidates tend to speak more and listen less out of excitement and to prove their worth and control emotions of your presence. Hold on to yourself and don't be more talkative. The most important element of good communication skills is how good a listener you are with clear understanding. It shows that you are a patient logical thinker and good presenter. Before giving an answer, listen to the complete question and then give your answer and if there is doubt ask it again.

Ask Questions
It is not uncommon to ask questions to the interviewer at the end of the interview it creates good impressions. Apart from your salary expectations and job profile, you can question the interviewers about the company culture, timings, the allowed to work from home, perks, and any other factor that matters to you while accepting, holding or rejecting the job. Asking questions only indicates that you have come well-prepared for your job. However, do not overstep the HR Personals by posing too many personal or irrelevant questions.

Whether you have an Online, Campus or Distance MBA in India, the interview challenge remains the same for everyone as tuff market conditions.