With the financial crisis engulfing businesses worldwide, jobs are becoming hard to come by. Job axing as a measure to cut costs has been adopted globally by companies across sectors. In such a scenario, it has become all the more difficult for first time job seekers to get their first job. Gone are the times when companies used to visit campuses in hordes and graduates were spoilt for choices to start their career. In todays gloomy time, the number of companies hiring freshers has considerably reduced. Also, fresher jobs are being offered at lower salaries. However, these times are not permanent and industry experts believe that within two years the condition would improve considerably. For freshers, the major step to landing their first job is the interview. Experienced professionals can still rely on the kind of work experience that they possess to get their next job. However, for a fresh graduate, interview is the only time to impress the recruiter because there is no past experience to fall back on. Apart from the educational qualifications, it is how one behaves in the interview that decides whether that fresher job would come his way or not. First interview could be an intimidating experience for obvious reasons but a little prior preparation can help one cruise through comfortably. Remember for all jobs for freshers, there are many candidates for the same job. So, one has to really stand out in the interview to impress the interviewer. It is important to be mentally prepared well to be able to face the interviewer comfortably. One has to be alert, fit and be able to think on the feet to crack the interview. When you get that much awaited call for your first interview while looking for a job, the first thing that you have to grab is the resume. The interviewer has selected you basis the resume that you submitted. So, ensure that you are thorough with the resume. Most questions asked to you during the interview would be based on the resume that you used. So, read and re-read your resume and be ready to back up any claim that you might have made on your resume. If you have mentioned extra skills or experience of having worked with communities, you might be asked to relate your experience to elucidate that claim. Also, all the personality traits that you have mentioned on your resume have to be substantiated with real examples to convince the recruiter. Before the interview, take some time out to understand and plan how you want to project yourself. Once you have decided that, all that you do or the way you behave in your interview for that coveted fresher job will follow from there. Suppose you want to project yourself as an aggressive go getter, then you may want to dress up in darker colors. Also, the way you shake hands with the interviewer, the words that you choose to use to describe yourself and even the way you sit and move your hands should reflect that you are a go-getter and believe in the skill of your hand. Or, for instance you want to project yourself as a quiet but confident person who knows his work and mind, you may want to dress up in light colors, use less but succinct words to describe yourself and relate examples from your background that establish that you are a confident person. Taking in an interview is like making a sales pitch. You have to put your best foot forward to convince the recruiter that you are the most suitable candidate for that job. Focus on your strengths and take the flow of the conversation in the direction that suits you. But it is important that you sound natural and not made up. You have to sound convincing and win the trust of the recruiter. He has to believe in what you say. It is very important that you do a thorough research about the company that you are interviewing for. Know the profile of the job that you have applied for and be well-informed about other latest events pertaining to that company or the industry. This will give you a sure competitive edge and make the interviewer believe that you are focused and career oriented. So, read up as much as possible before going for the interview. With these handy tips, you would be well-prepared for your first interview for that dream first job. It is just the beginning of your career and there might be many more interviews that you face in your professional journey but the first interview will always remain an experience to remember. About the Author:Geetika Jain writes on behalf of FirstNaukri.com, a leading job portal for fresher jobs in India. FirstNaukri.com helps in searching Jobs for freshers, walk-ins interviews, interviews tips for freshers, career openings for freshers in top companies. With FirstNaukri you can easily post your resume and find your first dream job. Source: articlesbase.com