Guidance for Freshers for Campus Placement Interviews Through the Employer’s Lens | Vinay Verma | Senior Vice President & Head, Global Talent Engine | Ascendion

Today with technology evolving faster than business strategies, adaptability is more coveted than tenure. What earlier took years to master is now changing in months, making the ability to learn, upskill and unlearn more important.

Upskilling the existing workforce, especially Gen X and Millennials is not always feasible as their learning patterns were developed in a more leisurely and predictable environment. In contrast, freshers are digitally native, more adaptable and curious about new technology. This learning agility has made campus hiring a strategic advantage for organizations. Campus hiring today focuses on adding talent that brings vitality, innovation and is future ready.

What interviewers really evaluate is not just the candidate’s knowledge but also their ability to analyse, adjust, and perform under pressure. Preparation, genuineness, and interest are valued over rote learning or overly polished resumes.

According to Robert Katz’s the three core skills for successful leaders are-
1. Technical Skills: These are specific skills related to knowledge and proficiency.
2. Human Skills: These are soft behavioural & interpersonal skills.
3. Conceptual Skills: Ability to look ahead to see the big picture, solve problems, critical thinking, ability to handle complex situations, ideas and strategies.

Together these skills form the basis of an employee’s performance and are key to selecting the right
candidates.

Technical Skills
Building A Powerful Resume
An ideal resume is clear, concise, and straightforward, it’s not stuffed with copied lines or industrial jargon. Today, AI tools can assist with formatting and language refinement, but they are useless one doesn’t fully comprehend what is written. However, one must be careful as a fully or heavily AI-generated resume can easily be flagged by automated systems.

Ensure that you can convincingly explain your projects, tools & technologies used, and the acronyms listed in your resume.

Aptitude & Technical Assessments
This is usually the first obstacle once the resume is shortlisted. These tests emphasise knowledge application, foundational skills, and analytical abilities over theoretical knowledge.

Make an honest and sincere effort while appearing for the tests, as advanced proctoring systems can easily detect violations. It’s advisable to practise with role-plays and simulated interviews, especially for the technical rounds to boost your confidence.

AI & Digital Readiness
With the advent of AI, most employers are asking, “How is AI leveraged in academics or day-to-day work? Preference is given to freshers who are savvy in AI tools, while interviewers are not looking for expertise, curious and responsible users of AI are preferred over others who are not AI native. When a candidate shows learning potential and understands the ethical responsibility around AI, it tells the interviewers that they are employable and future ready. For an added advantage, highlight use cases to showcase how you have effectively used AI in your academic projects, personal use or during internship.

Human Skills
Communication Skills
Make technical answers memorable by incorporating storytelling in responses. Practise articulating your thoughts as this is especially preferred by global companies with cross-cultural practices. Most interviewers are keen to understand how you think over what you have done.

The silent superpower is the ability to narrate past experiences as organised, coherent thoughts along with strong communication.

Emotional Intelligence & Attitude
A positive mindset inclined towards problem solving is equally important. To handle critical situations in group discussion, active listening is essential. The ability to accept past mistakes, learn from them and modify behaviour, also reflects a growth mindset.

Your degree may get you the opportunity, but a positive attitude is more important in the long run. Employers prefer candidates who use rationality, are respectful towards others, and can stay calm in critical situations.

Projects & Internships as Case Studies
Do not give in to the temptation to list all your tasks, rather focus on the problem, how you handled it, proposed solutions and what was the outcome. A seasoned interviewer can easily sniff the difference between the listed line item and the actual experience.

Add an edge to your interview by delving into the details of the internship/project and your learnings. While employers do not expect a journal of the project, they do look for details of problems solved, and the lessons learnt.

Conceptual Skills
Build the Right Mindset Before the Process
Most candidates get sucked into the pitfall of peer-to-peer comparison, often forgetting that each individual has a unique journey. Staying grounded helps avoid unrealistic expectations from the job opportunity.

Campus placement is the beginning of your career journey it’s not just a first job or the final destination. Understanding this and building the right mindset is the key to exploring opportunities, staying focused and grounded.

The Interview Stage: Presence & Precision
A balance of confidence with humility works best. A good way to structure your response is talking about the situation, the action and the outcome. Be natural in your responses and guide the conversation towards your strengths and your capabilities.

Ask Insightful Questions
Often towards the end of the interview, candidates are asked if they have any questions, this is your chance to showcase your growth mind-set.

Do preliminary research about the company, ask questions about career path, advanced learning opportunities, the company culture, and areas of innovation. These questions reflect your mind-set, alignment and long-term vision. Avoid focusing solely on compensation and benefits.

In Conclusion
Campus interviews evaluate candidates across three critical dimensions, technical skills (what they have learnt), human skills (how they work with people), and conceptual skills (how they solve a problem).

Today a fourth dimension has emerged as a key differentiator- AI Quotient (AI Q) that tells prospective employers how a candidate interacts, understands and collaborates with AI. Candidates who can blend all these critical skills are ready to thrive in an AI-powered future of work.