Every person should have the ability to stand on one's own feet. This is generally possible only if one is economically independent. Every student aspires to get selected for a job of his / her choice. But not everybody is successful. In this article, the student is offered a know-how of success in interviews. Right preparation will enable the student to develop a confidence that will ultimately lead to success.

Physical preparations include looking after health and hygiene, maintaining a groomed appearance, dressing appropriately, good body language, etc.

Good health radiates confidence and cheer. A healthy person not only looks attractive but he /she is more energetic and fit to face the challenges of a tough situation. Prospective employers want to employ candidates who can put in a lot of work. Good health in a person definitely gives the required impression. But good health cannot be created overnight. One has to develop healthy, simple, home-made food-eating habits as well as to include some kind of suitable exercises in ones daily routine.

A clean, neat and tidy appearance also sends out positive vibes. In any competitive situation, a person with a neat appearance is likely to score over another competitor who has an untidy and disheveled appearance. Well maintained skin-texture, neatly-clipped nails and neatly combed hair can go a long way to create a good impression.

Dressing appropriately and according to the occasion is important. Depending on the position applied for, one has to select the attire. For e.g. the way a candidate may dress for an interview for the post of a college teacher will be vastly different from the way a candidate is expected to dress up for an interview for a job with a modeling agency or a media-company.

Along with dress, accessories are important. What shoes we wear, what bag we carry etc. , all add to our appearance. It must be remembered that it is better to carry one's documents in a brief-case or folder rather than a plastic bag which looks very shabby and extremely unprofessional.

Not only what we look like, but also how we carry ourselves makes a big difference. Posture is important, but cannot be cultivated overnight. It has been suggested by experienced persons that preparations for interviews should begin at least three months in advance. Watching one's own self critically in the mirror or video could suggest required changes in body-language.

Candidates who desire to get selected in the face of stiff competition need to appear before the interview panel fully prepared on subject content. This includes a thorough revision of actual subject knowledge especially if it is work related. Getting acquainted with current affairs and general knowledge is also a good idea. For this a habit of reading newspapers and watching news on television as well as inculcating reading habits is a must. This, again, cannot be done overnight but should be started at least three years before one hopes to appear before the selection committee. Awareness about the organization one hopes to join should also help.

Usually selection interviews begin with the candidate being asked to introduce and tell the panel something about him/ her. This is the time when the interviewee can utilize to the maximum and project an optimum image of himself/herself. Since this question is invariably asked at any and every interview, one should give a lot of time and take a lot of care while preparing this part.

Another common question asked to the candidate is "Why do you think that you are suitable for this job?" A confident self-assessment of one's strengths and weaknesses is required for a suitable answer to this question.

An interview for a job becomes a situation with much at stake and is bound to be stressful. At such times, a strong, balanced, positive and confident mind helps to come out calmly, without much damage to self-esteem. It is imperative to remember during this time that it is not a matter of life and death to get selected in any one particular interview. Each interview should be taken as a learning process in order to do better in the next one. Learning from the experiences of the last interview, one can prepare better for the ones to come. In the first few interviews, the candidate is bound to get nervous. But if he / she accept this as a natural phenomenon, he / she will see that as the interview progresses, the nervousness also fades out. If the candidate has made a good mental preparation, the ability to answer questions will hold out in good stead. The recommended attitude should be to give one's best performance, irrespective of results. It is only thinking about success or failure at the end of the interview that makes one nervous.

The best example illustrating this is about the young man who wanted this one particular job desperately. He had come well prepared, but his desperation to get selected made him so nervous that during the course of the interview, he became clumsy and spilled coffee on the shirt of the selection committee chairman. The moment he realized this, he became absolutely certain that he had lost every chance of getting selected. Once this realization hit him, his nervousness left him because he was completely sure that now there was no sense in worrying about this particular interview any more. This in turn made him so relaxed that the ease with which he answered the questions put to him impressed the interviewers very much and he got the job.

A good and honest self-assessment should also be made well in advance so that one is fairly confident about one's strengths and aware of one's weaknesses. Awareness of our weaknesses is useful if we want to address them and make ourselves stronger not just for the interview but for life also. The help of well-wishers like close family-members and friends could be taken here.

Facing the interview panel after all these preparations becomes easier. At the time of the interview, courtesy and mannerisms are also of utmost importance if one wishes to create a good impression. The candidate is under the scrutiny of the interviewers right from the time of entry into the room to the time of exit. One has to be prepared before hand that the room and seating arrangement will be unfamiliar, the persons on the other side of the table will be unfamiliar and still one should not appear to be uneasy. How the candidate walks in, how he sits down, his body language etc. are all taken into account. While answering questions, care must be taken not to appear too clumsy or overconfident. Eye-contact should be maintained with the persons spoken too. A pleasant demeanor is the right choice in this situation.

After answering questions, the candidate may ask a few questions if he / she pleases. The courtesy and politeness with which this is done without appearing to be rude and demanding is of utmost importance. Questions asked may be about work prospects, salary, benefits etc. The candidate must keep a set of such questions handy. This indicates the interest that the candidate has in the organization and the job.

When the interview is over, the candidate should thank the interviewers and rise from the chair comfortably and easily. He /she should wish the interviewers a good day, walk to the door, open it and exit. All this is done under the scrutiny of the interviewers, so the candidate must be careful not to appear clumsy.