A persistent problem lies with India’s educational system, and although it has been realized by many, hardly much has been done to improve the situation of students when it comes to facing the practical field. Among all the issues that concern our education system, one of the most important is ‘facing interviews’. Our system offers us facilities to be well equipped with theoretical knowledge but what we are unaware of is how knowledge shines when it is backed up with confidence and an ability to communicate properly. This may not have been true in the past but considering the present competitive generation, mere knowledge without any sense of carrying it off, is nothing but placid and unacceptable.
Most of the students who complete their graduation aspire for jobs in their respective fields. A recent survey has revealed that the most feared factor amongst students is facing an interview. Some of the bothering elements for fearing an interview have been found out to be – the fear of being judged, broken fluency in English, fear of facing people and the pressure of achieving expectations. There are cases where students miss their dream opportunities just because of an uncalled nervousness even if they deserve the positions. This has been largely felt yet only few Universities nurture this aspect and hardly some have discussed about an issue as important as this. However here are few tips that schools and universities could consider at their best of interests –
Setting up of Interview panels in schools
Although some might disagree on this but training students for interviews at school level is as necessary as engaging them in co-curricular activities. There are Universities which conduct interviews in their selection process of students for graduation courses. High school pass-outs who aim for these Universities or pupils who want to give government exams or even army aspirants are aware of the importance of interviews and prepare themselves for their objectives. The point is the demand for interview panels at schools have not only been felt for this particular group of students but also to help everyone learn the fundamental tricks of a winning confidence and grit from an early stage of life. Similarly, this holds true for Universities as well. A proper interview training of three to six months must be conducted at school as well as universities so that students could venture out of their comfort zone.
Engaging students in weekly discussions
Not everyone is blessed with a convincing power but the ability to deliver one’s opinion on a subject successfully is a much-needed exercise. We know how debates and Group Discussions (GDs) are an important part in selection processes. It doesn’t matter whether you are an Engineer or a humanities’ student. All that really concerns comes down to whether you can speak for yourself and present yourself in a world so competitive. A large part of the population mess up their first GDs at interviews and sometimes this takes a toll on students who lose their dream positions as a result. Holding weekly debate or discussion sessions with students offer a reduced probability of such mishaps. A continuous practice of debates and discussions enhances one’s sense of conviction, fluency, strength to fight criticism and also to counter-attack effectively.
Offering soft skills’ touch-ups
“Soft skill is a term often associated with a person’s ‘EQ’ (Emotional Intelligence Quotient), which is the cluster of personality traits that characterize one’s relationships with other people.”
Soft-skill professionals are recently in demand by students who seek such to brush up the same before appearing for interviews. This step should be taken up by schools and universities instead of letting students entreat for such professionals themselves. Teachers and Professors are wise and experienced and they know their students better. Half of the job gets easy when teachers, who are aware of a student’s strengths and weaknesses, smarten up their skills because an acquaintance leads to more promising results.
Arranging externals during training
There are schools in US and other countries where schools arrange externals for taking interviews of students through their physical presence or over video-connections. This is a highly motivating method as it helps a student overcome the panic of being judged. Much ironically, we have a subconscious insistence of impressing the opposite person during interviews and this fear becomes tricky when we deliver in front of people we don’t know. It happens because of our unawareness of the opposite person’s temperament and expectations. While verbal tests in schools and universities are important, however it is best if after a certain point of time students are made to face externals. This gives them a real taste of handling people and situations with an added glimmer of confidence.
Considering the requirement to bring a revolution in the educational system of India, at this point, each and every problem must be enlisted to be solved with a definite pace and unity. The principle lies in recognition of the root causes of issues of the system and move forward unambiguously.
