Tips for Preplacement Talks for Tech Freshers

Here is a #cheatsheet for students who want to be prepared for those first interviews post-graduation.   #Interviewing is like what you’ve been doing for the last 4 years - #Learning. Learn as much as you can about your future employer as possible. How else will you know if you’re fit for the role & company?   1.     Do your homework. Study your prospective employer like you would study for your final exam. Understand how their business works. Go beyond a 101-level understanding of the company. If you’re going to commit to a company, be intimate with how their business works & what makes them successful. That means a deep understanding of their products, services, competitors, and customers.   2.    Understand the role. Like reading a syllabus before taking a class, match your skills to the position. This means having the #passion & #skills needed to succeed. Being fit for the role is a key to enjoying the job. Long-term misalignment creates stress & anxiety for the candidate.   3.    Be prepared. Have a pencil & notebook ready to take notes. Anticipate questions & have answers prepared. Jot down important pieces of information. Even though we’re in a technical age, note-taking is still an essential skill. Don’t be afraid to reference your notes.   4.    Ask questions. Lots & lots of questions. Ask 200 to 300-level questions. Go deeper to understand the specifics of the position. Ask meaningful follow-up questions. Follow-up questions show that you’re engaged & invested in the company. Curiosity is a skill employers desire.   5.    Study the market. If you’re interviewing with a tech company, be versed in technology & innovation. If you’re interviewing with a financial services company, be aware of what is trending in banking and investments. In our case, understand Drug Development and Clinical Trials. The deeper your understanding, the more appealing you are to your future employer. Have at least a 300-level understanding of the market.   6.    Know the business goals. Dig deep to understand what is required of you and make the connection with how the business operates. Have a 400-level understanding of what you will do for the company and how your role contributes to the company’s #goals. This will help the employer visualize you in the role.   7.    Practice communication skills. Work on the soft skills of interviewing. Work on body language, enthusiasm, & appropriate eye contact. Remove certain words or phrases from your vocabulary, such as “Like”, “Um”, and “You know.” Answer questions as clearly & succinctly as possible. Communication skills are increasingly more important. Even more so if you’re in a customer-facing role.   Bonus Tip: Update your LinkedIn Profile. Corporate recruiters and hiring managers will refer to your LinkedIn profile to review your experience, how connected you are, and the content you share. Be sure to make connections within the company and the industry you’re looking for.  

Interviews in tech are more about communication skills than they are about technical skills Of course, you need some technical knowledge, otherwise you can't handle trivia questions. But if you can't articulate how you used your knowledge or skill, you'll struggle to move on. Over the years, I found the most helpful tool for job seekers is structured problem solving. It took me years to understand what that meant. It's a thing people talk about but don't explain. Maybe they don't want to? Maybe they can't? All it means is you have a repeatable process to solve problems. An algorithm, if you will. For example: IDEATE I: Identify problem D: Define goals E: Explore strategies A: Analyze tradeoffs T: Test a strategy E: Evaluate results Now put it into practice. Here's how: Talk out loud This is the awkward part of the interview. Most people think quietly. Alone. Now's not the time. Speak your mind. Recap what you know Repeat the question in your words. Break down the requirements as you understand them, include assumptions and open questions. Write things down or diagram It's hard to keep all this stuff in working memory (i.e. your brain, which is your RAM). Plus, you might need a flowchart or punch list. Check-in with your interviewer Confirm you're in sync. Ask if your assumptions are fair (the f-word). Ask questions when you get stuck. They want to know how you think. -- #techjobs #jobseekers #interviewtips #interviewprep

💬 “Tell Me About Yourself” — and 4 Other Questions F‑1 Students MUST Nail You’re in the interview. You’re so close. But one bad answer can ruin your momentum. Here are the 5 questions every F‑1 student should prep for — with examples that actually work👇 🗣️ 1. “Tell me about yourself.” This isn’t your resume recap. It’s your hook. ✅ Use Present → Past → Future: “I’m currently a data analyst intern at [Company], working on automation tools using Python. Before that, I earned my master’s in data science at [University], where I led a project on churn prediction. I’m now excited to join a team where I can scale those skills and contribute to real-world products.” 🎯 Keep it under 90 seconds. No life stories. ⚒️ 2. “Walk me through a project you’re proud of.” Don’t just list tools — tell the story. ✅ Format: Challenge → Action → Result → Reflection Example: “Our team noticed weekly customer reports took over 8 hours to generate. I automated the pipeline using SQL and Python, cutting it to 45 minutes. It’s now part of our regular ops process. If I had more time, I would’ve added error logging and user dashboards.” 📌 Pro tip: Practice saying it out loud. Clarity wins. 💼 3. “Why this company?” Generic answers kill great interviews. ✅ Strong example: “I read about your team’s recent work in predictive maintenance. I built something similar for my capstone project using time-series models — would love to build on that with your engineering culture.” 💡 Tip: Research their blog, LinkedIn posts, or open-source tools before the call. 🌍 4. “What’s your work authorization status?” Say it early and confidently — don’t wait till they ask. ✅ Try: “I’m currently on STEM OPT with 3 years of full-time work authorization. I’m looking for long-term roles and happy to share how sponsorship has worked with other employers I’ve spoken with.” Confidence = clarity = less perceived risk. 🎯 5. “Do you have any questions for us?” YES, you do. Always. Ask things like: • “What does success look like in the first 90 days?” • “What challenges is this team currently facing?” • “How do new hires typically grow into leadership roles here?” 📌 Tip: Don’t ask about perks or immigration in the first round. Show curiosity about the work, not just the job. 🚀 Master these 5 and you’ll walk out of interviews with momentum — not regrets. 💬 Drop a ✅ if you’re adding this to your prep. 🔁 Tag a friend who’s in interview mode this week. 📩 DM me for a free Q&A template or mock interview group. #F1Visa #OPTJobs #STEMOPT #JobSearch2025 #InterviewTips #CareerSeries #InternationalStudents #LinkedInReady #ImmigrantStrong