Alumni Back on Campus
Students prepare for an interview without knowing what the interviewer is thinking
An alumnus who now sits on the other side of the table describes what they look at in a fresher's interview: how they read the resume, what they listen for, what makes them trust an answer. They speak as one interviewer, not for all of them, and nobody is hiring on the day.
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Most interview advice is written by people who do not interview.
Students are given long lists of questions and model answers. What they seldom get is the view from the other side: what an interviewer looks at first, which answers stand out and which sound rehearsed, and what changes their mind during the conversation.
An alumnus who interviews at work can say these things from experience, and because they went to the same college they understand the nervousness and the gaps. They also know the difference between what a fresher is expected to know and what they will learn on the job.
This is one interviewer's view. Other interviewers at other companies weigh things differently, and the speaker is asked to say so. The session is a view from the table, not a guarantee.
What the speaker is briefed to cover
32 topics across 7 areas. Seven parts of an interview, from the interviewer's side.
Reading the ResumeWhat the interviewer sees before the candidate speaks.5
- What they look at first, and how long they spend
- What makes a resume easy to follow
- Which claims they plan to ask about
- What looks padded, copied or untested
- How a project is judged, compared with a list of skills
The First Few MinutesHow the conversation starts.4
- Why the introduction matters, and how long it should be
- How the candidate's manner affects the rest of the conversation
- What an interviewer listens for in the first answers
- How a nervous candidate can settle
Subject and Technical QuestionsWhat a fresher is and is not expected to know.5
The speaker uses examples from their own field and says clearly that other fields and employers assess differently.
- The kind of fundamentals they check
- How they respond when a candidate does not know the answer
- Why thinking aloud helps
- The difference between a wrong answer and a careless one
- What they do not expect a fresher to know
Projects and ClaimsWhere interviews often turn.4
- What they ask about a project
- How they tell what the candidate actually did
- What a good explanation sounds like
- What happens when a claim does not hold up
Students are reminded that every line on a resume is a question the interviewer is entitled to ask.
Communication and AttitudeThe qualities that are hard to rehearse.5
- How the candidate listens and responds
- How they handle a question they do not understand
- How they talk about teammates, teachers and previous employers
- Curiosity: whether they ask anything back
- Honesty about what they do not know
What Counts AgainstAs one interviewer sees it.5
- Answers that sound memorised and fall apart on a follow-up
- Overstated experience
- Blaming others for a setback
- Arriving without knowing anything about the role
- Lack of any question at the end
What Interviewers Cannot Tell YouHonest limits.4
No hiring takes place in the session, and the speaker does not promise anyone an interview or a job.
- That another interviewer may weigh things differently
- That the decision often involves other people and factors
- That a rejection often gives no reason
- That luck and timing play a part
What the alumnus prepares
- A description of how they read a fresher's resume
- Examples of answers that worked and answers that did not, without naming any candidate
- Two or three questions they always ask, and why
- A statement of where their view may not apply to other interviewers
What students can ask
- What do you notice first on a resume?
- What makes you stop believing an answer?
- What do you do when a candidate says they do not know?
- How should a nervous candidate handle the first minute?
- What do you wish freshers asked at the end?
How the session runs
The alumnus explains what they look for in about fifteen minutes, then takes questions. Where time and the college allow, a short live exercise is possible: a volunteer answers one or two questions and the speaker says what they noticed, with the student's agreement and no marks given. This is not a recruitment drive; the speaker is briefed not to shortlist, collect resumes or promote their employer, and a staff member from the college is present throughout. A GullyFuture facilitator moderates and keeps the session to the speaker's own experience.
What your students leave with
- An inside view of how one interviewer reads a fresher's resume and answers
- A clearer sense of what makes an answer believable
- Knowing what tends to count against a candidate, as one interviewer sees it
- Practice questions to rehearse before real interviews
- A better understanding of how interviewers differ
- Less guessing about what the person across the table wants
Scheduled sessions
Nothing scheduled yet
Sessions are arranged with a college once a date is agreed. Ask us and we will find the right person for it.
A student rather than a college? See what is coming up, or ask your placement team to host this.
Show students what the person across the table is looking at.
Tell us who your students are and what stage they are at. Sessions are free for participants.