As a fresh graduate, while a well-known name of a university attached to your degree and sparkling grades are may help you secure a good job, one can’t deny that these factors have to be aligned with additional efforts. Even if you are already into the professional world and seek to only switch to a different organization, and your resume has a long list of your experiences, the chances of getting through that interview are not all that fair.

Here are some tips on what all should a fresh graduate avoid in order to secure desired position in a desired organization:

• A resume is an initial document that can serve as an opening to receive a call for an interview. Make it professional; avoid using rainbow color schemes, decorations and beautifying it with accessories. Remember, it is your Curriculum Vitae and not a wedding card.
   
• Be very specific in the information you give on the resume. Your height, weight, and complexion are not what the recruitment team or the industry is interested in unless you have applied for a position in the fashion or media industry.
   
• Do not send your resume for the positions for which you are not suitable. If you are not meeting the criteria of the position advertised, your resume goes directly into the trash bin.
   
• Avoid writing emotional notes in the cover letter. You are the only support in the family, you have not worked ever since graduation, and sentences like these can help you gain free sympathies (if at all) but not the job. Be professional!
   
• Do not mention any course, training, or project in your resume that you did when you were in your early teens unless you can elaborate on it during the interview. Remarks like, “Oh! I did that course way back in my free time, now I don’t even recall what’s it all about”. Yes, you are honest, but sorry, your honesty will not give you any plus marks.
   
• Have your theoretical concepts very clear before appearing for the interview.
   
• If you have been asked about your strengths in the interview, do not just go on narrating all the adjectives that you remember from the 5th grade. Talk logically and sensible, do not exaggerate. Usually, if you say your strength is your team spirit or the ability to lead the team, then the interviewer may very well be interested to know few examples that can support your statement.
   
• Have your expectations from the job in terms of salary very clear. Do not make a comparison in the interview that “my friend graduated with me and he is being offered 10k as a starting salary, whereas you are offering me 6k”. Understand the industry difference. Your friend may have been picked up by an MNC and you have been offered 6k by a local company.
   
• When given a chance, ask the interviewer regarding the job responsibilities that you would have to take up. In case you are to be hired as a Management Trainee, be sure to ask how the Management Trainee program will run, what all you would be doing in that time, how would you be evaluated, and what terms and conditions of employment will be offered after training is over. This detailed information can be taken up at the time when the final interview is being conducted.
   
• Avoid showing your enthusiasm for the job by saying “I am a good learner” or “I look forward to good learning in your organization”. Organizations need deliverance when they invest in you. They look forward to your enthusiasm in how you transfer the learning into action for your growth and that of the organization itself. Learn to know the difference between the two.
   
• When asked, “What do you think should be the minimum time frame for an individual who is starting a career to carry on with the first job?” Be wise and genuine enough in your answer. Response like, “My teacher/friend says that do not stay in your first job for more than a year or two otherwise you will be stuck up forever. Therefore, I think the minimum time frame should be of two years”. Once these golden words are laid out loud, your access to the professional world goes onto the bumpy road. What your acquaintances and you have to understand is that why would an organization invest in you when you plan to discontinue with them in 2 years. Your answer should be more logical, and it should come from your own conviction rather than someone else brainwave.