Girls are back to the lively atmosphere of colleges after puja holidays. Picture by Bhola Prasad.

Jamshedpur, Nov. 1: Come December and it?s examination time for Class XII students.

But this is just the beginning of career pangs as a series of college interviews will follow. The city schools are not leaving the students unprepared for the grilling session.

With a lot of weightage pegged on interview sessions in colleges, the schools are even using cultural events to prepare the students.

Sacred Heart Convent School recently organised a day-long event, ?Search for Ability and Nurturing Development Skills? (SANDS), where a session on mock interviews formed a crucial part of the activity rounds.

From writing the right kind of resume to taking leave of the interviewer, all the finer aspects of an interview was taught to students.

A former student of Sacred Heart Convent School and an interviewer at SANDS, Pooja Zatakia, said, ?We realised that the interviews were beginning to base themselves on the lines of the corporate structure for which students were not really prepared.?

SANDS, which has been organising mock interviews for the past two years, has decided to touch on other aspects as well

Jamshedpur Public School (JPS) principal, Lalita Sareen, said, ?We have made mock interviews a part of our school activities.?

?The interview sessions give Class XII students an opportunity to overcome fear,? she said.

There are more to these sessions than just mock interviews. Like Zatakia points out, ?The candidate is put under a scanner from the moment he enters the college or the office. Apart from strengthening the communication skills, we stress on the students? body language and how they should carry themselves.?

Though Kerala Samajam Model School (KSMS) hasn?t yet included mock interviews in its curriculum, it plans to do so from next academic year.

KSMS principal Nandini Shukla said, ?Now it is a bit late to include such sessions because the Class 12 students are busy with the pre-board examination.?

However, the Class XI students of KSMS may get ample opportunity to prepare for interviews.

Shukla said, ?From next year, there will be one activity period for group discussions and interviews.?

Principal, Hill Top School, O.A. Joseph, said they have not planned to have a class on group discussions and interviews this academic session.

?But we definitely will hold an interview sessions immediately after the board examinations. During the year, our sessions on debates and elocution have given a fair chance to all the students to help them overcome stage fear and hesitance,? he said.

The students definitely benefit from these sessions, which instil confidence in them

?These sessions make us realise how important it is to wear the right attitude for an interview, an attitude that is going to make the right impact on the board of interviewers,? said a Class 12 student of Sacred Heart Convent School, Ridhima Singh.