1.

Making a weak first impression

First impression do really matter the most, it tells a visa officer how serious
you are about interview and career. Making a weak first impression restrict
conversation with you, even at the very beginning. Your impression must
reflect the kind of person you are, comfortable and confident, easy to
communicate, neat and clean, and with bundle of enthusiasm. To gain trust
on someone may probably take years but to make a strong first impression
takes few seconds. Think like you will never get a second chance to make a
good first impression. Take every chance, to present your best self, being
professional and polished.
2. Avoiding Eye Contact
Eye contact can make or break an interview. It is one of the most important
techniques to master. Eye contact portrays confidence, trust, engaging, and
professional. Having a good eye contact can be a bridge between you and
your dream. You can verbally tell absolutely everything an officer wants to
hear, but your eyes can tell completely a different story. Don’t overlook this
extremely valuable tool.
3. Saying too much
Pay attention to what you speak. The visa officer doesn’t want to know your
whole life story. Keep your answers short, focused and don’t ramble. Don’t
get sidetracked and start over sharing irrelevant information, it creates a poor
impression and cut short the interview. All too often applicants over share too
much information and eventually end up talking in circles. It’s very important
that you answer to the point and give the ball back to the officer so they can
keep the conversation going.
4. Not being thorough with supporting documentation
Your supporting documents should validate the purpose of your travel and
ties to your home country. It’s a key communication tool for assessing and
evaluating your past experience and present standing. Documentation reflects
your areas of weakness, as well as strengths, it backs up what you speak, the
facts – who, what, where, when. Showing up for a visa interview with
thorough documentation will help you feel more prepared and confident, it
increases your chances for a positive outcome.
5. Appearing to be too confident/too nervous
While you prepare for a visa interview, education, skills, prior experience and
accomplishments are apparently critical, but how you present yourself
visually is what matters most. Time and time again, it has been proved that
your outlook plays a major role in making or breaking your chances of getting
the visa. Confidence is extremely important; the danger is, if it goes
overboard, it starts effecting you negatively. Don’t tell the officer you are
great, you tell him what great things you have done. One of the best ways to
show that you’re more confident than you feel is to keep consistent, natural
eye contact all through the interview.
Remember, it’s quite natural to be nervous in a interview but don’t let it take
over you, calm your nerves by reminding yourself that you deserve to get the
visa. It’s clear that while you certainly need to relax and be yourself in order
to score high, a visa interview is not a life-or-death situation. Encourage
yourself with this fact to mentally lift up yourself before heading to the
interview.
6. Not Researching the University
Very often applicants show up for a visa interview well dressed and prepared
to answer about themselves, but goes blank when they hear questions like,
what made you to choose this university? How this university benefits you?
Arguably one of the most critical part of interview preparation is making sure
you fully know about the university you are going to attend. Digging into a
University’s past, present, and future is now easier than ever. Researching the
university will have a tremendous benefit, it demonstrates to the officer the
preparedness and your attention to details. Make sure to equip yourself with
as much information as you possibly can.

7. Fail to rehearse
Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse – I can’t stress it enough. In the days prior to
your interview, prepare a list of questions you expect to be asked, write down
your responses, then, out loud, practice those extensively. Make rehearses as
realistic as possible, have your friend ask the kind of questions you expect to
face in a interview. Rehearsing doesn’t make you perfect, but it is guaranteed
to make you better. With intense rehearsing, you will be able to polish your
tone, adjust the length of your responses until someone says, “You’re visa is
approved!”