Ok, so now you’d dropped your resume, and you’ve been pre-selected for your first interview. The first interview lasts 30 minutes. A natural thought progression is: I’ve got 30 minutes to wow this person, so I’m going to just talk, talk, talk about all the ways I’m perfect for them. This is a poor way to interview.
There are three types of interviews. The case based interview asks you to apply some basic knowledge to work through a problem for the interviewer. This is supposed to show how well you reason through things. The behavioral interview is designed to see how you react to certain situations. You’ll know you are in one of these if you start getting questions like, “Tell me about a time when you were a leader…” Finally, there is what I call the ad hoc. That is where the interviewer has no real plan, and just plans on reviewing your resume and chatting with you.
You may or may not know going in what kind of interview you are going to have, but it really doesn’t matter. Answer any questions completely but succinctly; don’t babble or ramble. If the question can be answered with a “yes” or “no,” that’s a fine answer. Try to speak in a conversational tone. Keep everything positive and professional. For example, if they ask about a time you worked through an issue with a classmate, don’t talk about how you threatened to kick somebody’s ass to get your way.
Regardless of the type of interview, there should come a time when the interviewer asks “Do you have any questions for me?” This is a critical turning point in the interview. At least 50% of the people will say “Nope.” That is the wrong answer.
As soon as the interviewer asks for your questions, he is allowing you to control the interview. You are calling the shots now. You should grab this opportunity as soon as it presents itself. And, if you have done your homework and really want the job, you should have questions. And these questions should serve at least one of three possible purposes:
1. You genuinely want to know the answer. This sounds painfully obvious, but many people don’t ask questions for fear of looking stupid. This interview is as much for your education as the companies. If you want to know, ask.
2. You want to the answer to point to a perceived strength you have that other candidates might not. For example, let’s say you interned at a similar company the previous summer. You might ask: “In your experience, have candidates that have interned at similar companies, such as XYZ, had an easier transition into your organization?” If the interview says “yes,” then you can say something like “I thought my internship at XYZ would pay off.” There is nothing wrong with highlighting your strengths for the job.
3. You want to show that have researched and have some understanding of the company or industry.
If you do this correctly, your interviewer with think that you are really interested, you are qualified, and/or you actually know about their business. Plus, if you ask questions and engage in conversation with the interviewer until your time is over, the interview will almost always end on a positive note. People LOVE to talk about themselves, especially to people who seem interested in what they do every day. This is so simple, so effective, and you’ll be amazed how few people actually do it.
There are just a couple extra quick tips:
1. Once you ask your question, let the interviewer complete their answer. Constantly interrupting can be worse than asking no questions at all.
2. Be ready for any answer, and don’t have all your questions follow a progression that requires a certain answer to set of answers.
3. Don’t be in a hurry to get all your questions asked. Sometimes you run out of time. That’s okay – Just asking 1 or 2 good questions puts you ahead of most candidates.
Tags: College job search, college job search tips, employment tips, interviewing tips
