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Interviewing Tips
Preparing for the Interview
It is often hard for you as a new college graduate to have a clear view of your goals and strengths. That is okay, but you do need to be able to be clear about what you believe your short-term goals are, what strengths you want to use, and why you will be good at the job you seek. If you are unable to articulate the above and just don't know where you even want to start in terms of your job search, the process can be very difficult and frustrating.
Self Knowledge
Most interviews include questions regarding your qualifications, education, research projects, campus and community activities (volunteer work), prior work experience (internships), personal characteristics, skills, and career interests. To prepare for answering questions about yourself, think about the following questions:
- Which skills and personality characteristics do I want to emphasize?
- What job/volunteer experiences are most relevant to this position?
- What did I gain from my college education (you will probably want to emphasize your senior thesis experience)?
Identify your three main strengths. Be able to cite specific examples and apply these strengths directly to the requirements of the position you are seeking.
Research the Position, Employer and Industry
Analyze the job description and how your background, skills, and experience apply to the position. It is important to learn as much as you can about the employer before you interview. By adequately researching the organization, you will have a much better chance of creating a positive impression.
The following questions can help guide your research:
- What are the organization's philosophy and goals?
- What is the size and structure of the organization?
- What are the organization's products and services?
- What is the organization known for?
- What are the geographical locations of its plants, stores, or sales outlet?
- How well is the organization doing? (growth patterns)
- Who are the organization's clientele or customers and major competitors?
- What are the organization's entry-level positions and career paths?
To find out more information about the employer, read company annual reports and research the company on the web. Faculty, alumni, friends, and present employees can also be helpful sources of information.
Get References
Speak directly with the people you are planning to name as references (such as previous employers, faculty member, etc.). Offer them a copy of your résumé, in case they want to refer to it when called.
Practice!!!
Many interview questions are predictable and can be anticipated prior to the interview. Think of answers to the questions prior to the interview. You can also predict "job-specific" questions by analyzing the job description – duties, responsibilities, and skills of the position. Career Services offers mock interviews, allowing for you to see yourself on video and to receive feedback.
The Four Types of Interview Questions
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Credential questions
This type of question includes "What was your GPA?" and "How long were you at your last position?" Its purpose is to verify data and place objective measurements on features of your background.
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Experience questions
This type of question includes "What did you learn in that class?" and "What were your responsibilities in that position?" Its purpose is to subjectively evaluate features of your background.
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Opinion questions
This type of question includes "What would you do in this situation?" and "What are your strengths and weaknesses?" Its purpose is to subjectively analyze how you would respond in a series of scenarios.
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Behavioral questions
This type of question includes "Can you give me a specific example of how you did that?" or "What were the steps you followed to accomplish that task?" Its purpose is to anticipate future responses based upon past behaviors.
Of all the previously listed types of questions, only behavioral questions have a predictive validity for on the job success that is higher than 10 percent (which is what you would generate from a simple résumé review). Behavioral interviewing yields a predictive validity of 55 percent, which is far from perfect, yet is the most reliable for most interviewers. Interestingly, the first three question types are still favored by most untrained interviewers, simply due to lack of experience. Behavioral interviewing is gaining greater acceptance by trained interviewers because past performance is the most reliable indicator of future results.
WHAT EMPLOYERS EVALUATE IN A BEHAVIORAL INTERVIEW
Employers are looking for three types of skills: content skills, functional (also called transferable skills), and adaptive (also called self-management skills).
Content Skills - Knowledge that is work-specific (such as computer programming, accounting, welding), expressed as nouns.
Functional or Transferable Skills - Used with people, information, or things (such as organizing, managing, developing, communicating), expressed as verbs.
Adaptive or Self-Management Skills - Personal characteristics (such as dependable, team player, self-directed, punctual) expressed as adjectives.
Behavioral interviewers have been trained to objectively collect and evaluate information, working from a profile of desired behaviors that are needed for success on the job. The theory is that behaviors a candidate has demonstrated in previous similar positions are likely to be repeated. Therefore, you will be asked to share situations in which you may or may not have exhibited these behaviors.
If you are an entry-level candidate with no previous related experience, the interviewer will look for behaviors in situations similar to those of the target position, such as "Describe a major problem you have faced and how you dealt with it" and "What class did you like the most? What did you like about it?"
Follow-up questions will test for consistency and determine if you exhibited the desired behavior in that situation:
"Can you give me an example?"
"What did you do?"
"What did you say?"
"What were you thinking?"
"How did you feel?"
"What was your role?"
"What was the result?"
You will notice an absence of such questions as, "Tell me about your strengths and weaknesses."
How to Prepare for a Behavioral Interview
- Analyze the types of positions for which you are applying. Try to get an actual job description. Why are the specified skills required by the employers?
- Analyze your own background. What skills do you have (content, functional, and adaptive) that relate to your job objective.
- Recall recent situations that show favorable behaviors or actions, especially those involving course work, work experience, leadership, teamwork, initiative, planning, and customer service.
- Prepare short descriptions of each situation; be ready to give details if asked.
- Be sure each story has a beginning, middle, and an end (be ready to describe the situation, your action, and the outcome or result). Wherever possible, quantify your results. Numbers illustrate your level of authority and responsibility.
- Be sure the outcome or result reflects positively on you (even if the result itself was not favorable). Be prepared to provide an example of when results didn't turn out as you planned. What did you do then?
- Be honest. Don't embellish or omit any part of the story. The interviewer will find out if your story is built on a weak foundation.
- Be specific. Don't generalize about several events; give a detailed account of one event.