Interviewing 101

1. Interviewing 101

2. Interview skills • Interviews, or personal meetings set up with an employer, are the most important part of getting the job you have always wanted • They are an opportunity to impress your employer personally and explain the skills and experiences that you presented in your resume • There are many different types of formats for interviews, there may be one or more managers conducting the interview and will ask you a set of questions to determine your skills

3. Career Skills • Many careers require specific skills- a surgeon cannot be squeamish or have an unsteady hand, and a politician must be comfortable with public speaking • Other skills are transferable from job to job and are therefore extremely important for almost any career • These skills include Organizational skills, Critical thinking, Communication, Interpersonal, and Multi-tasking skills

4. Organizational Skills • Organizational skills include any skills that convey a sense of order about one’s life and work. • They are important for every job because they demonstrate the ability to hand large workloads without being overwhelmed • There are many ways to demonstrate this in an interview. • Dress professionally and neatly • Make sure to have all essential supplies needed for the interview process. Paper, pens, pencils, calculators, Copies of resume and Cover letters • Organizing thought before interview, taking notes about a company, preparing for possible interview questions, etc.

5. Critical Thinking Skills • Employers want people that can solve problems on their feet, not that report back to them with every issue. • This can be conveyed by describing how you thought on your feet before in other work situations. Use questions as opportunities to talk about experience. • When question is asked, talk your way slowly through the answer and communicate your thought process to the employer.

6. Communication Skills • Communication skills have to do with how clearly and effectively you can convey your thoughts to another person • If you cannot communicate effectively, you will not seem confident even if you have great experience and qualifications • Good ways to convey communication skills at an interview are to always maintain eye contact, speak loudly, clearly, and with confidence. Never mumble • It is important to rehearse speaking by yourself or with another person before the interview to reduce nervousness • Always be calm

7. Interpersonal Skills • Interpersonal skills, or skills between people, have to do with how well you work with others • To convey this skill effectively, it is important to be able to demonstrate that you have been part of a group effort before and have contributed greatly to the cause or lead certain efforts yourself • It is important to be able to recall several times that you worked together with a group and how you succeeded, even if situations were not on your resume • It is good to mention challenges that you had with a group and how you overcame them

8. Multi-tasking Skills • In order to be of the most value to a potential employer it is beneficial to demonstrate that you can handle a lot of different tasks at once • Companies often want employees that can do more than one thing so that they can replace the work of a few employees at once. example- a person at a restaurant who can work as a manager, waiter, or chef. Or a sports star who plays multiple positions. • Try to include in your resume situations in which you worked on several different tasks at once successfully • Be willing to accept many different possibilities that your employer may give you