INTERVIEWING: THE STORY OF YOU

INTERVIEWING:THE STORY OF YOU Created By: Meredith Marasco, Workforce Development Specialist

You scored the interview, now what? 1. Prepare 2. Research 3. Practice 3. Practice 3. Practice Know “your story”

How Can I Prepare? • What are the most compelling reasons why you should get hired? • Make a list of your strengths & passions. • Create your own personal story that illustrates who you are and why they need you. • Think about specific examples where you accomplished something or a big achievement. • What must they know about you before you leave the room?

Your Greatest Strengths Refer back to your resume & cover letter • You should not need to invent anything new • You already gave them an overview of you and your abilities…now give them the full picture • Take qualities and bring them to life • Transform flat & 2-dimensional qualities by describing them with examples and real situations

Your Greatest Strengths What is the most valuable thing you have to offer? • Be positively UNFORGETABLE! • What makes you a SUPERSTAR? • What will you be FAMOUS for?

Research the Company • What are their values? • What is the “company culture”? • Why do you want to work for them? • Where are they going? • Do they share your passions?

Research the Work Review the job description or type of work prior to the interview • What are the required skills? • What kind of person are they looking for? • What is the required training? • How many positions are they hiring for? • Are there other possible opportunities?

Research Your Experience Know Yourself & Your “Selling” Points • What are your “signature” features? • Resolving customer issues effectively • Troubleshooting technical problems remotely • Make them care by using specifics…Quantify! • Drove new car sales by 25% at Auto Deals Online • Increased Twitter followers by 50% with X, Inc. • Cut costs by 40% through bulk purchasing

Research Your Experience Show Don’t Tell • Use specific examples that illustrate your assets • Really makes your story come to life and is much more compelling • Stories demonstrate rather than tell why you are a star and how you perform in different settings • Stories allow you to “sneak in” additional information about you and your passions

Practice • Review sample interview questions • Write out your answers and read over them • Rewrite standard interview questions for each specific opportunity • Time yourself answering each question and make changes accordingly • Take out unnecessary information • Add more detail to enhance answers

Dress Rehearsal – Take 1 Enlist a partner or friend and run through a mock interview together. • Have a partner play the role of the interviewer, while you play the interviewee. • Run through all the questions without interruption • Review answers for clarity & thoroughness Keep practicing until it feels more natural and sounds less rehearsed!

Dress Rehearsal – Take 2 • Record your answers and review • How long are your answers? • How detailed are your examples? • Count the frequency of filler words? • (Umm…like…hmm…) • Are you communicating what you are capable of? • Are you clearly expressing your passions? • What questions are tripping you up? • What are you leaving out?

What now? Practice! Don’t stop now…keep running through your answers! • Yes, you don’t know the exact questions, but you can prepare using commonly asked interview questions. • What qualities MUST you include? • How can you best stand out?

Commonly Asked Interview Questions You CAN Rehearse • Tell me about yourself? • Why are you interested in our company? • What are your career interests and goals? • What skills can you bring to the internship? • Are you good at working in teams? • What are your strengths? • What are your weaknesses? • How do you handle stress in the workplace?

Want More? A simple Google search will give you endless links to review sample interview questions and answers. Here are some links: http://career-advice.monster.com/job-interview/interview-questions/100-potential-interview-questions/article.aspx http://www.wisebread.com/how-to-answer-23-of-the-most-common-interview-questions http://www.csuchico.edu/careers/students-alumni/job-search-tools/sample-questions.shtml http://www.collegegrad.com/jobsearch/Mastering-the-Interview/Ten-Tough-Interview-Questions-and-Ten-Great-Answers/

Now Am I Prepared? No! Keep practicing • Use your research to develop a minimum of 5 questions to ask the interviewer about: • The Company • Position • Hiring Timeline • New Employee Training • Promotional Opportunities

Know where you are going • Time the route • Take into consideration traffic or other issues • If you can, visit the location to familiarize yourself with the route • Parking? • Is there any? • Do you need to pay to park?

Dress to Impress • Wear professional attire to the interview • Might want to bring your clothing on a hanger to prevent it from wrinkling • Wear clothing you can drive or walk in • You need to look better when you go into the interview than you did when you left your house. • Err on the side of more professional over casual • You would rather stand out for wearing a business suit than for wearing your “awesome” club outfit.

STAR Approach • Behavioral Interviewing • Can be applied to most interviews • Uses examples from your experience • Action oriented • Highlights specific competencies • Illustrates skills rather than listing them • Show don’t tell method You can prepare extensively using STAR method

STAR Approach STAR stands for: S = Situation T = Task A = Action Taken R = Results You Achieved

SITUATION OR TASK • Situation • A specific event or instance • Use both positive and negative situations • Positive demonstrates accomplishment • Negative will show how you overcame something • Task • An example of a specific task or project • Focus on what you had to accomplish • How was the outcome achieved

ACTION YOU TOOK • Action orientated • How did you handle the situation? • What was your strategy for completing the task? • What did you learn?

RESULTS YOU ACHIEVED • What was the outcome? • Did you successfully finish the internship project? • Was the team collaborating as a cohesive group after you implemented a new strategy? • Were you late in turning in a term paper? • If so, that is ok but what was the lesson? • A negative outcome is not necessarily bad if you positively alter your behavior.

Less Anxious About Interviewing? • Picture how well your interviews will go in the future because of all your practice!

INTERVIEWING: THE STORY OF YOU