Successful Interviewing

1. Successful Interviewing David McMahon ‘69 Assistant Director Experiential Education

2. Your preparation for Interviewing • Plan to speak on: • What you know • Your motivations • Your personality / teamwork • Your area(s) of interest • What you can contribute • Know: • 3 reasons why they should make you an offer • Prepare your questions for the interviewers

3. Fall 2005 “Opportunities for Improvement” 1.  Have prepared questions for Interviewers. • Attend Information Sessions and stay to interact with Company Reps. • Be able to articulate accomplishments in terms of common attributes, such as leadership, initiative, etc. • Review Company information on the web and in the Career Center library. Students can differentiate themselves by doing more research on the company prior to interview.

4. Fall 2005 “Opportunities for Improvement” 5. Prepare and ask questions, which shows enthusiasm for the opportunity and the company. • Review past projects and come prepared to discuss them. • Show enthusiasm and smile.

5. First Impressions • Arrive 5-10 minutes early • Dress appropriately • Watch eye contact, handshake, and body language • Be honest • Relax & be enthusiastic…be yourself … smile !! • You are ALWAYS being evaluated.

6. Content: Types of Questions • Traditional • Knowledge of organization and position. • Your motivations and self-perceptions. • Goals and plans to accomplish them. • Situational • “What if …” questions give insight into how you go about resolving an issue and how you think on your feet. • Behavioral

7. Basic Premise of Behavioral Interview Questions Past (predicts) Future Performance -------------> Performance

8. Integrity Ability to work with people Responsibility Judgment Motivation to succeed Work ethic Intelligence Creativity/ enthusiasm Communications skills 10. Technical competence What Makes a Good Employee??

9. General Answer Format • STAR • Describe the Situation you were in. • Describe the Task you performed. • What was your Approach to the problem? • What were the Results of your actions? Be prepared for interviewer to probe for further details.

10. How to Prepare • Recall recent situations that show favorable behaviors, or actions, especially involving leadership, teamwork, adaptability, initiative, planning, delegation, innovation, communications, and service. • Prepare short descriptions of each situation and be ready to give details if asked.

11. How to Prepare (cont.) • Be ready to describe the situation, your action, and the outcome or result succinctly. • Be sure the outcome or result reflects positively on you (even if the result itself was not favorable). • Be prepared to provide examples of occasions when the results were different than expected! Your skill in handling failure as well as success will be probed.

12. How to Prepare (cont.) • Be specific. Don’t generalize about several events; give a detailed account of one event. • Prepare 8-10 examples you can “adjust” on-the-fly to suit a question. Don’t memorize. • Know the organization’s mission, philosophy and goals as thoroughly as possible.

13. Skills/Professional Knowledge • Describe how you’ve gone about learning a new skill. • Describe a time when you solved a problem.

14. Teamwork/Collaboration • Interacting with others can be challenging at times. Describe a situation when you wished you had acted differently with someone. • Describe the best/worse team of which you have been a member.

15. Adaptability/Flexibility • Tell me about a difficult situation you recently had to manage. • Jobs differ in the extent to which unexpected changes can disrupt daily responsibilities. How do you feel when this happens? Why? Tell me about a time when this happened recently.

16. Initiative • Have you found ways to make your job easier? • Give an example of doing more than is required in your current job/class. • Can you think of some projects or ideas that were sold, implemented, or carried out successfully because of your efforts?

17. Leadership/Ethics • Tell me about a time when you had to make a decision that was unpopular with the group. • Describe a situation in which your efforts influenced the actions of others.

18. Planning & OrganizingWork Management • Walk me through yesterday (or last week) and tell me how you planned the day’s (or week’s) activities. • Tell me about a time when you had more on you plate than you could handle. How did you get everything accomplished?

19. Answer Tips • Try to determine the skills necessary to do the job for which you are interviewing. • Identify your skills and experience related to the job. • Develop and rehearse brief scenarios about how you used those skills, each illustrating a specific activity or task required by the job. Rehearse, don’t memorize scenarios. • If possible give the results in quantifiable terms. • Include learning outcomes when results are not favorable.

20. Bad Answers “Uh, um, hm, hum.” “I have no strengths.” “I have no weaknesses.” “I am really smart, and people are intimidated by it. That’s my biggest weakness.” “I work too hard.” “I’m a people person.” “This is the only place that interviewed me.”

21. Example of Interview Guideline for College Hires • A candidate can receive one of three possible scores for each question: • 0 – Not fully acceptable • 3 – Fully acceptable • 9 – Superior • All candidates are assumed to be a 0 when the interview begins. The candidate must earn their way up to a 3 or a 9. In other words, they must demonstrate, through their responses to the interview questions, that they are a fully acceptable or superior candidate.

22. TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE - APPLIED EXPERIENCE

23. 3 Types of Phone Interviews Companies Initiate • First Call • Initial contact by company. May leave a message. Be sure voice mail message sounds professional. • Short Pre-Screen • Exploring availability, interest, and fit? • Scheduled Phone Interview • In-depth screen. Can last 15 minutes to 1 hour. • Schedule during your “prime time” • Avoid use of cell phones, due to poor signal. • Be prepared to demonstrate connection between your skills and the position. • Develop rapport with recruiter and show interest.

24. Telephone Interview Preparation • Set the Stage • Dress for the interview; it increases confidence • Tape your resume on the wall in front of you • Keep employer research materials accessible • Have notepad to take notes • Keep glass of water nearby

25. Telephone Interview Preparation • Set the Stage • Place “do not disturb” sign on door • Share importance of call with roommates • Turn off TV and other distractions • Turn off “call waiting” on phone

26. During the Telephone Interview • Speak clearly & enunciate • Smile; it carries in your voice • Sit straight or stand; it helps voice • Don’t ramble. Recruiter will ask for more information, if wanted • Don’t interrupt interviewer • Show enthusiasm and interest

27. Phone Interview Candidate Evaluations • Enthusiasm? • Knowledge of industry & company? • Succinct & clear answers? • Expression of interest? • Any follow-up from candidate? Will this person increase company success?

28. Thank You Notes Hiring Managers Survey • 15% reject candidate who doesn’t send note • 32% will still consider candidate who doesn’t send note, but have a lower opinion of candidate • 25% prefer handwritten note • 21% seek typed hard copy note • 19% want emails followed by snail-mail note (Source:CareerBuilder.com - Aug 2005)

29. Top 10 Interview Rules 10. If you spill soup on your tie, don’t lick it off. 9. Send a thank you follow-up note. 8. Evaluate the culture. 7. Answer negative questions before they are asked. 6. When in doubt, mirror the interviewer.

30. Top 10 Interview Rules (cont.) 5.Never, ever run out of intelligent, informed questions. 4. E4=Energy, Excitement, Enthusiasm, Eagerness 3. See the interviewer’s point of view. 2. Have your “war stories” ready. 1. Do your homework.