The Interview

The elements of a successful interview before the interview

.    Self-assessment: Identify strengths, goals, skills, etc.

.    Research the company.

.    Rehearse what you plan to say.  Practice answers to common questions.

.    Consider doing a mock interview with a member of the CSC staff. (Mock interviews may even be taped!)

.    Prepare questions to ask employer.

 During the Interview

·     Make sure you arrive a few minutes early.

·     Greet the interviewer by his/her last name; offer a firm handshake and a warm smile.

·     Be aware of nonverbal communication. Sit up straight, look alert, speak clearly and forcefully, but stay relaxed, make good eye contact, avoid nervous mannerisms, and try to be a good listener as well as a good talker.  Smile.

·     Follow the interviewer’s lead, but try to get the interviewer to describe the position and duties to you fairly early in the interview so that you can then relate your background and skills in context.

·     Be specific, concrete, and detailed in your answers.  The more information you volunteer, the better the employer gets to know you.

·     Offer examples of your work and references which will document your best qualities.

·     Answer questions as truthfully and as frankly as you can. Do not appear to be “glossing over” anything. On the other hand, stick to the point and do not over-answer questions. The interviewer may steer the interview into ticklish political or social questions.

·     Answer honestly, trying not to say more than is necessary.

Closing the Interview

·     Don’t be discouraged if no definite offer is made or if no specific salary is discussed.

·     If you get the impression that the interview is not going well and that you have already been rejected, do not let your discouragement show. Once in a while, an interviewer who is genuinely interested may seem to discourage you to test your reaction.

·     A typical interviewer comment toward the close of an interview is to ask if you have any questions. Use those that you’ve prepared.

·     At the conclusion of your interview, ask when a hiring decision will be made, and thank your interviewer for his or her time, expressing your interest in the position.

After the Interview

·      Take notes on what you feel you could improve upon for your next interview.

·      Type a brief thank you letter to the interviewer indicating your interest (see page 11 for tips).

·      If offered the position, one to two weeks is a reasonable amount of time to make a decision. All employment offers deserve a written reply whether or not you accept them.

Preparing for your interview

Self-Assessment Questions:

Why did I choose my major subject? What activities interest me? School, sports, work, politics, etc. What social activities do I enjoy most? Why?  Am I confident of my abilities? How do I show it? Am I the sort of person who works well under pressure or do I do a better job when the work is more moderately paced?

Are my abilities mechanical or creative? What are some examples?

Do I enjoy making decisions?

Do I have leadership potential? What are some examples of ability to motivate others?

Do I enjoy making decisions that affect other people? Do I like detail work or am I more interested in dealing with larger issues?

Do work supervisors or teachers praise my speed and/or quality of work?

Am I an ambitious person?  What evidence can I show?

Are prestige and status important to me?

Does money, fear, or praise motivate me?

How materialistic am I? How can I tell?

Do I prefer independence or association? Team or individual projects?

Which accomplishments, academic and personal, have I taken pride in?

Have my teachers or friends ever commented on my communication skills? Were the comments negative or positive?  Is it easy or difficult for me to organize my thoughts when I’m speaking?

 Information to Have About the Employer Before Interviewing

You need to go into an interview having done some research on the company. After a great deal of searching, if it is impossible to obtain this kind of information, request it in the interview. If you have information before the interview, you can develop a presentation that will relate your background and interests to what the company has to offer.

When you ask questions in the interview, you should not ask for information that is readily available elsewhere if you want to make a good impression on the interviewer.

Things to research include the following:

1.    General information about the company, like the location of the home office, number of plants/stores and their locations, names of parent company or subsidiaries, etc.

2.    Organizational structure, type of supervision, type of training program.

3.    Philosophy, goals, and image.

4.    Financial details, including sales volume, stock price, percent of annual growth in earnings per share, recent profits, etc.

5.    The competition in the industry and the company’s place in it.

6.    The products or services marketed by the company, including recent media coverage of them.

7.    Career path in your field.

8.    Recent news items regarding the company or the industry.

9.    The recruiter’s name.

Preparation Exercise

1.    Describe five ideas, accomplishments, strengths, skills, or personal qualities that you think would best “sell” yourself to an employer.

2.    Describe your ideal work environment. This may include the physical environment, types of people with whom you work, amount of supervision, types of responsibility, kind of company, and/or company philosophy.

3.    Describe what you know about the company, organization, and/or position. Why are you interested?

4.    Describe your educational background. How is it relevant to your desired job?

5.    What is your employment background? How is your experience relevant to the job desired? What skills have you used in previous experiences that are relevant to this particular job?

6.    What are your career goals? How do they relate to this organization?

7.    What are your personal skills and abilities? How do they relate to this job? What are specific examples of how you have used them?

8.    What are your weaknesses? What steps are you taking to improve them?

9.    What additional information do you want the interviewer to know about you?

10.  What questions do you want to ask the interviewer?

Top reasons for rejections

1.    Inability to express oneself clearly

2.    Uncertainty about goals

3.    Poor personal appearance

4.    Lack of interest in job

5.    Too interested in salary or vacation

6.    Lack of courtesy, maturity, or tact

7.    Uninformed about organization

8.    Sloppy resume

9.    Lack of confidence or overconfidence

10.  Evasiveness

What recruiters are looking for

·   General personality: Ambition, poise, sincerity, trustworthiness, articulateness, analytical ability, initiative, interest in the firm. (General intelligence is assumed.) Different firms look for different kinds of people - personalities, style, appearance, abilities and technical skills.  Always check the posted job specifications. Don't waste time talking about a job you can’t do or for which you aren’t qualified.

·    Personal appearance: A neat, attractive appearance makes a good impression and demonstrates professionalism.

·    Grades: The importance of grades varies from firm to firm. For some they’re critical, for others unimportant. Be sure to check job specifications posted. Be able to explain marked deficiencies, if asked. On-campus interviewers may not know your grades in advance, but are likely to ask you about them. They may ask you to release your transcript or provide a faculty reference.

·    Work Experience: Again, this varies from job to job, so check job specifications. If you’ve had work experience, be able to articulate the importance of what you did in terms of the job for which you are interviewing and in terms of your own growth or learning. Even if the work experience is unrelated to your field, employers look upon knowledge of the work environment as an asset.

·    Verbal communication skills: The ability to express yourself articulately is very important to most interviewers. This includes the ability to listen effectively, verbalize thoughts clearly, and express yourself confidently.

·    Skills: The interviewer will evaluate your skills for the job, such as organization, analysis, and research. It is important to emphasize the skills which you feel the employer is seeking and to give specific examples of how you developed them. This is the main reason why it is important to engage in self-assessment prior to the interview.

·    Goals/Motivation: Employers will assess your ability to articulate your short-term and long-term goals. You should seem ambitious yet realistic about the training and qualifications needed to advance. You should demonstrate an interest in the functional area or industry and a desire to work hard and succeed.

·    Knowledge of the Recruiter’s Company and Industry: At a minimum, you really are expected to have read everything the company has put in the placement library.  Don't waste interview time asking questions that could have been answered by the printed material. Know the firm’s position and character relative to others in the same industry. General awareness of media coverage of a firm and its industry is usually expected.

What you wear

Women

·      Wear a suit that is in good taste. Avoid extremes.

·      Wear sensible pumps (cleaned and polished).

·      Wear makeup that is polished and understated.

·      Keep it to the barest minimum. Avoid bright lipstick or nail polish.

·      Be moderate in the use of perfume.

·      Have an attractive, neat hairstyle.

·      Be conservative in the use of jewellery.

·      Have fingernails clean and filed.

Men

·       Wear a conservative suit that is cleaned and pressed.

·       Wear a clean, ironed shirt; wear a tie that compliments your suit and shirt.

·       Have hair cut and groomed; have a clean shave.

·       Have shoes clean and shined.

·       Have fingernails trim and clean; avoid gaudy rings, chains, etc.

·       Avoid trendy or oversized clothes.

·       Stay away from overwhelming aftershaves and colognes.

Questions to ask the interviewers

·       What would a normal working day be like?

·       About how many individuals go through your program each year?

·       Is it possible to move through the training program faster?

·       How much contact is there with management?

·       Is this position more analytical or people-oriented?

·       During training, are employees transferred between functional fields?

·       How soon could I expect to be advanced to the next level in the career path?

·       How much travel is normally expected?

·       Will I be expected to meet certain deadlines? How frequent are they?

·       How often are performance reviews given?

·       How much decision-making authority is given after one year?

·       Does the company provide any educational benefits?

·       How frequently do you relocate professional employees?

·       Have any new product lines/services/curricula been announced recently?

Questions asked by employers

How would you describe yourself?

How do you think a friend or professor who knows you well would describe you?

How has your college experience prepared you for a business career?

Why should I hire you?

What qualifications do you have that make you think that you will be successful in business?

How do you define or evaluate success?

In what ways do you think you can make a contribution to our company?

What qualities should a successful manager possess? What two or three accomplishments have given you the most satisfaction? Why?

Why did you select Rice?

What led you to choose your major field of study? What courses did you like best? Least? Why? Do you think that your grades are a good indication of your academic achievement? Why?

What have you learned from participation in extracurricular activities?

In what kind of work environment are you most comfortable?

How do you work under pressure?

In what part-time or summer jobs have you been most interested? Why?

How would you describe the ideal job for you following graduation?

Why did you decide to seek a position with this company?

What do you know about our company?

What criteria are you using to evaluate the company for which you hope to work?

Are you willing to travel?

Are you willing to spend at least six months as a trainee?

Why do you think you might like to live in the community in which our company is located?

What major challenge have you encountered and how did you deal with it?

What have you learned from your mistakes? What are your long-range and short-range goals and objectives? When and why did you establish them and how are you preparing yourself to achieve them?  What do you really want to do with your life?  What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?

Interviewing Do’s and Don’ts

What to do....

1.    Do express yourself clearly with a strong voice and good diction and grammar.

2.    Do pay close attention to your personal appearance; dress to your advantage.

3.    Do make concrete goals in planning for your career.

4.    Do offer a firm handshake.

5.    Do look the interviewer in the eye (but don’t stare him or her down).

6.    Do fill out applications neatly and completely.

7.    Do have as much knowledge about the industry, employer, and position as possible.

8.    Do take criticism gracefully.

9.    Do equip yourself with a strong knowledge of the company.

10.  Do have prepared questions about the employer and position.

11.  Do display a sense of humor.

12.  Do display self-confidence.

13.  Do bring a pen and small notebook with you to the interview.

14.  Do remember the interviewer’s name and use it during the interview.

15.  Do take time to think before answering difficult or unexpected questions.

16.  Do take advantage of services available to you - such as your beloved Career Services Center.

17.  Do take an extra copy of your resume and a list of references with you to the interview.

18.  Do follow up with a thank you note restating your interest in the position.

19.  Do contact the employer by phone if the interviewer does not contact you one week after the time from which he or she indicated you would be notified.

What not to do....

1.    Don’t be overbearing - overaggressive - conceited.

2.    Don’t show a lack of interest or enthusiasm.

3.    Don’t emphasize money as your main interest in the job - unless it’s commission sales where money is used as a motivator.

4.    Don’t expect too much too soon - be open to the idea of starting at the bottom and working your way up.

5.    Don’t make excuses for unfavorable factors on your record.

6.    Don’t condemn past employers or institutions of education; keep comments positive.

7.    Don’t display a marked dislike for schoolwork.

8.    Don’t be indecisive.

9.    Don’t display intolerance or prejudice.

10.  Don’t interview unless interested in the job... don’t just “shop around.”

11.  Don’t be late to the interview.

12.  Don’t state specific geographic restrictions.

13.  Don’t contradict yourself in responses.

14.  Don’t take notes during the interview - jot down your notes immediately after the interview.

15.  Don’t forget: YOU control the content of the interview.

16.  Don’t glorify your past experiences - getting into a job for which you are under qualified is not recommended.

17.  Don’t assume that all employers will be delighted to hear of your plans for graduate school.

18.  Don’t smoke, chew gum, etc., even if offered or if the interviewer does so.