The interview process can be really never-racking, but remember everyone gets nervous. Interviewing is like any other skill, it requires planning, practice, and patience. Below you will find some tips and resources to help you. Remember, interviewing is a two-way street. You are also interviewing them.
Screening/Telephone Interviews
10-30 minutes; mainly screening candidates
Individual/Personal Interviews
Typically face to face and one-on-one; 30-90 minutes
Panel/Committee Interviews
Meet with a panel all at once; time ranges
Second or On-Site Interviews
Meet with multiple people from the company; Can last half a day to full day
Group Interviews
Several candidates interview all at once; Sometimes the to team tasks/interactions
Task-Oriented or Testing Interview
Allow you to demonstrate your abilities
The Lunch/Dinner Interview
Interviewers are looking at your interpersonal and communication skills
These are just some common types of interviews, you may find yourself in other types of interviews or having a combination of the ones listed above. For more details on these and how to prepare, click here and here.
It is almost a guarantee that in every interview you go to, you will be asked some form of a question that is getting at "tell me about yourself". Click to see the formula to nail your response!
Where you have been
What has led you to this field?
Where you are
Highlight a relevant key experience
What do you do uniquely well? What makes you good at what you do? What motivates you?
Where you are going
What is your goal/Why are you here interviewing today?
Additional tips and information can be found here: https://biginterview.com/tell-me-about-yourself/
Behavioral questions are interview questions that focus on how you have handled various situations in the workplace and reveal your character traits, abilities, and skills. Employers ask these to get an idea of how you will handle future situations. Click to see example questions and learn how to answer them.
Sample Behavioral Questions
Give me an example of a time when you:
Faced an ethical dilemma.
Solved a difficult problem.
Failed.
Demonstrated leadership skills.
Served as a member of a team.
How do you go about making important decisions?
How to answer behavioral questions?
Think about a specific example
Prepare a mental outline to describe each situation
Use the STAR Method (see the STAR section below)
Choose the most vivid, powerful, relevant, and recent examples
Additional information and tips about answering behavioral questions can be found here.
Just like the tell me about yourself question, most interviews consist of a question that will touch on your strengths and weaknesses. Click to see example questions and learn how to answer them.
Sample Strengths and Weakness Questions
What is your greatest strength?
Why would you be good in this role?
What do people praise you for?
What is your greatest weakness?
What part of this job would be most challenging for you?
Tell me about something you would have done differently in your previous role.
How to answer strengths and weaknesses questions?
Think about the language you are using
Be authentic
Share a specific example
Avoid weaknesses that would make you unfit for the job/program
Provide a positive spin- how are you working on it, developing that skill set?
Additional information and tips about strengths and weaknesses questions.
Roleplay/Scenario questions are similar to behavioral questions. Instead of asking how you have handled situations in the past, they are asking how you will handle certain scenarios in the future. Click to see example questions and learn how to answer them.
Sample Role Play/Scenario Questions
What would you do if an angry and dissatisfied customer confronted you? How would you resolve their concern?
What would you do if you were assigned to work closely with a colleague on a project, but you two just couldn’t see eye-to-eye?
How would you handle receiving criticism from a supervisor?
Describe a time when your workload was heavy and how you handled it?
How to answer strengths and weaknesses questions?
Think about your strengths and how you naturally would handle these situations
Utilize the STAR method (see the STAR section below)
In every interview, you should be asked if you have any questions for the interviewer. Always come with questions prepared for any interview you attended. Remember, you are also interviewing the company. What types of things would you want to know? Click to see some sample questions you could ask.
Sample Questions to ask an Interviewer
What is your favorite aspect about working here?
What do you think would be challenging for me?
What are the ideal qualities you are looking for in this candidate?
Where do you see this company/program being in five years?
What kind of training or development will a receive?
What was your career path?
Can you describe a typical day or week in this position?
For more questions, click here!
The STAR method is a common way to answer behavioral questions. It is an easy approach to other types of questions as well to make you shine! The method is outlined below:
Situation: Describe the situation, who was involved?
Task: What specifically were you trying to accomplish? Add detail.
Action: Outline the steps you took. How did you lead or engage others during the process?
Result: Describe the results and what you learned.
Below are some helpful resources of ways you can practice for an upcoming interview!
Big Interview is a place to practice the advice you read. You can get hands-on practice with mock interviews tailored towards your specific industry, job, and experience level!
Make an appointment on Handshake to meet with a career counselor on campus to do a mock interview or discuss more interviewing tips for your specific type of interview.
Review and practice interview questions! Here are some sites with questions
Know the Employer
Study the organization’s culture and make sure you review their mission statement, policies, website content, and printed materials
Familiarize yourself with the job description
Identify how you can add value with your skills and training to their organizational goals
Strategize your Answers
Focus on what you have to offer the employer
Emphasize your skills and experiences to help identify how strong a match you are to the position
Be detailed and substantive; quantify your success when possible (successfully met fundraising goal by 110%)
Provide short anecdotes to illustrate your points