Skip to main content

Top 3 Ways to Prepare for an Interview

 

By

By: Camille G. Mason, Sr. Assistant Director

Interviewing can be a daunting task!  Even the most confident speaker feels overwhelmed by the prospect of an interview.  The purpose of an interview is to show the employer that you have the skills, knowledge and experience for the position.  To be a top candidate, you should “fit” the organization’s culture and show strong motivation. This can happen when you prepare for an interview adequately.

  1. Research the Organization

Prepare by knowing as much as you can about the organization, the competition, the location, and the industry. Prepare for the interview by researching the organization and, if possible and without “stalking” them, researching the people, too.

  • Visit the organizations website.
  • Use Google, Bing, and YouTube to find important information.
  • Check the LinkedIn company profile and find people in the organization.
  • Use a search engine to research any names of the interviewers you have.
  • Check stock information about the company on Yahoo! Finance.
  • Check out GlassDoor.com to see what other employees say about the company.

 

  1. Prepare Responses

Preparing what you are going to say to specific questions will help you feel confident in the interview.  You will not sound “rehearsed” but confident and prepared. Practice saying your answers aloud after you have written them out. Hre are some questions to start practicing the answers for:

  • Tell me about yourself?
  • Walk me through your resume.
  • What are your greatest professional strengths? Or How would your boss and co-workers describe you?
  • What do you know about the company?
  • What is your greatest professional achievement?
  • Do you have any questions for us?

 

  1. Practice, Practice, PRACTICE!

As someone new to the job market, the more practice you can get interviewing, the better off you will be, and you may find that the position and company is more appealing than you originally thought.  Create practice questions by going through the entire job description and turning each line into a question.  For example, if the position requires you to “work in a team and independently,” you can turn that int. “Tell me about a time you worked in a team,” “Tell me about a project you completed independently.” Here are some ways you can practice your answers:

  • Use InterviewStream to practice for your interview. Interview Streamis our on-line tool to practice live interviewing to prepare for your upcoming interview. (NOTE: Enter into the InterviewStream Mock Interview Madness  contest where you could win $500.00 HERE)!
  • Schedule an interview with anyone of our counselors at the University Career Services office by clicking here.

 

 

Camille Mason

Sr. Assistant Director, UCS

Comments are closed.