Interview
Tips and Suggestions
More Things You Should Know Before Going to an Interview
Questions an Interviewer Might
Ask
Questions to Ask the Company
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Interview Tips and
Suggestions
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Practice (Ask someone to pretend to be the interviewer and have
a mock interview with you. If possible, ask another person to be the audience
and write down critiques during the interview)
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Have a positive attitude. Keep all of your answers as positive as
possible. For example, if asked what's your weakness, tell them the truth,
but also tell them how you are working on improving it.
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Be sure to turn your weakness into a strength. For example, during
my interviews, when I was asked that question, I told my interviewers that
one of my weakness is that I overwork myself sometimes and don't take breaks,
but then I also told them I am improving on that by timing myself and making
sure that I take a 5 minutes break every half hour or hour.
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Pay attention to your non-verbals (i.e. eye contact, voice projection,
posture, nervous habits, etc.) . Actions often speak louder than
words.
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Express your qualifications. Come up with a list of six to eight
adjectives that describe yourself. Think of examples that demonstrate these
adjectives. When you are asked to tell the employer about yourself, use
about three or four of the adjectives and examples to do just that.
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The first few minutes of the interview are the most important.
It is at this time that you really want to sell yourself and get the interviewer
interested in you. That is why it is important to package yourself and
your qualifications. Having a set agenda of what you want to get across
during the interview will help (i.e. education, background, experience,
strengths, goals, accomplishes, challenges, etc.)
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Try to keep your answers concise, interesting, and to the point.
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Always try to relate what you are saying to how it can benefit
the company you are interviewing with. It is important to be familiar
with the company prior to the interview so you can know what type of person
they are looking for, as well as what the position requires.
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Act interested.
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If you get stuck on a question, it is okay to pause. Often,
you can simply say, "That's a very good question, let me take a minute
to think about that." Or you can repeat the question, that will buy you
some time too. Try to avoid long pauses. Employers can tell if you
are just buying time to make something up.
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It is important to end the interview on a positive note, either
reiterating your interest in the position or telling the recruiter you
look forward to hearing from them soon. Don't forget to thank the employer
for their time and interest, and shake their hands before you leave.
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In addition to knowing information about the company, always have questions
prepared to ask the interviewer about the company.
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Be confident.
Most of the above materials are taken from a sheet titled Interview
Tips and Suggestions given out by the Career
Service at Virginia Polytechnic Institute
and State University. Some modifications were made by the author.
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More Things You Should
Know Before Going to an Interview
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Continue to tell yourself that you are doing well.
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Even if you don't believe in yourself, try to make the interviewer think
that you do.
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Keep your doubts to yourself.
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An interview is centered on the subject you know best -- yourself.
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Don't let rejection erode your confidence.
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The interviewer knows less about you than you do.
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If you've done your preparation, you know more about the interviewer and
the company than the interviewer know about you.
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Don't let the advice of others shake your confidence in yourself.
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Interviewers expect a certain amount of nervousness.
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Try to avoid sweaty palms by sitting with your palms exposed to air.
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Combat nervousness by relaxing your muscles and getting enough sleep.
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Look at the down side -- before the interview you don't have an offer.
The worst that can happen is that after the interview you still won't have
an offer.
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If you see something you want, go after it.
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Don't worry about failure.
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Don't look back.
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Don't make tension causing judgments.
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Go into the interview with one of your objectives being that you are also
interviewing the company to find out about it.
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Trust yourself to react properly.
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In order to relax mentally, you must first relax your body.
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Stop preparing the night before the interview at the latest.
Taken from Sweaty Palms: The Neglected Art of Being Interviewed.
H. Anthony Medley, Ten Speed Press, 1984.
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Questions
an Interviewer Might Ask (have someone you know ask you these
questions or think about the answers to the questions as a preparation
for your interviews)
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Tell me about yourself.
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What do you know about our company?
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Describe your most rewarding college experience.
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What is your proudest accomplishment?
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What do you consider to be your greatest strength? Why?
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What do you consider to be your weakest weakness? Why?
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Tell me about a difficult problem you were able to solve. How?
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What are your short term goals (next 3-5 years)?
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What is most important to you in your job?
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Are you willing to relocate?
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How do you handle rejection?
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do you consider yourself a leader or a follower?
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Describe your most recent group effort.
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Why would you like to work for XYZ company?
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In what school activities have your participated? Why?
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How has your courseware prepared you for this position?
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What qualifications do you have that make you feel that you will be successful
in your field?
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On what criteria do you wish to be evaluated?
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What have you done which shows initiative and willingness to work?
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Why were your grades so low?
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Would you rather work alone or on a team?
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What do you do in your spare time?
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Do you think you set your goals high enough?
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Tell me about positions of leadership you have held.
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What motivates you?
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How do you work under pressure?
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What have you learned from your mistakes?
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What is your computer knowledge? Are you comfortable using a computer?
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Questions
to Ask the Company
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What are the company's strengths and weaknesses compared to its competition?
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How important does upper management consider the function of this department/position?
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What is the organization's plan for the next five years, and how does this
department fit in?
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Could you explain your organizational structure?
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How will my leadership responsibilities and performance be measured? By
whom?
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What are the day-to-day responsibilities for this job?
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Could you describe your/the company's management style and the type of
employee who fits well wit it?
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What are some of the skills and abilities you see as necessary for someone
to succeed in this job?
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What is the company's policy on providing seminars, workshops, and training
so employees can keep up their skills or acquire new ones?
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What particular computer equipment and software do you use here?
Taken from: Ryan, R. (1994, November). Job Strategies: 14 vital questions
to ask before you accept that job offer. Glamour, 98.
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