Practice First
Before going into an interview always investigate, plan, and practice well in advance. The Career center offers 3 ways to gain interview practice:

• Mock interviews with business professionals are offered one week prior to JobFest.
  Sign in to Career Gear to sign up
• Mock interviews with professional staff members are conducted throughout the semester. Schedule an appointment.
• Mock interviews online with Perfect Interview.

Know the Employer

• Study your prospective employers.
• Visit their websites and peruse printed materials.
• Read about the organization’s culture and glean what you can from their mission statement and policies.
• Learn the organization’s challenges.
• Familiarize yourself with the job description for the position for which you are applying.
• Identify how you can add value with your skills and training to their organizational goals.

Know your Product – YOU!

• List your skills, personality characteristics, experience, and training that pertain to the employer.
• Focus on what you have to offer the employer.
• This is the time to place your needs aside (like needing a job or wanting to live in the area to be close to family, for example).
• Emphasize the skills and experiences that help illustrate just how strong a match you are to the position they are trying to fill.
• Be strong in communicating your strengths with adjectives and action phrases as well as short anecdotal pieces to illustrate your points.

Strategize your Answers

• Target your responses to the employer’s questions by focusing on the skills and experiences you think you possess.
• Provide details and depth.
• The most common complaint employers have with new college graduates as they interview is the lack of details the candidate provides about his/her qualifications for the job.
• Avoid repeating yourself. Do your homework thoroughly and prepare your responses to be sure you have a wide variety of points to make as you illustrate how well suited you are for the job.
• Resist the urge to be too modest if you tend to be humble or hesitant to speak highly of your qualifications. Demonstrate confidence in your skills by illustrating past successes and relying on the feedback provided to you by past supervisors and co-workers.
• Monitor your wording and attitude if you are oftentimes perceived as overconfident or conceited. Remember it is critical to develop rapport with your interviewer and impress upon them the value of your skills not the superiority of your skills to what the employer already possesses on the team.

Plan your trip to the interview.

• Create a travel plan that incorporates plenty of time even if the unexpected strikes.
• Take the employer’s phone number with you in case you need to call.
• If necessary, travel the day before to ensure you are already in town for the day of the interview.
• Take extra copies of your resume.
• Be prepared with any technological needs you may have for showing your electronic portfolio or making a presentation.
• Be prepared with cash for parking.
• Manage your travel plans with independence. Do not rely on the employer for directions, parking, or any other accommodations unless they offer.
• Leave time for a quick bathroom break.
• Take medications or other personal essentials along that you might need for emergencies.
• Turn off your cell phone.

Manage your arrival effectively.

• Consider that your interview begins the moment you arrive at the employment or internship site since anyone you meet even in the parking lot, on the elevator, restroom, or in the hallway could have input in the hiring decision.
• Have your cellular phone turned off immediately upon exiting your car.
• Be courteous, professional, and friendly with everyone.
• If you have arrived early, find a location to wait until the interview was scheduled to begin. Explain to the receptionist that you are aware that you have arrived early and ask if it is ok for you to wait in the lobby area.

Always write a thank you note following an employment interview
You may compose your letter in a formal business format or hand write your note on thank-you card stationery. Just make sure you acknowledge your appreciation for the time they took to meet with you and share something that they said to you to make you even more interested in working with them. Keep the note short and to the point! And make sure you send or hand deliver the note within a day or two after your interviews.

Sample Thank You Note (.pdf)