by Emmanouil N.Choustoulakisby Emmanouil N.Choustoulakis

The president of a research firm, says the most important thing you should do during a job interview is the easiest:

Be nice.

"An interview is a very tense situation," he says.

"Try to think of the word, 'smile.' You'll have a pleasant face, but you won't show a mouthful of Chicklets."

Facts to Gather Before Interviewing

•Key people in the organization •Major products or services •Size in terms of sales and employees •Locations other than your community •Organizational structure of the company •Major competitors •View of the company by clients, suppliers, and competition

10 Steps to a Successful Interview

•Arrive on time. •Introduce yourself in a courteous manner. •Read company materials while you wait. •Have a firm handshake. •Listen. •Use body language to show interest. •Smile, nod, give nonverbal feedback to the interviewer. •Ask about the next step in the process. •Thank the interviewer. •Write a thank-you letter to anyone you have spoken to.

9 Sure-Fire Ways to Blow the Interview

Want to destroy your chances of getting that job? Here are some real (honest!) interview incidents that personnel directors say did just that, according to Robert Half of Robert Half International.

•Dozed off and started snoring during the interview. •Wore a Walkman and said she could listen to the interviewer and the music at the same time. •Challenged the interviewer to arm-wrestle. •Said if he were hired, he would demonstrate his loyalty by having the corporate logo tattooed on his forearm. •Interrupted the interview to phone his therapist for advice on answering specific interview questions. •Brought her large dog to the interview. •Abruptly excused himself, then, returned to office a few minutes later wearing a hairpiece. •Chewed bubble gum and blew bubbles. •Stretched out on the floor to fill out the job application.

Interview Pitfalls

Memo to job seekers:

It pays to research a company before you arrive for an interview. Employers say that they are interested in candidates who ask intelligent questions and are able to make intelligent conversation based on what they know about the organization. They are unimpressed by candidates who know nothing about the company, what the company does, or the position being offered.A recent survey by Accountemps confirms that employers say the most common deficiency among job candidates is that they don't know much about the company.

Interviewers' Favorite Questions...and Answers

You’re wearing your best interview suit and facing your best friend, who’s wearing the most inscrutable hiring-manager face she can muster. You’ve carefully positioned a video camera to record your every move. All is in place for your mock interview.“Tell me about yourself,” your friend/interviewer intones, adjusting her glasses and gazing steadily into your eyes.What should you tell her? What would you tell a real recruiter or hiring manager?“Don’t tell me where you were born and raised,” says Jonathan Ferguson, assistant director of career services at George Washington University and a veteran of countless mock interviews with students. “Don’t tell me that you were a cheerleader. Focus on your academics and experience. Ask yourself, ‘what are the top five things I want this person to know about me?’”Ferguson says that while many recruiters ask questions that are a bit more pointed than “tell me about yourself,” it’s still likely to come up in many interviews and it’s best for students to prepare for it.What other kinds of questions do recruiters ask? Following are 10 more, plus ideas for how to answer or the kinds of competencies the interviewer is seeking, courtesy of Ferguson and three experienced campus recruiters.

1. What do you see yourself doing five years from now?

“I want to hear something related to retail,” says Haley Peoples, college relations manager for JC Penney Co. Inc. in Dallas, Texas. “I don’t want to hear ‘I want to be an astronaut’ or ‘I want to win the Academy Award.’”Peoples says the question is designed to help the interviewer know if the job seeker will be happy in that position, or if he or she wants to work in it only as long as it takes to find something “better.”

2. How do you make yourself indispensable to a company?

“We are looking for both technical and interpersonal competence,” says Doris J. Smith-Brooks, recruiting and advertising manager for Boeing Co. in Seattle, Washington.Smith-Brooks explains that students who have interned or completed cooperative education assignments generally answer the question best because they know what working for a company entails.

3. What’s your greatest strength?

“Don’t just talk about your strength--relate it to the position,” Ferguson says. “Let them know you are a qualified candidate.”

4. What’s your greatest weakness?

“Say something along the lines of, ‘I have difficulty with this thing, and these are the strategies I use to get around it,” Ferguson says. “For example, you could say, ‘I’m not the most organized of individuals, so I always answer my e-mails and phone calls right away. I’m aware of the problem and I have strategies to deal with it.”

5. Tell me about a time when your course load was heavy. How did you complete all your work?

“We generally are looking for an answer like, ‘Last semester I was taking 21 credits, so I made sure I had a day planner and mapped out all my assignments,’” says Felix J. Martinez, senior staff recruiter at Abbott Laboratories in Abbott Park, Illinois. “We’re looking for a plan-ahead kind of individual, not someone who just flies by the seat of his pants.”Martinez says recruiters at Abbott Laboratories use the STAR method of interviewing, which involves getting the interviewee to describe a situation that includes a task that needed to be accomplished, the action taken to accomplish the task, and the result of that action.“We actually tell the candidate, so they’re aware of what we’re looking for,” he says, adding that the approach can help candidates focus on their answers.

6. Tell me about a time when you had to accomplish a task with someone who was particularly difficult to get along with.

“I want to hear something that shows the candidate has the ability to be sensitive to the needs of others but can still influence them,” Peoples says, adding that he’s heard plenty of wrong answers to that question. “Don’t say ‘I just avoided them’ or ‘They made me cry.’”

7. How do you accept direction and, at the same time, maintain a critical stance regarding your ideas and values?

Smith-Brooks repeats that internship or co-op experience can give students the experience to answer that question, pointing out that students with good interpersonal skills honed on the job can understand how to walk that fine line.

8. What are some examples of activities and surroundings that motivate you?

“Most of our technical disciplines are teamwork professions and require getting along with and motivating other people,” Smith-Brooks says.

9. Tell me how you handled an ethical dilemma.

“Suppose you worked at a bank and a long-time customer wanted a check cashed right away but didn’t have the fund balance in his account to cover the check,” Martinez says, explaining that if the bank’s policy prohibited cashing checks in that manner, the teller would have a choice of violating bank policy or alienating a good customer. Martinez says the best way to handle such a situation would be to go to a supervisor, explain the situation, and ask for advice. He adds that students who can’t offer a situation that they handled correctly the first time can explain how they learned from making mistakes.“Explain that the next time, this was how you handled it,” he says.

10. Tell me about a time when you had to resolve a problem with no rules or guidelines in place.

“I’m looking for a sense of urgency in initiating action,” Peoples says, explaining that the question probes a student’s ability to overcome obstacles.For Peoples, students offering the best answers to the question describe a retail-related problem.“I’m looking for the right thing in terms of customer service,” he says.

Choosing Among Job Offers

Lucky you! You have the fortunate problem of having to decide which job offer to accept. Many students would love to be in your shoes. Even in a good job market, many students, for various reasons, struggle to receive even one acceptable offer. Nevertheless, you may be in a bit of a quandary about how to decide which offer is best for you.

First things firstFirst of all, make sure you know enough about the organization, the job, and the details of each offer to weigh one offer against another. If you lack information, seek it out by asking the employer, researching the organization, and talking to others who work at or are familiar with the organization or job. Ask your career services staff if they have had feedback from past students who have taken jobs with the organizations you are considering, and check to see if your career office has an alumni adviser to help you make contact with alumni working for these organizations.

There is no perfect formula for making your decision, but one of the best ways to begin is by making a list of all of the features that are important to you in your first job. These may include such items as the type of work you’ll be doing, the organization’s reputation/prestige, training program, salary, benefits, location of job, opportunity for advancement, work environment, opportunity for free time (evenings and weekends), opportunity for travel, colleagues with whom you’ll be working, and so forth. The list of factors to consider may help you come up with your personal list. Add every possible item you can think of to your list. You might want to break out specific features that are crucial to you; for example, you might want to separate tuition reimbursement or medical insurance or an on-site fitness center from general benefits, if these are especially important to you.

One of the best ways to begin is by making a list of all of the features One of the best ways to begin is by making a list of all of the features that are important to you in your first job.that are important to you in your first job.

Interviewing for Internships

The GroundworkInterviewing for an internship does not have to be a scary process! Think of it as conversation between you and an internship representative to see if there is a fit between your goals and the internship position. You are interviewing her, just as she is interviewing you. You want to know if this internship will allow you to meet your learning goals. She is trying to find out if you have what it takes to help the organization meet its needs. Doing your homework prior to your interview is the key to a successful interview ‘conversation.’ Taking time to lay the groundwork increases the odds that your meeting will be productive.

Dress like the serious professional you will soon be. If you have a suit, wear it. If not, plan to wear a sports jacket, collared shirt, tie, and slacks (if you’re male) or a pantsuit or blazer, blouse, and skirt (if you’re female). Choose dark colors—they convey an air of authority. Practice your smile, good posture, and firm handshake. Leave flashy jewelry and strong scents at home.

Rehearse/role play answers to typical questions you may be asked. Practice, but don’t memorize your responses word-for-word. You don’t want to sound like you are reading from a script! It is usually better to give up-front, honest responses rather than ‘canned’ answers you think the interviewer wants to hear.

Here are typical questions you could be asked in an interview for an internship or co-op position: Why do you want an internship with this organization?

•Why should we hire you for our internship program? •Do you grades reflect you true ability? Why or why not? •How many hours each week would you be able to devote to this internship •Would you be able to work beyond one semester? •How would you handle conflicts between your school schedule and a surprise, rush job here? •What type of supervisor do you prefer to work under? •How will this internship help you meet your career goals? •Who is your least favorite professor? Why? •What are your greatest strengths and biggest weaknesses? •Give me an example from your past that shows the following: how you dealt with difficult people; how you overcame an obstacle or solved a problem. •Which of your courses, jobs, or school activities has prepared you for this internship?

Prepare questions to ask. This is your chance to make sure that a particular internship will meet your needs and goals. Answers to your questions will help you discover which internship or co-op is right for you. Here are some suggested questions:

•Could you list some tasks and projects I would be involved with? •Should I expect training or an orientation prior to beginning my internship? •Would I receive a wage, stipend, or reimbursement for my expenses? •Is there a dress code I would be expected to follow? •Would I have regular meetings with my supervisor?

I will need to take time off during my exam periods; is this acceptable?

After the Interview

You might get an offer on the spot, if your interview goes well. Hiring decisions for interns and co-ops are generally made much more quickly and unilaterally than hiring decisions for jobs. If this is the internship you want, by all means accept the position. But don’t let pressure force you into a decision you aren’t ready for. It’s okay to ask for two or three days to make up your mind. This delay gives you time to weigh the pros and cons.

This Stuff Gets Easier

After your first interview, the whole process won’t seem quite so daunting. Interviews for experiential positions are merely forerunners to the scores of interviews you’ll be having in the course of your working life. The more interviews you have, the easier it gets. Who knows?

You may even start to enjoy them!

10 Steps to a Successful Interview

Credits

Interviewers' Favorite Questions...and Answers By Barbara Mulligan

Interviewing for Internships By Marianne Green

9 Sure-Fire Ways to Blow the Interview By Robert Half

Choosing Among Job Offers By Marcia B. Harris and Sharon L. Jones

Acing Your Job Interview Before It Begins By Richard Fein