Today's guest post comes from Bethany Gillen, one of our Assistant Director's of Career Placement. Bethany has been working hard with our students who have recently gone through the on campus interview process to help gather some info that will help future students prepare. While the fall recruiting period is winding down, interviews for spring internships are right around the corner! Start thinking now about getting ready!
Are you currently preparing for an interview? Unsure of the types of questions you will be asked? Our office surveyed Sacred Heart students that participated in on campus interviews this fall. The most popular types of questions that were asked and our recommendations for handling these questions:
What are your strengths and weaknesses? What are you doing to improve your weaknesses?
Use this opportunity to promote strengths that complement the job you are seeking. It’s important that you don’t select a weakness related to a skill needed for the job. Be able to explain the steps you are taking to compensate for, and overcome, your weakness. Employers are looking for people that are self aware and can proactively develop their skills.
Why did you select Sacred Heart and your major?
Employers are interested in knowing how you approach important decisions. Go through your decision making process, explain how you picked the schools you looked at and why you selected SHU and your major. Stating your parents wanted you to go here or you had a friend that went here won't cut it! This is a chance for you to promote your decision making skills to the recruiter!
Tell me about yourself/ interviewer asks you about a specific point on your resume.
If you get this question, be excited because it’s a chance for you to market yourself! Be prepared with a few stories about your work experiences, community service, clubs, etc. Make sure you select different experiences during the interview as the interviewer will get bored if every story you share is from the same internship/job/project. Make sure you have stories planned out for EVERYTHING listed on your resume. Some recruiters pick out specific points on the resume and ask about it. If you listed it on your resume, be prepared with a story for an interview! If you listed it on your resume and you can’t talk about it during an interview, it doesn’t leave the interviewer a good impression of you.
Why are you interested in X Company in X Division?
Make sure you are specific and have done your homework on the company prior to the interview. Be sure that you understand the job requirements and explain why you see yourself doing the job. Tell them why you are excited to work at their company (have it come through in your expressions/body language). Understand who their competitors are and what sets them apart. Read up on the trends in their industry.
Give me an example a group project that didn’t meet your expectations. What did you do? What was the outcome?
It’s extremely important that you give the interviewer background on the project, explain the problem, and what YOU did to resolve it. It’s critical that you articulate what YOUR ideas where (not your professors’/bosses/parents) to improve the project and what you learned from it.
Additional Notes:
You need to be prepared to ask 3-5 questions of the interviewer when they give you a chance to ask questions. If you are unsure of questions to ask, please see our interview guide. Numerous recruiters have told us that they’ve discounted candidates because they didn’t ask questions and didn’t seem interested. Be sure you have at least 10 questions prepared in case the interviewer answers some of your questions before you get to ask them!
You need to prepare for an interview like you would prepare for an exam. If you walk in unprepared, the interviewer will know it and you are wasting your (and the interviewers!) time. If you’ve never been on an interview before and would like more guidance, please schedule an appointment with one of our career counselors. We offer assistance with resume building, interview preparation, and internship and full time job search assistance.
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