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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at U Iowa chapter.

Graduation may not be until Spring for most, and may be a few years away for some, but it’s never too early to start thinking about nailing your first interview for that job or internship you’ve always been dying for! Her are some Tips and Tricks to help you in the interview process and get you the dream job you deserve!

  1. Arrive early and check yourself. You always want to arrive at least 15 minutes early, you will be in an unfamiliar building and will want to have excess time to find the room the interview will be held in and have time to use the restroom. This way you can have time to calm your nerves, wash your hands and check your appearance before the interview.
  2. Give your interviewer the ‘right’ type of handshake. There is nothing, and I mean NOTHING worse that the ‘limp fish’ handshake. You know this handshake, when you go to shake a hand and it’s sweaty, almost nothing shaking your own hand back. Almost worse than the ‘limp fish’ is the crusher, this consists of a bone crushing handshake that leaves you with a bruised and battered hand. You want to give a firm, yet soft handshake smiling and looking into your interviewer in the eyes.
  3. Relax. It’s important to be confident and know what you are talking about, but try and enjoy the conversation at hand by listening and learning what you can learn about the company. Make sure to thank the interviewer before you leave and ask what the next step in the process will be.
  4. As soon as possible after leaving the interview write down your thoughts and opinions about the interviewer, the conversation you had and what you thought of the company. You can even write a follow-up letter thanking the interviewer and reminding the interviewer of your great qualities and why they should hire you.

Even if you feel as if you’ve screwed up in an interview or could have down better, remember that each interview is a learning experience and can help you in future endeavors. If you follow these tips you will have great interview experiences and hopefully land a job you love!

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Peter Frankman is an underclassman at the University of Iowa from Burbank, California. He has a few addictions in his life: writing, reading, heavy metal, Adult Swim, and any movie with zombies. He joined The University of Iowa's Her Campus team as the writer of the "From a Guy's Perspective" articles in January 2011 and hasn't looked back since (except to make sure he doesn't write the same article twice). Peter's a major in both Journalism and Creative Writing and hopes to become a writer in some way, shape or form after he graduates. That or the President of the United States, he hasn't really focused too much to say anything decisive yet... or maybe he has, we're not quite sure. If he had to choose a night of guilty pleasures it would include the Beastie Boys, Monster Import: Light, Zebra Cakes, and a marathon of subpar movies that he thinks are amazing (Blade, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Fast and the Furious, etc).