I used to like March. Third month into the year, approximately when you start giving up on your New Year’s resolutions and the illusions of “getting in shape” and “yum broccoli is delicious” really shatter. Yet as a first year student, March suddenly looms large as May slowly approaches without a summer job in sight.
If January was Resume Month (click here to learn how to spiff up your resume), then March is definitely Interview Month. As the panic slowly peaks to find something to do during the summer, interviewers are starting to make phone calls and hopefully, you’ll be on the receiving end of them. In this confident light, I present you these five tips on acing your interviews!
1. Research
Now, you don’t need to go write a 5000-word essay on the company’s purpose, business plan and client satisfaction record, but you do need to be prepared going into an interview. This requires spending time researching the company. Write down key words that come up. Maybe the website even lists qualities they wish to see in their employees. If they don’t, then jot down adjectives that would correspond to the position you’ve applied to, or qualities they seem to be encouraging in their workspace.
Here comes the important part. For each adjective you have written down, jot down an experience that endorses that skill or quality. If you can’t find something on the spot, you can always relate it back to your school or your own background.
“Innovative” = “As a student at the University of Waterloo, I am constantly challenged in my perception of the world and of how I can improve it. Thanks to this innovative and interdisciplinary environment, I keep on developing my critical thinking and problem solving skills.”
2. Promote Yourself
In a job interview, you don’t have the luxury to be a humble bumblebee. You need to promote your skills, your qualities, your experience, and your blooming personality before anything else.
“I volunteered at a food bank.”
So what? Try this:
“I volunteered at a food bank, which greatly impacted my perspective of the world. From this, I learned how to be more compassionate, a better listener and be more aware of my privileges. I also greatly improved (this shows that you already had past knowledge) my ability to adapt quickly to situation, to communicate successfully with different types of people and [insert other technical skills you might have learned].”
The key is to use as many effective adverbs and adjectives as possible and always phrasing it in a way that sheds your abilities in the best light. My best advice to you is to always bring it back to yourself. You did something? Great! How did it contribute to the skill set you’re bringing to the company? You have a particular personality trait? Fantastic! How could it be an asset in the work environment you’re applying to? Showcase yourself in the most practical and concise way you can. I know this takes courage if you aren’t fully comfortable bragging about yourself, but it’s necessary in order to show the employer how you could succeed in the position you’ve applied to.
3. Dress the Part
You might have seen this one coming; it’s one of the most important part of the actual interview. Unfortunately, the interviewer’s first opinion of you will be based on how you come in, how you shake their hand (hard enough – but don’t break it!), how you’re dressed, if you’re chewing gum and so on.
We’re not telling you to come dressed as if you’re going to be modelling down the Interviewee Runway, but be mindful about your appearance. It’s usually smart to dress slightly more formal than the company’s usual dress code implies. That being said, be sure to smile and appear comfortable during your interview. Shake their hand firmly, make eye contact (but not too much – no one likes staring contests apart from your best friend), and keep your back straight when you sit. It may seem like small and minor details, but they all unconsciously affect the interviewer’s opinion of you.
4. Ask Questions
At the end of your interview, the interviewer will usually ask you if you have any questions for them. Now is your time to shine! You should always, always (have I mentioned always?) have questions ready for the interviewer. Not only does that show that you are legitimately interested in the position and the company as a whole, but it will actually tell you more about the position itself! What does a regular day look like? Would I have to go through training, and if so, does it occur before the start date? Would I be working in a team? How big? And so on…
Piece of advice: don’t start talking about salaries until you’re negotiating your contract.
5. Practice, practice, practice
When it comes down to it, the best way to be able to answer questions easily and comfortably is through lots of practice. You might want to cry on the inside every single time they ask you a question…
But eventually, it gets easier! If you can’t think of any questions they may ask you, click here to see the 50 most common ones. If you don’t make it down the whole list, at least be prepared to answer these ones confidently:
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Tell me about yourself (not a question, I know, but it comes up often!)
This one is actually quite hard if you haven’t practiced! Make sure to have a little spiel prepared to describe yourself and your background (academic and recreational) under a minute.
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Why should we hire you?
Here comes the adjectives! “I would be an excellent asset to this company because I have experience in X, Y, Z and I am passionate about A, B and C.”
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Why do you want to work for this company or want this position?
This one is, in my opinion, the trickiest because unfortunately “I like to afford food and pay for my education and mortgage” isn’t an appropriate response. You should definitely prepare for this by researching the company and finding key words. . “I would like to work at […] because you value […] and I share these values,” or “I am very much interested in X, Y, Z and I believe I can learn a lot in this position, because […].”
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What are your three biggest strengths?
Standard interview question. Make sure your strengths are relevant to the position you’re applying to.
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What are your three biggest weaknesses?
This is a tricky question for most; you can’t exactly explain that you’re a perfectionist that hates group work because, well, “no one does it properly so I end up doing all the work.” They wouldn’t like that very much. Instead, you might say that you shoulder too much of the work, and are working to better your delegation skill. The key for this question is to finish explaining each weakness by mentioning how you’re working to better yourself, or how it can actually be an advantage under certain circumstances.
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Where do you see yourself in 5 or 10 years?
This is another hard question because, as students, we don’t exactly have our whole life planned out. I would recommend to be honest (if you don’t know, you don’t know), yet to phrase it in a way that sheds your ignorance of your future in a positive light. “I am still keeping my options open, which is why this position would let me evaluate my abilities and interests in X, Y, and Z.”
And I cannot stress this enough, but you absolutely should email or call back within 24 hours to reiterate your enthusiasm for the position and thank the interviewer for their time. This will reinforce their (positive) image of you and maybe make them double check your file before they select the candidates for the position.
That is all! Don’t forget: confidence is key! And time. And practice. Easy peasy, amiright?
Happy interviews!