Drexel Women in Business hosted the founder of Career Contessa, Lauren McGoodwin, in LeBow’s Grand Hall on March 29th for an interactive conversation about the best interview tips available for professional women. This was a part of a national college tour that Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and BoxFox sponsored. The tour stops at other campus to spread Lauren’s vast amount of knowledge on interviewing and how to get noticed by recruiters.
Drexel often organizes various events throughout the school year attempting to teach students the best ways to land the co-ops of their dreams – including dress this way, put “x” and “y” on your resume, along with various other tips and tricks that have been vetted by the SCDC. This talk was different, though, because the information came from someone closer to our age who’s actually been a university recruiter for a very popular company, Hulu. A J&J recruiter was also in attendance as a co-panelist, offering insight as an active interviewer who’s responsible for finding the right fit for students within J&J teams.
I’m not here to provide a break down of the Six Steps to Ace Your Interview that the presentation revolved around, as you’ve probably heard all of them anyway. They focused on the usual: come prepared, know the company, send a thank you, etc. The most rewarding part, however, was the real world experiences Lauren cited as examples along with her opinions of how to handle specific situations. Drexel’s team of advisors rarely, if ever, addresses the situations that she touched upon, like salary ranges, using connections, and asking the right questions at the end of the interview. She also addressed these points in such a comprehensive way that it really made the tips stick. It is possible that these points have been brought up before and maybe I just remember them now because I heard them four hours ago, but her advice really stuck with me.
The most prevalent takeaway from this talk, for me, was that women need to be more proud and vocal about their professional achievements. Women are more likely to use “we” in an interview to describe past job experiences and responsibilities. Men, however, have no problem taking full ownership of what they accomplished in their last position. So women, don’t be afraid to use “I” in your interview! You worked hard to get through the door, so make sure they know how determined you are once you’ve been awarded the job!
If you’re looking for more co-op tips, make sure to come to our Co-op Couture event Friday, May 30th at 6pm in GHall 031!