We’ve all seen the students walking around campus in their “business casual” wear and have had the worried conversations over dinner about what we’re going to do this summer. It’s that time of year: internship season. While I’m just as worried as everyone else about finding an internship, I think I’m more concerned about the (slightly) bigger issue of not even knowing what career I want to pursue. And I know I’m not the only one.
In an effort to give all the unsure undergraduates some direction, I turned to a woman who inspires me: my mom. Resilient, optimistic, and driven, she received an undergraduate degree in communications at Northwestern University while covering much of the expense herself via a work-study program. She then attended the University of Chicago for her MBA and got into sales force consulting at Aon-Hewitt. She is now practice director of the North American branch of the company, and managed to raise three children along the way. She called me from Thailand to answer my questions on interview etiquette and to give advice on career uncertainties.
What makes a good interview?
Answer the questions clearly and concisely, in such a way that you are answering only what the interviewer asked and not rambling. Some people need to practice this because there have definitely been times when I interviewed people who made good points, but spoke for so long that they failed to tie them all together. Subtlety is unnecessary. Present the conclusion outright and make it easy for your interviewer. Secondly, understand the company you are interviewing for. Ask questions that demonstrate interest and that show you’ve done your research beforehand. I’ve interviewed people who are clearly applying at a bunch of places, so when I ask them why they want to be in sales force consulting with Aon, they don’t have any clue. If you know about the company, it always comes across better.
Those are good points. But there have definitely been times when I felt the interview went well and still didn’t get the job. It is so hypercompetitive nowadays. How do you distinguish yourself from other applicants?
Oh my gosh, well that’s a good question! It is hypercompetitive. One thing you can do is build personal repertoire with the interviewer. People will remember someone who they have some personal connection with, such as a common hometown, college, etc. But you always need to follow the interviewer’s lead. If they are all business, absolutely don’t try to veer off into small talk. Secondly, always do a follow up thank you note. Don’t wait a week. Do it after a couple days. And don’t say something standard like “I really enjoyed talking to you. I’m very interested in this position.” Tailor it to what you talked about, so that when they read your note they remember the interaction. And approach it from an angle where you are always translating what you have to offer into what the company is looking for.
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What about networking?
Of course having a referral is always better. That is absolutely a way to stand out, and you should exploit those connections either before or after the interview by asking the person you know to vouch for you. But I have never hired someone because of a connection. That’s a way to get a foot in the door, but after that you need to be what they are looking for.
How did you know that you wanted to do consulting?
I wasn’t a finance person, and didn’t want to do banking. I had had a few jobs in sales, so I thought that sales or marketing consulting might work for me. This is going to sound completely ancient, but I responded to an ad in the newspaper to get my first real job. In the Chicago Tribune classifieds section. I was halfway through getting my MBA. And I was damn lucky to get that job.
So you stumbled into it?
Yes, I kind of did. My undergraduate degree was in liberal arts. I got this job by thinking about my prior experience and how I could translate that into a different career from being a sales rep. I thought I would enjoy consulting because of the combination of analytics, problem solving, writing, and relationships. I could leverage my past experience.
Do you have any advice for people at this intermediate stage who are still in college and don’t yet know what they want to do?
Start really early with doing informational interviews. Ask your parents or anyone else you know about what they do, how they got into it, what it’s like, and over time you’ll start to get an idea of different avenues you might take. Just talk to people. That’s almost always better than surfing around the Internet. Also, get as much work experience as you can. This looks good in an interview, too. When people come to us having had jobs, it makes a tremendous difference. Even if it’s just that they worked on campus, that shows drive, responsibility, and maturity compared to someone who is living off their parents. That can become part of your story.
Photo Sources:
http://www.lifehack.org/articles/work/20-ways-describe-yourself-job-interview.html