With summer break on the horizon, dreams of full-time internships dance in many college students’ heads. But finally getting that job offer is not as easy as your connections make it seem in their LinkedIn posts, and interviews are a crucial part of the hiring process. Here are a few tips to help you prepare for and ace your internship interviews!
- Do Thorough Research
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One mistake that college students often make before going into an internship interview is not knowing everything possible about the company and role. One of the first questions many interviewers will ask is “why us?” and a memorable answer will help you stand out from other applicants. Although a company website is a solid place to look for their values, culture and mission, you can also use more unconventional sources to give you a holistic perspective. Podcasts, YouTube videos, Indeed and Glassdoor are all solid places to look for additional and real information about a workplace. Talking about an inspiring CEO or innovative product from a company helps show how much you want the role and sets you apart from other candidates who simply read the “Our Values” page.
- Practice Your Responses
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Narrative questions that start with “tell me about a time when…” or something similar are super common in interviews. It’s difficult to think of scenarios on the spot, and insufficient preparation can leave you telling an irrelevant story to your interviewer. To help stop stage fright from striking, look up popular interview questions and write down your answers to them. Prepare responses that are specifically applicable to the job you’re applying for and make sure to use the STAR (situation, task, action, result) method in your answers.
- Calm Your Anxiety
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Preparation is great, but when anxiety spikes before an interview, your mind could go blank and you won’t be able to articulate why you’re a great fit for the position. Making sure to thoroughly research and rehearse your responses ahead of time should help lessen nervousness, but there are other helpful techniques for reducing anxiety right before an interview. Try the 5-4-3-2-1 method to calm your mind and stay grounded, or “power posing” to help boost your confidence.
Although this list isn’t exhaustive, hopefully it provided some useful tips for succeeding in a difficult part of the hiring process. The most critical part of an interview usually isn’t the interview itself, but what you do beforehand. Go get those job offers!