How do you interview?

As a student who just finished the internship-seeking process, I spent quite a while failing interviews, starting over, and rebuilding my brand. Six months ago, I thought myself to be good at interviews – not great – but certainly not at all bad. Yet I kept failing my interviews. Others came out of the room laughing, almost reluctant to leave, but I left worried and uncertain. I knew I needed to take a Management Communication class. In the following four months after the realization, I learned things about myself and interviewing that compared to the past, seem so simple yet important. Now I want to share some of these tips I’ve learned with you in an “interview walk-through”:

Starting out - first impressions

Your first impression is the one thing you cannot redo. Keep your chest up, adorn a warm smile, and extend a firm handshake – every class on public speaking or networking will tell you this, but it simply cannot be emphasized enough. Even before the interviewer has spoken to you, s/he has already made a decision. If your haircut is misshapen or your suit jacket too long, the interviewer already took a subconscious note of it. During the final judgement of whether to take you or not, that split-second microdecision might be the deciding factor between your acceptance letter and another rejection letter. So, make sure you look pristine, confident, and professional. Your first impression must be perfect.

Next comes the greeting and the “sit down”. When you first enter the interview, a smile is absolutely necessary. It doesn’t matter if your day has been a disaster or if this is your sixth interview of the day: it absolutely cannot show on your face. A smile will give you a friendly air and let the interviewer know that you are both ready and happy to be there. After entering the room, extend your right hand while standing about two feet away, and start the interview with a “How are you?”. Remember your interviewer’s name. Finally, before sitting down, make sure your interviewer takes a seat first, and politely follow up by taking your own seat. Never cross your arms and always sit in the front third of your seat. Now the interview can begin.

The interview

Once the interview has begun, the hard part starts. Like any good conversation, an interview is a two-way street. As your interviewer asks you questions, make sure you backchannel – nod, clarify things, and occasionally say, “So what you’re saying is…” or “I also think this because…”. As an interviewer, s/he will have pre-written questions to ask you, but your job as an interviewee is to display the information you have prepared. To reconcile those two goals, you must lightly steer the conversation towards your interests while still answering the question. Then, make sure you aren’t the only one talking. Your interviewer should be talking just about as much as you are, and if they aren’t, feel free to ask them questions in the middle of the interview. Lastly, use their name during the conversation, and spend the last part of the interview expressing your unique desires and reasons for applying.

Post interview

By the end of the interview, both parties involved should feel comfortable with each other. Your interview is not an interview any longer, but a chat between two business professionals. You have a good idea of what the company is looking for, and the interviewer knows your strengths as an applicant. Now is the time to end the interview and complete some post-interview tasks:

• Send your interviewer mail: Everyone sends emails nowadays. Its almost guaranteed that the other applicants will send “thank you” emails to the interviewer, but very rarely does anyone still take the time to send a hand-written thank you note by snail mail. Doing so will make you stand out (in a good way).

• Follow up: Even if the results have not come out or if you did not get the job, keep up with your interviewer. Maybe the position filled up before you were considered, or the company was not ready to take on another employee. Whatever the case, your interviewer is a valuable contact, and you need to stay in contact.

Congratulations! The process is now over. Did you get the job? If you did, great for you! If not, no worries. The process is long and tedious; I personally went through over 20 applications just this semester. But as long as you never give up, there is always a silver lining. Happy job hunting!