You hang up the phone, your hands are a bit sweaty and your heart is beating a little faster than usual. You can’t remember your last words exactly, but they must have been something like “thank you so much” or “have a good day.”
You’ve just been offered an interview. As excited as you are about it, you’re also nervous as hell. The first thing you want to do is prepare – who cares if it’s two weeks away? But how do you prepare for something effectively without overly stressing yourself out about it?
Breathe, relax and do your happy dance. You just moved on to the next step of the hiring process! Getting the job is totally possible, and it’s never too early to get ready.
Honestly, the first thing I think about is my outfit. Finding the perfect outfit to interview in is always tiresome and frustrating because of how much they affect first impressions.
“People make judgements about what you’re wearing,” Career Advisor Courtney Ball said. “It’s important that you research the culture of the organization, so that you can determine what their professional standards are.”
Once you know how you want to present yourself, it’s time to get ready to sit in the hot seat. Knowing what you have to offer will save you from some “ums,” “likes” and awkward pauses when answering questions, which is essentially what you want.
“There are lots of ways to prepare,” said Ball. “One of my favorite ways is to take the job description and start circling things that I’ve done or skills that I have.”
If you feel like you really don’t know anything great about yourself – take a moment. You’ve already sent them your resume and application so they’ve seen something in you that they want to hear more about. Don’t sell yourself short, the hard part is over.
There’s no particular reason for you to memorize your resume. For the most part you are looking for stories within your resume that might persuade the employer to hire you. When they ask you to tell them about yourself, they aren’t asking about your favorite color or late night snack.
“You have to pretend that they’re asking ‘Why are you a good fit for this job?’” Ball said. “Although those things about you might be interesting, they’re not what an employer is looking for.”
It’s not bragging to tell someone all your best qualities, especially if that person is someone who’s considering giving you a job. Look at it this way, an employer wants to ensure that the employee they hire has not only the skill, but the desire to work in that particular position. The more you tell them about yourself, the easier it is for them to determine whether you’re a good fit or not.
If you struggle with this particular aspect then go to the career center. It offers practice interviews where you can simulate an interviewing experience and receive feedback in order to improve for the real thing. The career center also has seminars like SOAR where you can learn more about yourself through a professional perspective.
There’s also a website offered to all students called UO Advantage that tracks experiences that you’ve had on campus. If you’ve participated in a workshop, program or session it suggest what skills you may have gained from them.
Besides knowing what to say about yourself, you should also have your own questions about the position or company.
“I always recommend that you write 10 to 15 questions to ask,” Ball said. “Have them written down so that way, when they ask if you have any questions, they can see that you’re interested and excited about the job.”
When the day comes, make sure that you show up early – Ball suggests 15 to 20 minutes before meeting time. Take travel time into account as well. Leave earlier than you think you should because anything could happen, and punctuality is a must.
Interviewing doesn’t have to be hard.
“Career development is getting to know yourself. The better you know yourself the easier it is to talk to employers about it,” Ball said. “The career center is there to help you connect the dots.”