Phone Interviews and the Necessity for Preperation

I literally jumped out of my seat in Seal Court when I received an email stating that an organization I applied for an internship with wanted to set up an interview. I had been groggily waiting for the Motley to open so I could consume my morning coffee, but this did an even better job than caffeine at sending an adrenaline rush through my body. I was overjoyed to hear back so quickly, and I think my response back sounded almost too eager, but it least they knew I was excited, right?

A few weeks later, I got ready for my interview. It was set for 1:30 in the afternoon, and I got off a Motley shift at 1:00, giving me just enough time to briskly walk over to my dorm and begin preparation. I decided I would skype from my dorm room instead of a public area, so I wanted to make sure my room looked presentable. I made my bed which was visible in the camera lens (unfortunately this a rare occurrence for me,) and I put on makeup and a nice top.

In all honesty, I had only set up my Skype account the day before, and I didn’t realize that it takes a full 24 hours before your account is activated. Thus, when the person interviewing me called, it went to my phone rather than Skype. I picked up, and embarrassingly explained that “I guess my Skype isn’t working.” She also apologized, as she was convinced that her internet was spotty and it was her side that wasn’t working.

We ended up just doing a phone interview, and other than my initial embarrassment, it went well. I tried to stay true to myself and give honest, thoughtful answers. For example, one of the last questions the interviewer asked me was what my “dream job” was. This is one of those questions that I never know how to answer. I could have just made something up that I thought tailored to the goals and needs of this specific internship, but instead I was honest, and explained that I wasn’t sure yet, but I had some ideas, and some qualities I would ideally look for in a job. While it is definitely vital to act calm, collected, and confident during an interview, I think in the case of an internship interview like this that is more informal than other job interviews, it is preferable to be genuine rather than forced.

Me, desperately trying to ace my phone interview.

Me, desperately trying to ace my phone interview.

Overall, I did prepare for my interview in certain areas, but not enough in others. I heavily researched the organization I was applying to and all it entailed, but I hadn’t figured out some of the logistical details such as sufficiently setting up a Skype account. Next time, I will make sure to learn from my mistakes, and spend more time making sure my technology is sound, rather than spending those extra ten minutes fixing my mascara.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *