Interviews are a crucial part of any internship or job recruitment process as they provide the opportunity to interact one-on-one with the recruiter, and can make or break an internship or job offer. After completing my first internship recruitment process, I experienced many great interviews, and one or two not so great interviews. Here are the tips I gathered about how to perform well in interviews that helped me the most:
- Do Your Research
One of the most common interview questions I received was “Why are you interested in working with ___?” Through simply looking through the organization’s website, I found relevant information that I could reference in my interview such as their mission and work environment. I recommend making a list of what you learned in your research and practicing your response to this interview question.
- Do Research on websites like Glassdoor
Glassdoor is an online resource where past employees or people who have interviewed at various organizations can review their experience and even list the interview questions they received. I found it very helpful to practice answering the questions that were listed on Glassdoor by past interviewees.
- Know Why You Are Qualified
Another common interview question I received is “Why are you qualified for this position?” To answer this question, it is important to reference the specific qualifications listed on the posting for the internship or job. For each major qualification, I came up with an example of how my experience meets the specific qualification. For example, one of the qualifications listed for an internship I interviewed for was strong writing skills. To meet this qualification, I talked about my love of writing and how I received an award in high school in writing.
- Recognize What You’re Good At, and What You Might Not Be So Good At
As part of preparing for interviews, I typed out my professional strengths and weaknesses. Doing so allowed me to be prepared to highlight my strengths, but also to practice discussing my weaknesses. I find it difficult to talk about my weaknesses because I don’t want to come across as unprepared for the position or unable to perform well. Writing these out before the interview really helped me to succinctly and accurately express my strengths and weaknesses.
- Be Yourself and Calm Down
I know it’s cheesy, but it is so important to remain your authentic self in interviews. Interviewers want to get to know you and your personality, and see if you are a good fit for the position. While it is hard to be yourself if you’re nervous, I find that taking a few deep breaths or taking some time to yourself before the interview can really help.
What are some interview tips you have gathered along the way?
