It is interviewing season! You’ve all been working hard applying to jobs, and seeing the results of that effort can be amazing or stressful or both. Interviews are the time to build on the strengths of your application and get a feel for the kind of work you’d be doing and the kind of place you’d be doing it in, all while impressing your interviewer enough to secure your job offer. Thats a lot to ask from a conversation. Here at the Career Center, we know interviewing is an acquired skill, so we got Big Interview.

Big Interview is an one stop shop online platform to help you become the best you can be at interviewing. There are massive databases of questions, video lessons, answer builders, and more! Use the link on our webpage and sign on with your UMBC ID and password. The best part is, once you leave UMBC, as long as you have a valid UMBC ID and password, you can use Big Interview!

So, all these tools are great, but how can you use them most effectively? There are three main ways you can use Big Interview on your journey to becoming an interview champion:

1. Learn: Big Interview has a ton of resources you can use to learn about interviewing techniques. There are videos and worksheets to help you quickly learn about interviewing, mastering interview skills, editing your resume, negotiating your salary, and even performing well on the job. So sit back, grab a snack, and trade Netflix for Big Interview (for a while). You’ll learn a lot without having to leave your couch!

2. Practice: There are hundreds of sample interview questions on Big Interview, from industry-specific to admissions interviews. Take a stab at applying the skills you’ve learned and answer some! If you’re not sure where to start, check out their Answer Builder. Once you get really confident, why not try a few rounds of Interview Roulette!

3. Critique: Once you record yourself answering questions, you’ll have the chance to share those recordings. Feel free to send them to friends and family. At the Career Center, we have an inbox dedicated to reviewing your Big Interview questions! Just share your recordings with interviews@umbc.edu, and we’ll send you feedback.

If you want more interviewing advice, feel free to make an appointment with one of our Career Specialists! We offer interview prep appointments and practice interviews to help you prepare as much as possible before the big day.

Name:Ghazal Becker

Internship, Co-op or Research Site:Summers Lab, University of Maryland Baltimore County

Position Title: Research Assistant

Major(s)/Minor(s):Biological Sciences Major, Chemistry and Psychology Minors and Honors Certificate

Work Term:Spring 2018-Present

Tell us about your internship, co-op, or research opportunity, including your day-to-day responsibilities.

I joined Dr. Summers lab in January 2018, right after I finished my first semester as a transfer student at UMBC. At Dr. Summers lab, each graduate student and postdoc has their own group. When I first joined the lab, I was able to shadow different groups and ended up being part of Dr. Joshua Brown’s group. Being a part of this group, allowed me to learn to become independent, work on a project on my own and train other students. This research opportunity has allowed me to improve my public speaking, critical thinking, communication and time management skills. Since I joined the lab, I have been able to present my research poster 4 times including at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS). Joining Dr. Summers lab has allowed me to learn and develop many laboratory skills such as Pipetting Techniques, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), Trial Transcription, Large Scale Transcription Reaction, Gel Agarose Electrophoresis, and Bacterial Transformation. My day to day responsibilities in my group includes preparing samples, performing gel studies, planning my every day in advance and writing and reflecting on what I do daily.

Describe the process of obtaining your position. When did you hear of the position and submit your application?

I transferred to UMBC from Howard Community College (HCC) fall of 2017. As a pre-med transfer junior student, I did not know much about research opportunities on campus but I knew I wanted to do research and I saw a lot of UMBC students being involved in research. I asked around and learned that I should just email different professors in Biology and Chemistry departments and ask to see if they have any research opportunities available for undergraduate students. I specifically learned about Dr. Summers lab through a teacher assistant from one of my classes. I emailed my resume to Dr. Summers, specified my interest and asked if I could join his lab. I received an email couple weeks after I applied, had an interview, and was able to start working in the lab right after the fall semester ended, in the beginning of January 2018.

What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization?

I have enjoyed learning, collaborating and sharing ideas in my group, being assigned my own project, and being able to train other students the most about my position. I also enjoyed traveling to go to a conference, presenting my research at a national level and learning about what other students all over the Unites States are performing research on. What I enjoy the most about the lab that I work in is the fact that it is a very supportive and friendly environment and that we have fun activities such as going on annual ski trip or a picnic or eating at a restaurant together.

How do you believe you have made an impact through your work?

Working hard toward a certain goal and trying to test if a hypothesis is correct or not helps me to believe that I have made an impact. Structural studies that are performed in our lab are done to solve a specific structure and function of 5´ leader of HIV-1 RNA genome. Once a structure is determined more specifically, better therapeutics could be find to help individuals infected with HIV. Aiming and working hard to study a certain part of the  5´ leader of HIV-1 RNA genome help me to believe that I have made an impact.

What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience?

My advice would be to ask around, be persistent, email different professors and send them your resumes that highlight your strengths. Also, do not give up easily and keep searching until you find a research experience that you are looking for.

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On-campus jobs are a great way to build professional experience, develop mentors, and earn money. On-campus jobs also tend to be more understanding about the responsibilities and variable schedules of a student. So, how can you find on-campus jobs? When should you start applying? What kind of jobs are available? Keep reading to find the perfect position for you!

Residential Life is a massive employer of students on campus. If you live in a dorm building, you’ve seen the desk staffers, office assistance, and maintenance assistants at work, not to mention your RA! Applications for RA and maintenance assistant positions for 2020-2021 start in Fall 2019, so be sure to keep an eye out for that. Desk staffers and office assistant applications, however, can be found most of the year. Check out the open office assistant position here, and keep an eye out for other Reslife openings on their Student Employment page.

Another great opportunity on campus is administrative and office work. All those different divisions need help keeping everything in order, including the Career Center! We are currently looking for students to begin working in the Career Center next fall. Look for our job listings for a new social media intern (job ID 9306461 on UMBCworks) and graphic design intern (job ID 9306609 on UMBCworks) that are currently posted. And be sure to look out for our Career Peer position posting (that’s my job!) which should be going up soon. Look at UMBCworks for more positions; right now there are 20 on-campus jobs available for students next semester!

Finally, start thinking about research. Right now, the Undergraduate Research Award application is open. You could win up to $1,500 to work on your faculty-sponsored project! Many labs also have paid research positions available. Talk to your academic advisor and look at your department’s research webpage to find interesting projects. Then, set up a meeting with the professor researching that project to discuss the possibility of becoming a lab assistant.

If you’re looking for a job on campus for next semester, take advantage of this time between midterms and finals. Set yourself up for success by applying early and following up with your application. And remember, when you’ve secured that interview, be sure to use our Big Interview service to prepare!