It’s Halloween, my dudes. As we’re all dressing up as freaky monsters and reveling in the spookiness of it all, there is one thing that none of us dare to embody in our costumes: THE INTERVIEW. No, not the weird 2014 comedy starring James Franco and Seth Rogan. I mean job interviews in general. Those things freak me out! What do I wear? What kind of questions should I expect? Is it inappropriate to talk about salary? It’s very easy to be intimidated by the interview, so let’s talk about some ways we can conquer our fear!
As you probably could have guessed, the Career Center Website has a whole page about acing the interview with a plethora of information about how to do your best. One of the biggest tips we give to everyone is to RESEARCH YOUR EMPLOYER! If they ask “Why do you want to work here?”, you need to be able to say more than “Your logo looks pretty cool.” Looking around their website for things like their mission statement and some projects or ideas that they're famous for not only makes you look good, but it helps assure you that this is a place where you want to work.
Another topic that causes a lot of uncertainty is what to wear to the interview. Even I’m still not completely sure of the difference between business casual and business formal. Sometimes it feels like rules for what to wear can be very restrictive and discouraging of your personal style, but you definitely don’t want your outfit to be the thing that gets between you and your potential career. I am all for expressing yourself through clothes accessories, but perhaps save it until after you settle into your new job.
If just thinking about interviews makes your skin crawl, you should make an appointment to talk to a career specialist. We have two types of interview appointments. The first is interview preparation, which involves sitting down with a career specialist to talk about what to expect in an interview and to answer any questions you still have about the interview process. Our other appointment is the practice interview (or mock interview). This appointment goes a step further because it is set up like a real interview. The career specialist acts like a real interviewer and asks you questions that you’d expect on a typical interview, and gives you feedback afterward. If you’ve never had a job interview, or just feel like you need some practice, I would highly suggest either of these appointments.
Now let’s say you’ve already had your interview - Congratulations! Now what? It’s always good to follow up with your interviewer afterward, and a simple thank you letter or e-mail can make a great impression. We also offer advising for negotiating offers once you’ve been officially offered a job. See, interviews aren’t so scary after all!
The Career Center is constantly scheduling on-campus interviews and other recruitment events, so make sure to keep checking our calendar on UMBCworks and the Career Center website!
