Going into the second half of the semester, many students are starting to look ahead. Jobs, internships and graduate studies are all on our minds now, and are probably causing some anxiety. One of the most important parts of getting any job is the interview. I caught up with Christopher Perrello, director of career services at the iSchool, to get some advice on how to ace any interview.
How should students prepare for an interview?
CP: I think the first thing that students forget is that you have to be yourself, you have to be authentic. You cannot go into an interview trying to be a pre-scripted robot. One of the biggest flaws students make is that they think they have to really try to over professionalize themselves and try to put on this front that they know everything, that they’re perfect, that they never make mistakes and that they never fail anything.
What’s important is making sure that you’re going into an interview being human, having a sense of humor and showing your personality, because that’s who they’re looking to hire, they don’t want to hire someone who’s faking it.
It’s super important that students practice and rehearse, not to be super scripted, but to be comfortable in allowing your interview to be a conversation.
General advice is to be yourself and to rehearse those questions that you know they’re going to be asking.
What are some things to not do in an interview?
CP: If you don’t know the answer to something, don’t try to BS your way through it. Own up to it, let the interviewing committee that you are stumped by the question or ask if they can rephrase it. Interviewers want you to be successful. They genuinely want you to succeed, and they want to help you out even if you’re not the ideal fit for the position.
Don’t wing it. You know they’re going to ask you certain questions no matter what, so make sure you have prepared answers and that you’ve embodied that message in a way that you’re answering it very fluidly and articulately, and it looks like you have a lot of confidence.
Don’t play it informal. Since the pandemic, we’ve all become less formal. The pandemic has almost put us in this frame of mind that we think we don’t need to dress up. What that’s doing is removing a piece of confidence from yourself. If you dress up, you feel good and you’re more likely to play the part. Plus, you may just look sharper and that may benefit you if it’s between you and the other candidates.
What are some virtual interviewing tips? What’s different between a traditional interview and a virtual one?
CP: The biggest thing is energy. You have to bring the energy to an interview, people don’t want to hire someone who has no personality. When we’re virtual, we’ve now put a barrier in front of us. We have to try to pump up the energy level even more now because we don’t enjoy the benefit of being in the same room as someone.
When we’re on camera, use eye contact through your camera lens to build rapport and trust with the interviewers. Also use your facial expressions, hand gestures and arm movements to look like you’re trying your best to engage with your audience.
The other thing is the technology. If you’re tech doesn’t work: good luck in that interview. Make sure that you have updated your computer before you sign on, that you shut out those programs that are sucking up bandwidth from your wifi. Also have an alternative means of communications with your interviewers in case something goes wrong. It’s good to have their phone numbers or have your phone available just in case you need to switch to a mobile device.
Also, using Zoom backgrounds is a way for you to show your personality and stand out. The trick is not to make it so distracting that you’re taking away from the original message. The SU backgrounds are great for showing orange pride, especially if you’re interviewing with SU alumni.
What are interviewers looking for in a candidate?
CP: They want detail, they want depth. One of the biggest mistakes students make is that they’re not detailed enough in their answers. If you’re interviewer has to keep on asking follow up questions, you’re making them do a lot of work. They’re going to get kind of annoyed and take you less seriously. Make sure your interview answers are clear, provide evidence and detail and follow a template where you’re not making the interviewer ask more.
They also want to know that you can be a team player. You’re most likely going to be on their team working with them, so if you don’t come across as likeable or having an engaging personality, that interviewer may not want to work with you in the future.
What to do after the interview, what questions to ask?
CP: You definitely want to ask questions, you are now continuing to show your interest in the role, and this is a great chance for you to show your listening skills. If you congratulate yourself too early and you walk out of that interview without asking questions, you’ve now lost that position. Try your best to ask some questions.
There are questions that I definitely do not want students to ask, like salary questions, vacation questions and questions about benefits. Those are sensitive questions that you want to wait until HR reaches out with a job offer.
Typically, I have students ask easy softball questions, like, “What do you like most about working here in this organization?” Now you’re giving them the ability to talk legitimately about what they think about that place. And if they aren’t talking about things that are appealing to you, you may want to reconsider your place in that organization. You may want to talk about mentorship and performance reviews too that’s an opportunity for you to look at growth within the role.
I think asking some whimsical questions is great as well. “Who’s your favorite superhero?” “What’s your favorite movie?” Those are some questions that show personality and take some anxiety and edge off of that interviewer. If you have only 30 minutes, then you’re better off asking those more serious questions.
Also ask about the timeline for hiring. Students often forget to ask when they can expect to hear back from the company. If you ask them in the interview, that’s now giving you the power to reach out to them if that time is lapsed. If they tell you they hope to have a decision in five business days, and those 5 days have passed, now you have the opportunity to respectfully follow up with that interviewer about their decision. That usually helps quell some anxiety from students.
Definitely ask questions, know those questions before you go into the interview.
After it ends, what’s next?
CP: You definitely want to send a thank you email out, I say within 12 hours of your interview, you don’t wanna wait too long. Keep it short, sweet and simple. Say, “Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to interview me today, I found x, y and z super interesting. I’m really looking forward to hearing about how I can proceed in the process.” That’s all you’ve gotta do.
What are some resources available to students for interview preparation?
CP: Big interview. It is an amazing platform that every SU student, faculty and staff member has access to. It’s a very robust platform that allows students to engage in video mock interviews. You can pick out your own question sets, like technical questions or questions based on the industry. You can record yourself as many times as you want and watch those recordings so you can learn from your mistakes. Shameless plug, you can also enroll in my CRS 345 interviewing class.
Also, talk to a career counselor. Every school on campus has an amazing group of career counseling professionals that are willing to help you out with not just preparing for an interview, and we can also set you up with alumni that can actually do mock interviews with you. There are really no limitations when it comes to interview preparation on campus. In this day and age, with all of the technology we have to practice our video interviews or practice mock interviews, there’s really no excuse for students not taking advantage of those opportunities.
Editors Note: For more information on career resources across campus, visit Syracuse University’s Career Services website.
Written by Noah Lowy ’21, S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications