EXECUTING SUCCESSFUL
INTERVIEWS
Ross Career Counseling
Office of Career Development
Office of Career Development
Role of the Interview
Resume
Interview
Job
Networking
• Your resume and networking will combine to help you
secure an interview.
• Being smart isn’t good enough.
• You must display ‘Fit’, which includes intangible factors
such as passion, knowledge, and appearance.
Office of Career Development
Before the Interview
• Check your wardrobe!
– Clothes should be business formal – suits in dark
colors
– Clothes should be well-fitting
• Grooming
– Haircut
– Shave
– Manicure
– Deodorant, breath mint, etc.
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Company Research
• It is VITAL to have in-depth knowledge about the
company, industry, function and your fit with all
three prior to the interview
• Research!
– Know all the details of the job description
– Know recent news about the company
– Know industry trends
• Kresge Library Resources
– OneSource
– When in doubt, ask a librarian!
Office of Career Development
HAPPINESS ADVANTAGE
•
•
•
Happiness fuels success, not the other way
around
If you can find a way to get your brain to
become positive, your success rate will
increase
Prime yourself with positive emotions before
an interview
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First Impressions
• Manage your first impression. The
first 30 seconds is critical.
– Be well dressed and groomed
– Smile and exude positive energy
– Handle the initial small talk well
• Psychologically, the interviewer may
spend the rest of the session trying
to justify the first impression.
Office of Career Development
First Impression?
Office of Career Development
Activity
• Need a volunteer
– Go into the hallway
– Wait for a knock
– Enter the room and introduce yourself
• Feedback
– What did you think? Good first impression?
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Small Talk
Most interviews usually begin with small talk. Small talk
is important to establish rapport with the interviewer.
• The recruiter will try to engage you with a question, “How
are you?”
• Answer in a conversational manner. Your answer should
not be too short or too long, but provide enough
information to keep the conversation going.
• Avoid controversial topics. Stick to the tried and true.
• Small talk usually lasts 2 to 5 minutes.
Office of Career Development
Small Talk - Activity
• Turn to the person to your right and make small talk for
the next 2 minutes.
• What topics did you discuss?
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Non-Verbal (During the Interview)
• “Likeability” is very important.
• Adapt to the style of the interviewer.
• Erect posture.
• Hands under control.
• Good eye contact.
• Modulate voice.
• Be aware of accent.
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Fit / Background
Your Goal: To establish that you have maturely thought
through your career and have found a match
between your skills and this job.
• Questions will mainly probe your background and
your motivations and reasoning for life decisions:
– “Tell me about yourself.”
– “Why are you getting an MBA?”
– “Why logistics?”
– “Why our project?”
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Tell Me About Yourself…
To answer fit / background questions, develop a 2 to 3
minute story about yourself.
Elements of your story:
College
Job 1
Job 2
1.5-2 min
MBA
Career
Goal
30 sec -1 min
Job
30 sec
(NOTE: Everything in this presentation serves to be an example
rather than a formula. Use your own creativity and judgment to
adapt to your own situation.)
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Fit / Background
Part 1: Pre-MBA
College
Job 1
1.5-2 min
Job 2
MBA
Career
Goal
30 sec -1 min
Job
30 sec
• College and reason for college focus
• First job and why
• Transferable skills from jobs (link to current function)
• Positive reasons for transitions
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Fit / Background
Part 2: MBA
College
Job 1
Job 2
1.5-2 min
MBA
Career
Goal
30 sec -1 min
• MBA: Why MBA? Potentially, why PT-MBA?
• MBA: Intent of education.
• Career: What are your goals?
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Job
30 sec
Fit / Background
Part 3: Job
College
Job 1
Job 2
1.5-2 min
MBA
Career
Goal
30 sec -1 min
Job
30 sec
• Give 3 personal and well-researched reasons of why
you want to work in this job for this company
• Research (through reading and networking) is a very
effective way to display your interest/commitment!
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Personal Odyssey - Activity
• Form groups of 2 and practice your “Personal Odyssey”
Career
College
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MBA &
Beyond
Situational / Behavioral
Your Goal: To show through examples the 2 or 3 ways
that you are exceptional.
• Questions will focus on specific skills, attributes and
experiences.
– “Are you a team player?”
– “Tell me about a time when you failed at something.”
– “Do you do well in ambiguous situations?”
– “Who is someone you admire and why?”
– “What is your greatest achievement?”
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Situational / Behavioral
Some themes to develop examples around:
- Leadership
- Teamwork
- Perseverance
- Creativity
- Reliability
- Communication
- Quantitative
- Under Pressure
- Problem Solving
- Weakness
- Failure
- Ethical Dilemma
• There are many more. Look at the skills your function and
industry values.
• Remember to identify your exceptional traits and make
sure they are conveyed during this portion of the
interview.
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Preparing for Behavioral Answers
Story 1
-Leadership
-Stressful situation
-Working under pressure
Story 4
-Creativity
-Problem solving
-Leadership
Story 2
-Quantitative analysis
-Analytical thinking
-Handling ambiguity
Story 5
-Dealing with ambiguity
-Strategic thinking
-Technical skill
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Story 3
-Dealing with difficult people
-Ethical dilemma
-Management
Story 6
-Multi-tasking
-Working under pressure
-Stressful situation
Activity
• Write down one story in which you used
strategic thinking
– What other skills did you use?
– What other themes arose?
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Situational / Behavioral
• USE EXAMPLES.
• If you answered the question in less than 1 minute, you
did not answer the question well.
• Format of typical answers:
– Framework: “I define leadership as…”
– Example: “When I was leading a project at…”
• Context
• Action
• Result
– Takeaway: “I feel I have the leadership attributes for…”
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BEHAVIORAL INTERVIEW RESPONSE: CAR METHO
~2 MINUTE RESPONSE, CAN START WITH THE PUNCHLINE (GRAB THE RECRUITER'S ATTENTION WITH TH
POINT YOU WANT TO MAKE)
20%
or 2535 sec
CONTEXT BE BRIEF, AND REMOVE TECHNICAL DETAILS
•
•
•
For example, while at (Org) , I/my team was (Task at hand, Your role).
It was challenging because (Complicating factors).
We/I needed to (Topic) or (Consequence/What was at stake).
ACTION 4-6 TANGIBLE STEPS TO DEMONSTRATE YOUR PROCESS
•
SAMPLE ACTIONS:
–
–
–
–
–
–
60%
or 1:151:45
I set up a meeting with X to discover why…
I stepped back to consider… and realized that…
I created an idea which would…
I developed relationships with X to…
I tested the idea by…
I fostered buy-in by…
RESULT DISCUSS MULTIPLE RESULTS TO SHOW IMPACT
•
– This contributed to (Ripple effect, Macro outcome)
– My (Stakeholder) said (Interpersonal result or Accolade)
20%
or 2535 sec
In the end, we were able to (Resolution/Outcome – Quantified if possible)
•
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This taught me (Takeaway/Learning/Personal Growth) that I will use in
Using your Story
• Using the story you’ve written down, answer this
question in C-A-R format:
Tell me about a time you used
strategic thinking to find a
solution to an on-going
problem at your organization..
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Behavioral Question Practice
• In your group, practice answers to the following
questions:
– What are your top three strengths?
– What is your biggest weakness?
– Tell me about a time when you failed.
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NEGATIVE QUESTIONS
• Failure, Mistake (2-3 min)
– 50% Mini-CAR
– 50% Learning
• State what you will do differently in future
• Cite any active development (classes, coaching, etc.)
• Provide 20 second example of when you encountered a
similar situation (opportunity for this weakness) later on, and
your improved result
• Weakness (30-40 sec)
– Be honest, but not too honest (can’t be a dealbreaker)
– Contextualize it (“I’m a horrible public speaker…” v. “I
get nervous when presenting to boardrooms”)
– Discuss how you are overcoming it
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Questions for the Interviewer
• Questions specific to the job
• Questions about mentorship accessibility
• Questions about the firm
– SWOT
• Questions about the industry
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Closing the Interview
• Before you leave:
•
Cover any critical topics you wanted to say but
didn’t address during the interview.
•
Get the contact info for the interviewer.
•
Ask about next steps.
•
Express your enthusiasm for the position.
• Follow up with a thank you email to each
interviewer the day after the interview.
• A written thank you note can also be nice,
but only use in conjunction with an e-mail
Office of Career Development
Additional Resources
• OCD Career Resources: Career Tracker, especially
Step 4
• OCD Multimedia Resources (with tabs for Guides,
PowerPoints, Videos and Podcasts)
• OCD MBA Resume Guide
• Kresge Library Resources for industry and
company research
• Mock Interviews with OCD Career Counselors
Office of Career Development
QUESTIONS?
Office of Career Development