Interviewing Strategies for CPS Students and Alumni

Welcome to Regis University Career Services’ Interviewing Strategies for CPS Students workshop. Possibly no job search activity causes more stress than the interviewing process. Knowing what to say and how to say it is critical as well as having a clear understanding of the employer’s needs. Determining what you want in a new position is also important. Interviewing is a learned skill … not a skill that comes naturally to most job seekers … and in this workshop we will provide professional strategies and techniques to help you further develop and improve your interviewing skills.

The following areas will be covered in this workshop:

  • Ten tips for successful interviewing
  • Types of interviews and interview settings
  • Preparation for the interview … or how to avoid interviewing jitters
  • The interview:
  • Personal presentation
  • The interview sequence
  • First impressions
  • ‘Tell me about yourself.’
  • Non-verbal communication
  • How to defuse loaded questions
  • Illegal Questions
  • Different types of interviews and interview questions:
  • General interview questions
  • ‘Tell me about your strengths and weaknesses.’
  • Behavior-based interview questions
  • Technical interviews
  • Case interviews
  • Team interviews
  • Telephone interviews
  • Questions for you to ask during the interview
  • As the interview draws to a close

Ten tips for successful Interviewing

Keep your answers brief and concise!
Unless asked to give more detail, limit your answers to two to three minutes per question.

Include concrete and quantifiable data.
Include measurable information - facts, numbers, and data – and provide details about specific accomplishments when discussing your strengths.

Repeat your strengths several times during the interview.
Explain how your strengths relate to the company’s or the department’s goals and how they might benefit the potential employer. If you repeat your strengths they will be remembered and – if supported with quantifiable accomplishments – they will more likely be believed.

Be prepared to discuss 1 or 2 success stories.
Reflect on past jobs and pick out one or two instances when you used your key skills most successfully.

Image is often as important as content.
What you look like and how you say something are just as important as what you say. Studies have shown that 65% of the conveyed message is nonverbal – gestures, physical appearance and attire.

Find the match between the employer’s needs and your skills and mention this connection frequently during the interview.
By doing this you can convince the interviewer that you have the skills to do the job…and that he should hire YOU.

Maintain a conversational flow.
It is important to maintain a conversational flow – a dialogue instead of a monologue. By doing this you will be perceived more positively.

Do your research thoroughly!

Remain positive during the interview.
Even if the interviewer attempts to turn the interview in a negative direction, it is important to remain positive. Employers can’t hire too many people with positive outlooks on life.

Practice, practice, practice!
It is vitally important that you practice…practice your route to the interview, practice your professional introduction, practice answering the tough questions, and, most importantly, practice telling someone why they should hire you.

Types of Interviews & Interview Settings

Interview settings:

Telephone

  • Home
  • Office

Face to face

  • Office
  • Restaurant
  • Social gathering
  • Airport
  • Home

Types of interviews:

Screening:

  • Telephone
  • Videoconference
  • Face to face One-on-one Group
  • Electronic

Hiring:

  • One-on-one
  • Sequential
  • Serial
  • Panel
  • Group

(Taken from Interview for Success by Caryl and Ron Krannich)

Preparation for the Interview… or how to avoid interviewing jitters!

The best candidates for a position will be well prepared for their interviews. Some of the most important things candidates can do in order to be well prepared is to review their strengths and their goals, research the organization, practice strategies to answer anticipated questions with well thought out answers, and put together a list of relevant questions to ask the interviewer. You will be a more impressive candidate if you offer thoughtful answers and ask intelligent questions based on your research.

Know the company you will be interviewing with.

A candidate for a position has to be thoroughly prepared before going into an interview - and that includes mounting a broad search for relevant information about the position, the division or department, the company or organization, the industry, the product lines, the interviewer, and even the competition. Some of the best information will come from conversations with people who are familiar with the organization, especially present and former employees. If you have already conducted an information interview with someone in the organization, you will have acquired useful information.

Some questions regarding the organization that you will interview with are as follows:

  • Who are the key people in this organization?
  • What are the major products or services produced by this organization?
  • How large an organization is it in terms of annual sales and employees?
  • What is its profit and loss record for the past 10 years?
  • Where is the company located other than in this community?
  • Where is the organization headquartered?
  • How is the company organized?
  • What is the company culture? Relaxed, structured, …..?

Diverse resources, many of them free or inexpensive, are available:

Employers' Web Sites

Your prospective employer's web site is probably the best place to learn about the company. Review the company’s annual report and look for a ‘company news’ page that links to recent news releases. As you read this information, consider how the open position, as detailed in the job posting, relates to the recent news releases and the company's mission. You can also use the company web site's search facility to query the names of the hiring manager, the department head, and anyone else who might be interviewing you.

Research Sources:

Online resources:

Get vital statistics and information on your prospective employer by accessing:

  • Hoover's Online
  • Vault

All of these sources provide descriptions of companies, financial data, and a list of competitors for thousands of large corporations.

Business Directories (print publications):

  • Dun and Bradstreet’s Middle Market Directory
  • Dun and Bradstreet’s Million Dollar Directory
  • Bernard Klein’s Guide to American Directories
  • Encyclopedia of Business Information Sources
  • Poor’s Register of Corporations, Director, and Executives
  • Standard Periodical Directory
  • Standard and Poor’s Industrial Index
  • Thomas’ Register of American Manufacturers.
  • Who’s Who in Commerce and Industry
  • Who’s Who in Finance and Industry

A 401k account or a mutual fund account with a major broker will often provide further detailed research on publicly traded companies and industries free of charge.

News Sources

You can broaden your perspective and see what local, national, and international newspapers, business publications, and web sites are writing about the employer and the industry. Search national publications for news on major corporations and use hometown newspapers to learn about small businesses and how big businesses interact with their local communities.

Trade Journals

Read a few months of the relevant trade journal to find out about new products and what the trade is saying about the company. You may find hard copies of trade journals at Dayton Library or in public libraries. Some journals are available for free or by subscription through their own web sites and the full text of thousands more is available through periodical databases like ProQuest and InfoTrac (See Dayton Memorial Library Databases.

Professional Associations

If you belong to a professional organization, go to its directory. If you don't know the names of associations that are related to your field of interest, check out Weddles Association Directory.

Google

By Googling your prospective employer, you might find information that you would have missed otherwise. It is important to try to get a feel for the employer’s organization, culture, and environment. You should also google yourself so that you will know what the interviewer knows about you from this source.

People are an invaluable resource!

Networking and informational interviewing can be very useful when you are trying to gather information on a company and/or and industry. It is also possible to go directly to the grapevine by making contact with other workers at the company you are exploring and by talking with friends and contacts who have worked at the company or know others who have.

Know yourself.

Candidates often prepare by researching the company but forget to give enough consideration to their strengths, experience, knowledge, skills, abilities, interests, values or their goals. It is vitally important that you are clear on what you bring to the table … i.e. how your skills match the employer’s needs.You need to have a clear idea of your value before you can convey it to anyone else.

Review each bullet on your resume and prepare a concise explanation for each statement - emphasizing your successes and accomplishments. Remember to include concrete and quantifiable data. Keep in mind that employers will be assessing your communication style, your problem solving strategies, your work ethic and motivation, and your teamwork skills.

Here is a list of attributes that employers are frequently looking for in prospective employees:

  • Positive attitude toward work
  • Communication skills (written & oral)
  • Interpersonal skills
  • Confidence
  • Critical thinking and problem-solving skills
  • Flexibility
  • Self-motivation
  • Leadership
  • Teamwork skills
  • Work ethic

It is very important during an interview to continue to target the position by matching your skills and strengths to those that the employer is seeking. This is an opportunity for you to cite particular strengths or accomplishments that match the position description. If you can convince the employer that you could meet his/her needs and perform the responsibilities, duties, and tasks involved, you are much more likely to be considered a serious candidate for the position.

The Interview

Personal presentation:

Appearance is the first thing you communicate to others. Before you even have a chance to speak, others will notice how you dress and draw conclusions about you, your competence, and your personality.

Classic business attire is generally accepted for interviewing, even if you are interviewing for a very casual high-tech firm that goes casual every day of the year. In some industries, however, the basic wardrobe for men is still a conservative two-piece suit with a white shirt and tie. Interview for Success by Caryl and Ron Krannich has an excellent chapter on ‘Dressing for Success’.

An important note: Know in advance how you are going to get to the interview and how long it will take to get there... It is also a good idea to identify an alternative route in case of unexpected traffic. Always arrive at least 10 minutes before the interview is to begin.

The interview sequence:

While interviewers don’t generally follow an exact pattern of questioning during a first interview, many do follow a basic sequence. Follow up interviews can follow a different pattern, depending on who is doing the interviewing and the goal of the interview.

  • Greeting
  • Establishing common ground
  • The main part of the interview process often begins with the question, “Tell me about yourself”
  • Purpose of the interview
  • Exchange of questions and answers to draw out information
    • General and specific questions
    • Conversations to clarify questions and explain answers
    • An opportunity for you to ask questions
    • Time to summarize the information and come to an understanding
    • The next steps
    • Closing

(This information was taken from Interview for Success by Caryl and Ron Krannich, Ph.D)

First impressions:

The first 30 seconds of an interview are extremely important and you need to make them count. Career Counselor Debra Benton, author of Lions Don’t need to Roar, says “…people form their impressions of you by looking at the outside and making assumptions about what is on the inside. They take you at face value.” It’s your responsibility to establish that value – and establish it quickly. It can take a lot of time to undo a bad first impression. Your attire, handshake, energy level, smile, the way you maintain eye contact, and posture all affect the first impression you make.

‘Tell me about yourself’

  • Interviews often begin with the question ‘Please tell me about yourself’. At this point you will be given 1 to 2 minutes to talk about your education, professional background, experience, and goals, highlighting that which would be most useful to the employer. This question is not intended as an opportunity to talk about your personal life – so keep your discussion professional. Employers want to know up front whether you are an appropriate candidate for the job before they spend much time on you. For many job seekers, this is uncomfortable and awkward. However, it can give you the opportunity to set the tone for the interview.
  • The key is to decide on your strategy. Write a 1 to 2 minute introduction, memorize it, and then practice 50 times! It is important that you take the time before each interview to change the words and focus to match the employer’s needs and the organization’s values. After you have listed two to three qualities that describe you and your general areas of strength, cite particular strengths or accomplishments that match the position description, discuss a value or principle that is important in your life and work, and end by talking about the expertise or resources that you can provide to the employer’s organization.

Non-verbal communication:

Studies indicate that 65-70% of a hiring decision may be based on nonverbal communication. Some important nonverbal behaviors are:

  • Sit leaning slightly toward the interviewer.
  • Make eye contact frequently, but don’t overdo it and don’t stare.
  • A moderate amount of smiling will reinforce a positive image. If you smile and laugh too much, you might not be taken seriously.
  • Try to convey interest and enthusiasm as you speak. Your tone of voice can say a lot about you and how interested you are in the position.
  • Listen to the interviewer and what he or she is saying. Don’t let your mind wander.
  • Don’t focus on the personal attire and mannerisms of the interviewer.
  • Give positive nonverbal feedback to the interviewer by nodding in agreement occasionally if you agree and by smiling when appropriate. Interviewers, like everyone else, like to receive positive responses from others. Your feedback is also likely to be interpreted as a sign of interest on your part.

How to defuse ‘loaded questions’:

It is important to learn to handle employers’ occasionally less-than-tactful questions related to situations such as unexplained terminations, too much job hopping, employment gaps, too little experience, too much experience, as well as questions that you feel are related to your family life, your gender, race or age.

Carol Hyatt and Linda Gottlieb, authors of Why Smart People Fail, suggest a four-step procedure for developing emotionally neutral responses to dangerous questions:

  • Write down a brief statement of the event (e.g. ‘I lost my job.’)
  • Tell your side of the story.
  • Review it for negative, self-defeating assumptions.
  • Reinterpret the event in a more positive way.

Illegal Questions:

Be Familiar with Your Rights:

  • Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 forbids employers from discriminating against any person on the basis of sex, race, age, national origin or religion.
  • Subchapter 1 of the Americans with Disabilities Act (1991) protects people with disabilities from discrimination in any aspect of employment, including application procedures, hiring, training, compensation, fringe benefits or promotion.
  • The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (1967) prohibits discrimination in employment against workers age 40 or older and promotes employment of older workers.

When you are faced with a question which you feel might be illegal, it is important to know where your boundaries are. The response you choose should be based on your own moral values and your desire to work for the organization with which you are interviewing. The use of illegal questions might even cause you to reconsider whether you want to work for the organization.

When faced with an illegal question there are several things you can do:

  • Answer the question and hope the information isn’t used against you.
  • Answer the question and then explore how the employer plans to use the information.
  • Ask how the information relates to the job requirements.
  • Refuse to answer the question.

If you decide you still want to work for the employer, you have to find a way to handle the situation.

  • You could ask for clarification by saying ‘I’m confused. I thought you wanted an experienced person who could make an immediate contribution to your organization.’
  • You could also answer the question with a question: ‘Can you tell me why this is a concern’ or ‘I would like to know how this question relates to the position for which I am interviewing.’
  • If you are offended by the questions you are being asked, you can always say ‘thank you’ and leave.

Different types of interviews and interview questions:

In this section we will begin with general interview questions – questions that are likely to be asked in all interviews. There are also many different types of interviews including behavioral based interviews, the case interview, team interviews, and telephone interviews. Lists of questions that are typical of each of these interview types` are listed below:

General interview questions

When you are in an interview, your strategy should be to listen carefully and answer the questions as they are presented to you. If you receive an indication from the interviewer or interviewers that more information is needed, go ahead and elaborate. Using this strategy, you will be able to keep your answers concise and to the point. Always feel free to ask related questions if you need clarification. It is important that the interview process not only be used to determine whether the employer feels that you are the right candidate for the position, but also to help you determine whether the position offers a good match for you. You will find a better job match if you manage your side of the interview with common sense and honesty.

Following is a list of commonly asked interview questions. Look over the list and develop a response for each question.

Questions related to your work experience:

  • Which of your previous jobs did you like the most? …the least? Why?
  • What have you learned from your past jobs?
  • How do you normally handle crises?
  • What were your major achievements in each of your past jobs?
  • Why have you changed jobs in the past?
  • Which responsibilities, tasks, functions do you enjoy the most?
  • Describe a situation when you feel you were unfairly criticized in a work situation. What did you do?
  • What do you know about our company?
  • How do you handle authority?
  • Will you relocate? Does relocation bother you?
  • Are you willing to travel?
  • When you are supervising people, how do you motivate them?
  • How well do you work under pressure? …when meeting deadlines? Give me an example of a time you were under pressure, what you did about it, and what the outcome was.
  • How do you handle conflict? Describe a time when you were involved in a conflict with one of your co-workers. How did you handle the situation? What was the outcome?
  • Have you ever been fired or asked to resign?
  • How long do you plan to stay with our company?
  • What other companies are you interviewing with?
  • When are you available to start?
  • What makes you different from other candidates?
  • What should we hire you?
  • What part of this position interests you the most?
  • What part of this position interests you the least?
  • What attracted you to our company?
  • How would you improve our operations?
  • Describe a time you were a member of a group. What project was involved? What role did you play in the group? How effective were the other members of the group? What was the outcome?
  • Why do you think you are qualified for this position?
  • Is there anything I have forgotten to ask you?

Questions related to your personality and other concerns:

  • What do you consider to be your greatest strengths and weaknesses? (See following section.)
  • Tell me about yourself.
  • How do you evaluate success?
  • Tell me about your management philosophy.
  • Give me an example of a time when you demonstrated initiative.
  • How creative (analytical, tactful, etc.) are you?
  • How do you measure success?
  • How do you handle criticism? Give me an example.
  • Describe one of your most notable accomplishments. To what do you attribute that success?
  • Describe your personality.
  • What motivates you to do your best?
  • How do you handle failure?
  • How do you normally handle change?
  • If you could do anything in your career differently, what would it be?

Questions related to your education:

  • Describe your educational background.
  • Describe your educational preparation and training specific to this position. Provide concrete examples when possible.
  • What universities, colleges have you attended?
  • Why did you major in _____________? Why did you choose that major?
  • What leadership positions did you hold on campus?
  • Which classes did you enjoy the most?…the least?

Questions related to your career goals:

  • What are your career goals and objectives?
  • If you could change your career, what would you do differently?
  • What attracted you to this job/field/organization?
  • Why did you choose the career you are in?
  • Why do you want to join our organization?
  • Why are you looking for another job?
  • Why do you want to make a career change at this point in your career?
  • Why should we hire you?
  • What are your long-term goals? …your short-term goals?
  • What other types of jobs are you considering? Other companies?
  • When will you be ready to begin work with our company?
  • What are the most important rewards you expect in your career?

 

In the online article, The Best Interview Question of All Time, the author, Lou Adler, says the single best question to ask in an interview is:

“Please think about your most significant accomplishment. Now, could you tell me all about it.”

“Tell me about your strengths and weaknesses”

(This question is frequently asked in all types of interviews.)

Your strengths:

The best approach to this question is to answer it in terms of the specific job requirements. It is important also to avoid speaking in vague generalities. You need to back up your statements with behavioral evidence that is concrete. An example: “My strongest abilities are organizational, problem-solving and interpersonal communications. Let me tell you about a project that required all three…” You need to tie your strengths into an understanding of the employer’s needs.

Your weaknesses:

Nobody ever seems to ask about your strengths without also asking about your weaknesses. Although it may seem like an irrelevant question, many candidates for jobs knock themselves out of the competition with their responses. It is very important to decide in advance how you will handle this question. Here are some strategies:

  • Present a weakness that is really a hidden strength.
  • Discuss a corrected weakness – or one that you are working on.
  • Talk about a lesson learned.
  • Discuss something that is unrelated.
  • Reaffirm your qualifications by saying ‘Nothing that affects my ability to do this job.’ If the employer presses you for an answer, discuss something that is unrelated.

Behavioral-based interview questions:

Based on the idea that past performance is the best predictor of future success, this interviewing style relies less on general questions and more on specifics. Questions often begin with ‘Tell me about a time’ or ‘Give me an example of…’.

Interviewers who favor this format usually develop their line of questioning around the skills and experience which are considered to be important in the position. For example, if the position involves customer service, an interviewer might ask the question, ‘Tell me about a time when you had to handle an angry customer. How did you handle the situation? What was the outcome?’ For a position that requires a lot of teamwork, you might be asked questions about teamwork such as ‘Give me an example of a situation where you demonstrated your skill as a team player. What was the outcome? What role do you normally play when you are a member of a team?

Some behavior based questions:

Give me an example of how you… Tell me about how you… Tell me about a time when you…

  • worked effectively under pressure.
  • handled a difficult situation with a co-worker.
  • missed an obvious solution to a problem.
  • were unable to complete a project on time.
  • persuaded team members to do things your way.
  • were forced to make an unpopular decision.
  • got boggled down in the details of a project.
  • hired or fired the wrong person.
  • had to fire a friend.
  • lost or won an important contract.
  • delegated a project effectively.
  • surmounted a major obstacle.
  • used your political savvy to push through a program that you really believed in.
  • anticipated potential problems and developed preventive measures.
  • Give me an example of your leadership style.
  • Provide us with an example of a time when you had to convince people to do something that they didn’t want to do.

Technical interviews:

Allan Hoffman of Monster.com says:

  • It is important to realize that you will probably be tested on your technical knowledge and skills so it is vitally important that you do your research and find out what the employer’s needs are. You also have to be able to give concise, qualitative answers. Anything else will be perceived as ‘sloppy’.
  • Be specific. For example, if you are asked how familiar you are with C++, talk about how long you have worked with the language, what percentage of your time was spent on programming and testing, and what milestones you have achieved.
  • Know the company. Companies want people who understand the company’s goals, competitors, and the industry at large.
  • Dress appropriately. Just because a company has a reputation for an informal atmosphere, don’t show up in shorts. Interview attire should always be relatively conservative. Once you have been hired you can wear whatever they wear on a daily basis.
  • Use action words (planned, initiated), leadership words (organized, directed), and results words (increased, contributed) whenever possible. (See our list of action verbs.)

Case interviews:

A case interview is the analysis of a business question. Unlike most other interview questions, it is an interactive process. Your interviewer will present you with a business problem and then ask you for your opinion. Your job is to ask the interviewer logical questions that will allow you to make a detailed recommendation.

The majority of case interviewers don’t have a specific answer in mind. Frequently, however, the interviewer is looking for a thought process that is both analytical and creative. Specific knowledge of the industry isn’t necessarily important. Case interviews are more common in consulting companies.

Here are 10 tips for answering business case questions successfully:

  • Take notes. Be sure to take careful notes on the numbers or other facts given.
  • Make no assumptions. Facts will inevitably be left out of a presentation. Be prepared to read between the lines.
  • Ask questions. Your interviewer expects you to ask questions – as many intelligent questions as you need to obtain an accurate picture of the relevant facts in the case.
  • Listen carefully to the answers you get.
  • Maintain eye contact.
  • Take your time. It is perfectly fine to take a minute to think through you answer.
  • Lay out a road map for your interviewer. Tell him/her which approach you are going to take.
  • Think out loud. The business case gives you an opportunity to show the interviewer how you think. He/she wants to know that you can reason in a rapid and logical fashion.
  • Present your thinking in a clear, logical manner. When useful, use frameworks and business concepts to organize your answer.
  • Quickly summarize your conclusions. You will have limited time in your case interview to make your point.

Excerpts taken from The Vault Guide to the Case Interview by Mark Asher, Eric Chung and the staff of Vault. Published by Vault Inc., 2002.

Team interviews:

Team interviews are more challenging than traditional interviews. Since you may not be told in advance that you will be interviewed by a group of interviewers, it is important to be prepared for this possibility.

As Marlene Caroselli says in her article ‘How to Survive a Team Interview’, ‘…you must expect the unexpected. Long gone are the days when a single interviewer asked questions that simply expanded on the candidate’s resume….It is not uncommon for a person being interviewed to find himself/herself in an interview with a group of employees or with the employees that he/she would work with if hired…..An interviewer may hand you a sheet of paper and ask you to write down the reasons you should be offered the job, or you could find yourself, along with other applicants, being asked to solve a problem collectively. Team interviews are another variation on the traditional interview theme. Del Laboratories defines team interviews as taking a candidate through a series of one-on-one interviews. After the meetings, the interviewers gather to discuss the candidate’s performance. Using common criteria and position descriptions, members assess the information from the individual sessions and their reactions.’

Taken from How to Survive a Team Interview by Marlene Caroselli in Career Journal.

Some tips for team interviewing:

  • Consider team interviews to be an opportunity to put your group management and group presentation skills on display.
  • Vary your answers. If you are called back to interview with different managers, find ways to make the same information sound different.
  • Try to ‘read’ the various personality types in the room and find a way to connect with each interviewer.
  • Be sure and make eye contact with the person who has asked the question.
  • Expect to feel additional stress. You will have less time to frame your answers than during traditional interviews. When you have three different people asking you questions, you are bound to be more tense than if you were in a traditional interview.
  • Practice doing a group interview ahead of time.

Telephone interviews:

Many employers use telephone interviewing because it is both cost effective and a good screening device for the actual person-to-person interview. The telephone interview also helps to differentiate candidates who look similar on paper but whose communication and critical thinking skills vary when they are interviewed by phone. Telephone interviewing is effective for getting to know candidates prior to meeting in person, but it is not a replacement for face-to-face interviewing. Here are some examples of what the interviewer seeks to do during a phone interview:

  • Validate information provided in the application packet.
  • Acquire qualitative information not generally available in the application packet such as quality of work, work ethic, motivation, strengths and weaknesses.
  • Test critical thinking skills and test how well the candidate responds to open-ended questions.
  • Evaluate communications skills.

Questions for you to ask during the interview:

Job interviews allow you and the interviewer to evaluate each other and to raise questions so that better employment decisions can be made. Much attention is paid to lists of questions that are frequently asked by interviewers but far less attention is paid to questions which you as the candidate might ask the interviewer.

Before every interview, think of several questions which you might ask about the position for which you are interviewing – the organization, the work environment, corporate culture, trends in the industry, and, of course, questions specific to the position itself. Your questions can help you:

  • understand what the employers needs are,
  • begin building a working relationship with your prospective employer,
  • show your enthusiasm for the job,
  • and, assess whether you really want the job.
  • What trends in the field do you see impacting your organization in the future?
  • How does your company differ from its competitors?
  • If I were hired for this position, what would my responsibilities be, what duties would I be performing, what would be expected of me?
  • What is the chain of command for this position? Do you know who my supervisor would be?
  • Can you tell me about the challenges your organization is currently facing.
  • How will this position impact those challenges?
  • What are your immediate goals and priorities for this position?
  • How does the department where this position is located fit into the company structure?
  • How would you describe the work environment? What values are important to management?
  • How will my job performance be evaluated?
  • Are there opportunities for advancement within your organization?
  • How do you encourage professional growth?
  • What are the greatest challenges facing the person in this position?
  • What level of support is available to the person in this position?
  • Why is this position open?

Some questions which you might ask during your interview:

As the interview draws to a close…

Toward the end of your interview, try to find time to briefly (very briefly) summarize your strengths as they relate to the position. In addition, ask the interviewer what the time line will be and when he or she expects a hiring decision to be made. Be sure and take the opportunity to thank the interviewer(s) for their time – don’t forget to emphasize your interest in and enthusiasm for the position for which you have just interviewed!

Occasionally a job will be offered to a candidate at the end of an interview. This can happen if the interviewee has made a particularly good impression, if it is a difficult position to fill, or if the employer needs to fill the position quickly. Even if you think you want the position, it is a good idea to ask for a period of time – at least a day or two – to consider the offer. There are several reasons to do this. First, give yourself time to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of the position. A second reason to ask for time to think about a job offer is to give yourself a chance to check with other prospective employers who are considering you for employment. It is generally acceptable to call a firm where you have been told you are under consideration and tell them you have a job offer. It may speed up their decision and give you two offers from which to choose.

After the Inteview...Determining the Next Steps

Always ask for business cards at the end of the interview so that you will have the correct spelling of the names of the interviewer(s). It is important that you follow up quickly (preferably within 24 hours) and effectively with a thank you note. Some interviewers have been known to drop a candidate from consideration because they didn’t receive a thank you note from them. A thank you note should be more than a polite thank you. It can be used to show your interest and your enthusiasm for the job and the organization, and it can also be one more opportunity to emphasize a specific selling point.

Here is a sample thank you note:

June 3, 2004

Robert Owens 
Legal Department
Levi Strauss and Company
1234 Seventh Street
Santa Monica, CA 90401

Dear Mr. Owens,

I appreciate your meeting with me last Friday and would like to thank you for the information you shared and your assistance in my career search. I am very impressed with and interested in Levi-Strauss as your company has successfully made a transition in a very competitive business environment. I believe that I could offer a combination of experience to your company from my involvement with my own firm.

Even if you do not currently have a position that is a good match with my background, I would like to thank you for your advice and help. As you suggested, I am writing letters to Mr. John Hathoway and Mr. David Lee. I appreciate your giving me these referrals.

Thank you very much.

Sincerely,

Richard E. Hart

After you have written a thank you note you should consider doing the following:

  • Critique your interview carefully.
  • Keep an interview journal. As soon as possible, write a brief summary of what happened in each interview as well as the names of the individuals with whom you interviewed. It is important to keep records and evaluate your performance so that you can improve in your next interview.
  • Consider what follow-up steps might need action.
  • Salary negotiation is often one of the most difficult aspects of job interviewing. For detailed information on this subject, see Career Services’ online Compensation Negotiation Workshop.

Thank you for participating in the Interviewing Strategies for CPS Students workshop offered online by Regis University Career Services.

If you have questions or comments about this online workshop, please contact Career Services at 303.458.3508.

If you would like to set up a career counseling appointment or a ‘mock interview’ (a video practice interview) at any of the Regis University campuses, contact Career Services at 303.458.3508 or 1.800.388.2366 x3508.