Career Center Peer Advice: Interviewing Archives

March 18, 2009

Interviewing with not-for-profits

I was speaking with someone who was interviewing at a not-for-profit organization. Here are some tips to take into account when interviewing with this type of organization.

Know the mission:
Not-for-profits are mission-driven (ideally), so understand the mission. This is IN ADDITION to the organization's work and circumstances. Know what you are getting into by taking time to internalize the organization's mission.

Convey your passion:
Since not-for-profits are mission-driven, you must convey your passion for the mission. The question "why do you want to work here?" is one of the most important questions in the interview. Spend time to really understand why you care about the organization's work. Be authentic. Dig deep.

Show initiative:
Not-for-profits often have to do much with very little resources, so show that you can be scrappy. Show that you can learn quickly, be self-starting and take feedback in stride. Needing initiative comes with the territory, so to speak, in the case of not-for-profits.

Of course, general advice about interviews apply to a not-for-profit interview. These tips merely address some circumstances unique to organizations in this sector.

-nt

Posted by ntambe at 04:38 PM | Comments (0)

October 15, 2008

Some Interview Tips - Top 5 Sleeper Picks

Here are some of my favorite interviewing exercises/tips as you prepare to knock out those interviews!

1. The resume bullet tango:
Be able to talk about each bullet coherently for about 30 seconds. If you can do that, you are probably pretty well versed on your experiences.

2. Optimal Interview:
For students, Optimal Interview is a great service. Basically, you use a web-cam and record yourself answering interview questions. You can call the Career Center to schedule a room, or if you have a web-cam you can do it from the comfort of your own home.

https://umich.optimalresume.com/ Once you get there, click on the "Interview Prep" button.

3. Yoga--or whatever it takes
I love to do some yoga the evening before an interview...in other words, try to relax so you feel cool-as-a-cucumber going into your appointment. If that means, exercising, eating a nice meal or reading...do it. You'll perform your best if you are well rested and under minimal stress.

4. Expect a curve-ball
During interviews, you'll probably get a question that you weren't expecting. If that happens, stay calm, take a moment and then answer the question. Interviewers understand that interviews can be difficult and that its impossible to be totally prepared. If you get one question that throws you off, maintain your composure...if you do it'll probably score you points.

5. Smile :)
Interviews are a tough process, but its better than writing a paper or doing polynomial long division, right? Have a blast and use the opportunity before you. If you have a genuine smile through it, it'll make you--and your interviewer--feel leaps and bounds better.

Posted by ntambe at 02:38 PM | Comments (0)

April 01, 2008

On the Other Side of the Table

These last few weeks we have been conducting interviews to fill a few openings with the Peers for next year, and I have been lucky enough to be able to help with a few of them. These interviews have given me a brand new perspective on the interview process because it has allowed me to appreciate the questions that are behind the questions that are asked - a phenomenon that is in all interviews.

A big thing that we look for in peers are an understanding for the real impact of an experience that builds into a career or simply a goal of a career. For example, my internship with the DC Public Defender Service looks great on a resume or law school application simply based on what I was doing, but, I appreciate it for so much more.

As an intern I saw the bad side of the criminal justice system, the poverty that often spawns crime, and the terrible segregation that pervades throughout DC. I also helped, in a very personal way, clients who had rarely been given anything in life, so that they might avoid everything that goes along with jail time.

Because of these insights, this internship is valuable in two ways - both as a really impressive addition to my resume, and also as a great topic for an interview, where I can showcase my passions, depth of experience and future hopes and dreams.

A similar understanding is what I have been looking for in every one of my interviews, and is the "question behind a question" that I have posed to all of our candidates.

The important thing to realize is that I am not going to ask:
"Do you appreciate your internship for both its extrinsic and intrinsic value?" Despite the fact that that is what I really want to know.

A more appropriate question is slightly masked:
"I see you experience with so and so, what was valuable about it? What did you take away from it? Why would you suggest it to someone else?"

It is tough to see these underlying questions, much less to answer a question that isn't even actually asked! However, you have to realize that each question has a purpose, and that an interviewer isn't looking for a restatement of what you put on your resume.

To get a little experience in seeing those underlying questions, think about the main goal of an interview: separating qualified candidates to find the perfect fit for a position. The only way to do this is to ask the same general questions of all candidates, so that you can compare and contrast the quality of their response.

This means that your generic response, describing the surface level of what you did, isn't going to cut it. They already have that surface level understanding, so take the opportunity that is the interview to give them a deeper understanding, so that they can answer the big question: Are you the best person for this position?

And if you can do that - you would make a great peer!

-Nick

Posted by glauchni at 04:22 PM | Comments (0)

February 18, 2008

Interviews: Time Especially for Me

I have been in the thick of an internship competition for the last couple of weeks, with it all ending very soon. Having gone through a few interviews already, I have one more, for a single position!

Even if the opportunity doesn't turn out, it has been a great opportunity to refresh my interview skills, and my appreciation for the institution that is the interview.

The interview is great because it is some thirty to forty minutes dedicated to discussing YOURSELF with people with some amazing credentials.

Can anyone think of a better topic?

I think that this mindset is actually the most important thing to bring into the interview. When you walk in there, ready to talk about yourself and how well you are going to fit into the position because of your background, how can anything go wrong?

Further, if you are excited about the topic, that excitement will be conveyed to your interviewer and leave a positive air after you leave.

Even better, if you are excited, rather than gripped with fear, you are going to be able to build so much more rapport with your interviewer, such that the whole process will be much less stressful.

So if I could give one piece of advice to people before they walk into the interview it would be to BE EXCITED - because your interviewer is someone already involved in something you are interested in, and is interested in talking to you, about you!