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Ramping Up For The 1st Job Interview

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 9, 2007

Amid cranking out term papers, pulling all-nighters before finals, and wrapping up the video for the classroom presentation, your college senior is feeling mighty stressed.

Not because of the class work. That much he can handle.

What has him nearly over the edge is his first job interview coming up before semester break.

If you're the parent of a college student who's feeling anxious about landing a job or an internship, here are some tips you can pass along to your student. This advice from career and workplace experts can help ratchet down the tension and improve the odds for a successful interview.

Be prepared. There are so many resources available today to research companies. In addition to Web sites, read the annual report, along with news reports. Internet searches also will turn up information about smaller businesses and private companies.

Practice. Whether at the campus career center or in your dorm room or apartment, work on mock interviews. Come up with several examples of stellar classroom work or previous job experiences that you can cite during the real interview.

Check out Web sites such as Hotjobs.com for additional resource tools, including salary calculators and resume critiques.

Appearance counts. As Lindsey Pollack recommends in "Getting from College to Career," choose the right clothing, and "always err on the side of formality."

After making a good first impression by dressing appropriately, remember all those charm school touches - keep your head up and shoulders back, extend a firm handshake, make eye contact with the interviewer and break the ice with small talk.

Don't dodge the oddball question. "What is your favorite ice cream?" "If you were a tree or animal, what would you be and why?"

The more creative the position, the more likely an odd question may come up, said Mike Theobald, director of career services at Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Mo.

"Be truthful and use your imagination and creativity," he said.

Silence is not golden. With the session wrapping up, the interviewer will likely ask if you have any questions. That's your cue to fire away. That shows you've done your homework on the company. Don't end the interview with a lame "I think you've covered about everything."

The pay question. Some interviewers will ask about salary expectations. Again be honest, and if you've done your research, you can say that you'd expect your salary to be within the range generally offered for that position.

Take it or leave it. What if you get an offer on the first interview?
Theobald encourages students to take their time and exhaust all their questions before accepting the offer, even if it comes from their first choice.

If in the middle of a job hunt with several potential employers, for example, there's nothing wrong with contacting the human resources representative or other company contact to find out where you are with the placement process.

His final piece of advice: Go with your gut instinct. If you're comfortable with the people, job duties, benefits, salary and the like, take the job. On the other hand, Theobald said, "if you feel uncomfortable before walking through the front door on the first day, how comfortable will you be walking through that door each day after?"

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