Interview Help for Graduate Students

THE INTERVIEW

When you are invited for an interview, be sure to read all accompanying information carefully. You may be asked to bring your resume along to the interview, even if it is already on file with the company. Or you may be asked to fax your resume to them. Always do precisely what is asked of you. It shows that you are capable of carrying out simple instructions and helps them prepare a followup interview with you.

Preparation is the key to a successful interview. You cannot over prepare. As well as preparing yourself in practical matters, you also need to prepare yourself emotionally. You should appear confident in the interview, not conceited. You should also have everything you might need with you at your interview, but organize everything so you can avoid fumbling through papers, seeking the right document.

Another good interview tip is, Research the company that has offered you an interview. They may have their own website, which will have company information. If not, you could telephone them and ask where you can get general information about the company. You do not have to let them know that you have been invited for an interview. Just come over as someone with a healthy interest. Your knowledge of their company will help you in your interview. Anyone really interested in a job with them should be interested in learning more about them before the interview. This is how prospective employers look at the interview process.

If possible, find out who will be conducting your interview. Try to discover their position in the company, what they do and the responsibilities they have. This will allow you to position yourself with respect to their expectations, and thereby increase your chances of success during the interview.

It is likely that you will never before have been asked the kind of questions you will be asked in the actual interview. Therefore, you will not be prepared to give the right responses. Practicing the right responses to the questions you are most likely to be asked will allow you to react properly. Take notice of any hand gestures or body movements you make unconciously and force yourself to avoid doing them during your interview. Practice making brief and to the point answers.

Prepare the clothes you will wear at the interview at least one day before it takes place. Check the clothes for wrinkles or stains as first impressions are important. Dress conservatively without being too austere. Aim for smart, stylish and elegant. Women should avoid makeup and heavy perfumes, and men should not wear aftershave. Even in hot weather, always wear shoes and never sandals or sneakers to an interview.

Make a checklist of everything you will need, and keep an extra copy of your resume handy, just in case you need to refer to it.

Never enter the interview room chewing gum! In fact, do not chew gum anywhere near the company building. And if you feel that you need breath mints, take them well in advance of your arrival. Don't carry a water bottle either; eating or drinking should not form any part of an interview, unless you are offered a refreshment by the person conducting the interview. Then you should accept politely and graciously.

Show confidence with a quiet positive attitude. Believe in yourself and your abilities, and let the other person see that you do, but don't come across as narcissistic.

You should maintain eye contact with the person conducting the interview throughout the session, but not to the point where you make them feel insecure. If you stare at them continuously it might be intimidating. Try to keep a good balance of maintaining reasonable eye contact without aggressively staring.

Your body language can say a lot about you during an interview:

• Avoid fidgeting during your interview. It demonstrates a lack of self-confidence.
  
• Avoid hand gestures while speaking. It can become very distracting for the person doing the interview.
  
• Avoid biting your lips between the times you are speaking. It suggests that you are making things up.
  
• Avoid sitting with your arms crossed during the interview. It gives the impression of being standoffish.
  
• Avoid shrugging your shoulders when asked a question. It gives the impression that you do not know the answer or don't care to know the answer.
  
• And always use words only to answer questions. Never nod or shake your head in response to a question asked during the interview.

The right impressions are vital. There are many little things you can do to give yourself some interview help and future career help too. Graduate students who stand out from the rest because they are conducting themselves in a way that the interviewer wants to see are likely to do much better than the other canditates who just act their usual selves.

• Be polite at every turn to every person you encounter from the moment you enter the building until the moment you leave.
  
• In the waiting room prior to your interview, sit properly and attentively, smile at everyone, but not to the point where people think you are mentally deranged, and don't look bored or impatient.
  
• Do not eat or drink while waiting, and whatever you do, do not even think about smoking!
  
• Do not carry a cell phone while waiting for your interview, and if you must, have it switched off and do not make any calls. The interview should be the most important thing you are doing right then
  
• Greet the person interviewing you with a smile and a firm handshake.
  
• Be dressed properly and have everything you need or that they asked you to bring to the interview.
  
• Do not answer question in monosyllables of just "yes" or "no." Expand on your answers, but don't talk too much.
  
• Try not to need the bathroom halfway through an interview. This is where good preparation comes in!
  
• Be sure and get the names and address of the interviewers so that you can send follow-up thank you notes afterwards.
  
• Remember to ask the most important question before the interview ends: "what exactly do I need to do to make sure I secure this position?"

Should you be told at your interview that you have not been successful, do not display any kind of displeasure or anger. But armed with the information you now know, there is no reason why that situation should ever arise.

The best kind of interview help for graduate students and the key to enjoying a good and successful oucome is preparation. Try to think of every possible pitfall before hand, and then think of the ways that you can overcome them or bypass them. Your interviewer is only human and knows that you are too. Be confident, pleasant and polite and hold a quiet air of authority on everything you say. A successful interview is the best kind of career help there is!