After sending out a seemingly endless amount of resumes, cover letters, and applications, you’ve finally been asked to interview! I used to think applying was the hard part, but that’s what I now consider the easier part. When you think about it, your resume and cover letter are a carefully crafted representation of yourself, while interviews are live, on-the-spot, with no pause or rewind button. There are so many more ways to mess up in an interview than on an application, but there are also so many more ways to stand out. Interviews don’t have to be intimidating — all it takes is a little preparation and practice.
As with many things in life, practice makes perfect.
It’s hard to become good at something when you’ve only done it once or twice, and for most people, interviewing isn’t something that comes naturally. While you want to cover your strengths, skills, and experiences, you also don’t want to sound like a robot methodically listing everything. We’re not exactly used to talking about ourselves and our accomplishments — selling ourselves without explicitly selling ourselves. So, the more you practice, the more likely you’ll nail that interview. And the more interviews you do, the more you’ll learn about things you need to work on, your strengths and weaknesses, and things that need to be refined. Ask a friend or someone you know who has more experience to help you practice — go over potential interview questions with them and be open to their feedback. They can not only help you strengthen your answers, but also critique your behavior — maybe you’re not making eye contact, fidgeting, or just seem disengaged or uninterested.
Do your homework.
No interview is conquered without some preparation and doing a mock interview is just one part. When you first applied, you (hopefully) already did some research on the company. However, now, it’s time to dig even deeper. Familiarize yourself with the aspect of the company that’s relevant to your position. If you’re interviewing for a marketing position, look at the company’s recent marketing campaigns. If you’re interviewing for an engineering position, see if you can find out more about the technology they use. Maybe they have an API. The more informed you are about the company as a whole — its mission, core values, and culture, and what the team you’re interviewing for is doing, the more prepared you’ll be to have a deep conversation with your interviewer. In-depth knowledge can help you identify gaps and problems that the company is facing, which can be a major talking point in your interview.
Nerves — they’re normal.
It’s natural to be nervous about your first, or even seventy-first interview. Even I still get a little jittery when I have an interview coming up, but instead of a fear-gripping, shaky nervousness, it’s become more of an excited, energetic nervousness over time. Try channeling your nerves into energy, excitement, and passion. If that doesn’t work, just know that bombing an interview is not the end of the world or your professional career. Even if it’s your dream internship, know that there are plenty of other opportunities out there. I think it’s easy for us to get caught up and put a heavy emphasis on one make-or-break moment, but the world doesn’t work that way most of the time. There will usually be another day, a second chance. So, try to let go of those nerves — shake them out, dance them out, do whatever you need to prevent psyching yourself out.
An interview boils down to just a conversation.
Interviews are really just a conversation between two people. We have a tendency to build them up in our minds as this huge, scary thing, but they aren’t and they certainly don’t have to be. Interviews come in all shapes and sizes. While some are indeed more than just a conversation, the simple one-on-one interview usually does boil down to a back and forth built on getting to know you. Interviewers want to learn more about you aside from your skills and experiences because they want to know whether you’ll fit into the company’s culture. My most successful interviews are the ones where I’ve just gone in and been myself. I of course answered all the questions the interviewer had prepared, but it’s even better if you can naturally turn those questions into a starting point for further discussion about projects you’ve worked on and your interests. And at the end when your interviewer asks if you have any questions, ask something. Not asking questions implies that you’re not really interested, even if that’s not true. This is your opportunity to get to know more about your interviewer, his or her job and career, and the company, so take it.
Follow up with a thank you.
The interview doesn’t end when you walk out of the door. Okay, technically it does, but what I mean is that many people forget to follow up, or simply don’t do it. When you follow up with your interviewer and other applicants don’t, that’s an opportunity for you to stick out in your interviewer’s mind when they review the candidates and make their hiring decision. The follow up doesn’t have to be complicated — simply send an email to your interviewer within 24 hours of the interview. Ideally, within the same day. At the least, thank them for their time and consideration. At the most, your follow up email can include some important points from the interview and any further questions you have. If you found something they said really interesting, point that out. If you bonded over a shared interest, bring it up if the interview was on the casual side. The follow up email can help to build further rapport with your interviewer; however, remember to keep it professional and concise. If multiple people interviewed you and you don’t have their email addresses, you can follow up with the recruiter who set up the interviews and ask him or her to forward your email to your interviewers. Many people fail to follow up, even though it takes only 5 minutes to do. It’s such a simple, small thing, but it can make a lasting impression.
If you’re feeling unsure of yourself or can’t get over that nervous, panicky feeling, remember, you already beat out thousands of other resumes to land this interview. Something piqued their interest and they want to know more about you. If they felt like you didn’t have the skills and experiences to do a good job, they would’ve thrown you out of the running already. Regardless of what the outcome is, approach every interview with confidence and take every victory and defeat as a learning experience. When you do get that hiring call or email though, you’ll know that all your hard work has paid off. However, there’s still more to do to really get the most out of your internship. Come back in another two weeks for some pointers on how to make sure your internship is a good one for both you and your employer.
Check out other tips and advice in The Intern Files series:
The Intern Files, Vol. 1: Applying for Internships
Originally published at flcchn.com on April 4, 2015.
