What Employers are Looking For in the Interview

• Employers determine which skills or critical behaviors are necessary for the job opening and then ask very deliberate questions to determine whether the candidate possesses those skills.  To assess which skills the employer is seeking, talk with alumni, read the company literature and listen closely during the company’s information session. 
   

• Always listen carefully to the question, ask for clarification if necessary and make sure you answer the question completely. 
   

• Your resume will serve as a good guide when answering interview questions.  Refresh your memory regarding your achievements in the past couple of years. 
   

• Keep your answers concise but complete.  Your answer should take approximately 30 seconds to two minutes, depending on the depth of the question. 
   

• Focus on your strengths and put a positive spin on answers to negative questions. (e.g., what you learned.) 
   

• Enunciate, speak clearly and avoid swearing, using slang or fillers (e.g., “um,” “you know,” “like”).

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Phone/Video or Web Cam Interviews

• If the interview is being conducted using video, treat it as you would an in-person interview.  Dress and behave appropriately.

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• When scheduling a phone or video interview, confirm the time zone.
   

• If you are not in a setting where you can conduct a professional conversation, let it go to voice mail or request to set up an alternate interview time.
   

• Prepare your telephone area (paper, pen, calendar, and resume) and the location (i.e., hang a sign to warn roommates or other visitors).
   

• Get in an interview mind set — it may help to dress as if you are going to an in-person interview.
   

• Consider standing up for a phone interview because it may help you project your voice.
   

• Give brief answers and follow with questions of your own.
   

• Don’t just repeat what is on your resume (it’s probably in front of them as they call)
   

• Do a mock phone/video interview with a friend to evaluate how you physically and verbally project.

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Situational Interview

Situational Interviewing techniques focus on what candidates would do in a specific situation.  This technique involves questions that describe a hypothetical situation based on challenging, real life, job-related occurrences and ask the candidates how they would handle the problem.

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Example:  You feel that your team is making a wrong decision.  How do you handle the situation?

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Behavioral Interview

The basic premise behind behavioral interviewing is that the best predictor of future behavior is past performance.  Some points to remember when answering behavioral interview questions are listed below.   Sample Behavioral Interview Questions

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• Prior to the interview you need to think of examples where you have demonstrated the behaviors sought by the company.
   

• Use examples form internships, class activities, or work experience.
   

• Your response needs to be specific and detailed and make sure it relates to the question. Include the results or outcome.

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Case Interviews

Case interviews are a specialized style of interviewing that are common for consulting and finance interviews; however, they can be found in any field.  Case interviews allow an employer to assess a candidate’s ability to use logic, analyze a situation, sort through a large amount of information as well as their ability to present recommendations to a group.  Coming to the “right” answer is not as important as the process you use when answering the question.  Case questions can take several forms such as market-sizing questions, business strategy questions, or business operations questions.

 

Example:  “ABC Widget Company would like to buy Worldwide Faucets.  What would you advise them to consider before making this acquisition?”

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Technical Interviews

This type of interview is usually conducted by a professional in your field.  You may be asked about knowledge specific to your industry.  Be prepared to define terms common to your discipline such as “define net present value” or solve basic problems common in your academic area.  You may want to review some of the vocabulary and problems found in basic-level courses in your field.