Career Management Center

The Job Search

How To Prepare

Preparation for the interview includes arming yourself with self information and information about the employer. You should spend three to five hours per interview doing research. Some facts about the organization you should know are:

1. What it does
2. What its needs are
3. Career options
4. Future prospects
5. Earnings
6. Research and development
7. Products/services
8. Who you will be speaking with and their position

Potential sources of information include: information interviews, news media, yellow pages, word-of-mouth, professional journals, newsletters, and trade magazines. The Turchin Library has an extensive collection of materials for researching firms. By researching the employer beforehand, you are able to devote the interview to a substantive discussion of your qualifications rather than a recitation of facts about you and the organization.

It is also important to have clearly defined goals when you enter the interview. Most employers are seeking people who have done their career planning and who know what they can do for the organization. The quickest way to be rejected in an interview is to appear undecided or "shopping around." In a survey of recruiters, most students are rated between 3 and 4 (on a 7-point scale) in preparation for the interview and knowledge of their career goals. So, although it may be socially acceptable among your peers to "interview for practice" or "shop around," your chances of success are very low.

You must also thoroughly know your resume. When the opportunity arises, be prepared to deliver on your skills. Be able to communicate effectively your strengths and developmental areas. Practice makes perfect.

An additional way to prepare for the interview is to anticipate the questions the recruiter will ask. What questions would you ask if you were in his/her position? What answers would you be seeking? What strong/weak points on your resume would you ask about? Anticipation of the content can help you do well in the interview.