gonna get pwnd in an interview next week

[makken]

We had a recruiting event at our college a while back, and i sent off one my resume to a place that had an opening in a position I am very interested for. I just got a call back yesterday scheduling an interview for next week.

I've been talking to a few of the on-campus recuiters today and they subtely hinted at what they were going to be asking /what they're looking for in the interview, which aren't exactly my strong points.

They're using my GPA as an indication of my technical skills (my GPA is horrible), placing large emphasis on leadership experience (i have none) and "my ability to work in a team-environment" (not really sure how i can handle this one)

On top of this, this is going to be the first interview i've been to in over 4 years, so I'm rusty and nervous at the same time.

Anyone have any tips on how to prepare for something like this, where you know they're looking for some things you're not particularly strong at?

Thanks

 

[d33pt]

what would they be asking?

 

[Ns1]

start whoring out your resume.

 

[ch33zw1z]

If you know what they'll be looking for then you have a slight advantage. Try writing all the +'s regarding yourself and those questions, write all the -'s...this will give you a idea about how to answer and how NOT to answer. Avoid your -'s, hope they don't probe too much...

 

[LS20]

fabricate a story. or atleast overexaggerate anything youve done that resembled those topics. you should nkow that those are very standard questions to ask and have a scenario well prepared

 

[slsmnaz]

maybe it isn't the job for you

 

[Savij]

work in a team-environment: talk about whatever group project you worked on recently, make sure you can describe how you guys solved a problem and how you overcame a disagreement. It doesn't matter how dumb the problem was, just talk about what you guys did to reach an agreement. This question should be pretty easy for anyone who has ever done any group project in their life, just make sure you mentally go over all the group projects you have done before hand so you can recall them easily.

leadership experience: Tough, but they won't expect too much out of a college student. If nothing else, talk about how you led/organized trips with your friends. Talk about how you led the hiking trip, talk about how you led the drinking team to victory. Or... you can talk about how you were the one organizing one of your group projects. No one else stepped up, so you were forced to set a schedule and had to keep on top of your group members to make sure they were on track. How those unorganized bastards started to slack off so you had to slap them around. Something along those lines, but don't come off as arrogant.

GPA: Don't mention it unless they ask. If they do ask then you say "I know it's not great, but I *lost my entire family in the Virginia Tech massacre and I went through a very difficult time. Since them I have regained my focus and I have brought my grades back up." or maybe "I wasn't prepared for college when I started out and I didn't focus enough attention on my education. Since them I have regained my focus and I have brought my grades back up." This one may kill you, but some companies are hung up on GPA and others aren't.

*you may want to use something a bit more realistic like I got mono, my dad was laid off, my dog died...

They've basically given you at least 50% of the first interview. Prepare for it. Make mental notes about the relevant courses and projects you did ahead of time. You may be a turd at the interview, but you can be one very polished turd.

 

[makken]

Thanks for the tips savij, I think I have a very good idea about how im going to approach the team-environment thing now.

The leadership thing had me worried as they've repeatly emphasised it many times. even before I offically applied, when the recuiter was looking over my resume, he specifically asked me to include anything that would show leadership on, I have a few things that i can talk about, but they're nothing official that they can go back and check on (basically its just my word)

They also already know my GPA (a transcipt was required for the application process) so im sure that it's going to come up.

thanks again.

 

[JEDI]

Originally posted by: makken
We had a recruiting event at our college a while back, and i sent off one my resume to a place that had an opening in a position I am very interested for. I just got a call back yesterday scheduling an interview for next week.

I've been talking to a few of the on-campus recuiters today and they subtely hinted at what they were going to be asking /what they're looking for in the interview, which aren't exactly my strong points.

They're using my GPA as an indication of my technical skills (my GPA is horrible), placing large emphasis on leadership experience (i have none) and "my ability to work in a team-environment" (not really sure how i can handle this one)

On top of this, this is going to be the first interview i've been to in over 4 years, so I'm rusty and nervous at the same time.

Anyone have any tips on how to prepare for something like this, where you know they're looking for some things you're not particularly strong at?

Thanks

gpa you cant help.

but the other 2 area... LIE! make up a story.

you lead sunday bible school. you were in a basketball team. be creative. search the web for stories.

if you're caught because you sucked in lieing, so what. you're never going to see them again if you're not hired. (much like asking a girl you just met out.)

 

[SludgeFactory]

Not a big surprise that they mentioned those things. Leadership, teamwork, how you handled a crisis/potential interpersonal conflict, those are pretty consistent themes of most any personal interview you'll ever have. If you can have some specific past experiences in mind to demonstrate your value in each of those scenarios, that's a good thing. Really, you can take most of their questions and run with it into one of your prepared stories where you show why you're such a valuable asset.

Have stock answers for the cliche questions: tell me your strengths, your weaknesses, where you plan to be in 5 years, blah blah.

It's also good to have a 30-45 second spiel prepared for when the initial small talk finishes and they say "so, tell me a little bit about yourself." It's basically an opener to tell them the cliff notes of your life, who you are and how/why you ended up here.

Remember that the interviewer is uncomfortable on some level too, the process of attempting to find decent employees who won't ruin your business really sucks.