Looking for an internship or a job can be extremely stressful! Trust me, I know EXACTLY what it feels like. There were times where I would be up at 2 A.M. anxiously filling out job and internship applications. Although I graduate college next month, in my entire college career I have had a total of 3 amazing internships at a variety of places ranging from a financial institution, children’s museum and an event-marketing company while also working on my school’s newspaper staff and at my retail job. Through all of these opportunities I was was given a multitude of opportunities to learn new skills and meet new people (some of which are my mentors today).
However, while applying to the job is the first step step, getting a phone call or email offering you an interview is the next step, but preforming well on the interview is the most important step! I thought it would be best to share some interview “Do’s and Don’ts” on how to do well! Please know that I am not an expert or a career advisor, these are just some of my recommendations on what has worked for me, advice that my mentors have shared with me or things that I have observed.
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| Blazer (similar style) | Dress (Mine is old & by Calvin Klein, but here is a similar style by another brand) | Heels |
Do’s
Do have a resume and cover letter
This is a must! When applying to any position, those who are hiring want to know about your experience to see if you will be a good candidate for their company. These are some important things that should be featured on your resume:
- Name
- Contact Information: Email & Phone Number is sufficient! You can include your mailing address if you would like. Personally, my resume does not have my home address due to the fact that I felt like it was wasted space. Plus, often times when filling out an online application there is already a queue with a slot for that information.
- Education: If have already graduated you can simply list your degree. If you are still in college you can put “Expected Graduation: XXXX” along with the degree that you are pursuing. If you aren’t in college yet, you can put high school.
- Work Experience: Most recent goes on top! Also, if you are no longer at that position, be sure to re-word your work duties as past tense. Example: “created promotional flyers” instead of “create promotional flyers”
- Skills & Abilities: Highlight your best ones!
Cover letters are super important! I have heard that a lot of employers will look at those applications last of those who do not include a cover letter in their submitted application or even throw them out. For your cover letter:
- Be sure to have the same EXACT same header as on your resume
- Briefly introduce yourself: Don’t spend too much time talking about yourself as you must remember that the employer also has your resume to reference
- Talk abut the job that you are applying for and the skill sets that you posses that match
- Do research on the company: Look at their core values, mission and their previous and current work and find some way to tie it back to you. You can do this by sharing what impresses you.
- Be sure to print out the letter, sign it and scan it so that you can submit the PDF with your signature on it
Do dress to impress
Let me preface this by saying that this truly depends on the position that you are applying for, therefore it is just best to analyze the company culture. For example, this past Christmas Break I worked at Francescas as a Seasonal Sales Associate. I wouldn’t have worn a blazer and suit to this interview because obviously that would have been a little too overdressed and not like the products that they sell. However, one thing to note that when going on job or internship interviews it is ALWAYS better be overdressed than underdressed. Regardless of if your interview went well or not, potential employers will always remember things like this that may seem minute. Whatever you do, please do not wear jeans and sneakers to an interview! And make sure if you are wearing a blazer that your flaps are down, don’t be like me in the picture above #Yikes. Here are some breakdowns on the different types of attire:
- Professional Attire: Women- solid color matching pantsuit, coordinated blouse, flats or heels that match and limited jewelry and makeup. (Some stores that I like are White House Black Market and (H&M) Men- solid color matching pantsuit, coordinated dress shirt, color coordinated tie, socks and dress shoes (Check out Men’s Warehouse or Brooks Brothers)
- Business Casual Attire: Women- khaki, cotton or dress pants, blouse, skirts and sweaters. (Loft & Nordstrom Rack are my favorite places for business casual clothes!) Men- khaki, cotton or dress pants, polos, and dress shirts. (Check out Banana Republic & Nordstrom Rack)
Do bring copies of your resume to the interview in a leather portfolio
This kind of goes along with “dress to impress”. My dad gifted me with an extra leather portfolio that he had that is really nice that I always take with me on interviews. I love it because when you open it up on the right there is a notepad and on the left there is a place to hold papers. There is also a pen holder. Usually when I go to interviews, I will put my resumes inside the slot with the papers and I will always be sure to have a pen on me. During the interview, the sole purpose is because they want to know about you and want to see if you will be a good fit for their company. However, sometimes in discussion things can go off topic and start talking about something else that interests you and I want to do a little more research on a topic that they brought up because I found it interesting. Not taking notes, but just jotting down some quick points to look back on and do research later on. Here is one somewhat similar to mine!
Be sure to show up on time
It is super important to be considerate because they are taking the time out of their day to visit with you! I always like to show up about 20 minutes early to my interview. Before you judge, I do not go inside 20 minutes early! Typically I will sit in my car for about 10-15 minutes to review notes and mentally prepare myself for the interview and then I will physically walk in about 10 minutes before my scheduled interview time. If your interview is in a large location where you have to go though a lot of places to get to your final destination, I recommend showing up a little bit earlier. However, don’t show up too early because then it is almost as if the person who greets you such as the office assistant or whatever has to entertain you while you awkwardly sit there. Also, do not be late! I’ve never been late to an interview but I have heard stories about people who have and the employers completely thrown out their application out and they never got the opportunity to interview. So be punctual!
Do prepared for potential interview questions
Basically what I am trying to say is, don’t wing your interview! Some examples of the standard interview questions that employers ask are:
- Tell me about yourself.
- What do you know about our company?
- Why are you interested in this position?
- Describe your strengths and weaknesses.
- Describe a time you had to be a leader
- Share one of your proudest accomplishments
- Describe what you have learned through your previous work experiences
- Share a time when you were faced with a difficult situation and how you dealt with it
- Where do you envision you career evolving?
Also, remember, answers to these questions should always be positive and relate or tie back to work in some kind of way!
Do research on the company beforehand.
Going off of being prepared for potential interview questions, employers are always going to ask you what you know about their company. Therefore it is SUPER important to do research before hand because how can you apply for a job at a company and not know anything about them?! There was actually a time where I went on an interview and I did not do much in-depth research on the company beforehand. Yes, I knew who they were and what they did, but not much more than that. They asked me this question on the inside I wish I had done more research and was a little embarrassed. So how did I redeem myself from this moment? I shared the little information I knew, said that it was a great company to work for and concluded by saying that hopefully, if selected for the position, I would be excited to learn more. Not the best answer, but definitely better than knowing absolutely nothing, “umm… that’s all I know”. I actually ended up getting the position, but do not do what I did so make sure you DO YOUR RESEARCH!
Do come prepared with questions to ask your interviewer after the interview is complete
Not going to lie, I ask the same post-interview questions every time. You should always come prepared with at least 5-6 questions because you never know if during the interview they might already answer one of your questions. Here are some of my favorite questions:
- If selected for the position, what opportunities can it open the doors to? (this is a great way of basically trying to get a better understanding of what you are getting yourself into than what is listed the job description)
- What type of skills is the team missing that you are looking in someone to hire?
- Are there opportunities for advancement or professional development training?
- What is your performance review process like?
- Where would you like to see the company go in the next 5, 10, 15, 20 years?
- What is the company culture like?
- What are the next steps to the interview process?
Do breathe
I tend to get really nervous before interviews. Hence, the reason why I arrive to interviews a little bit earlier to breathe, relax and go over my notes. This may sound kind of silly, but one of my favorite stress relievers is chewing gum. So I will sit in my car and chew some gum and listen to music. Just be sure to spit the gum out before going into the interview and swap it out for a mint.
Do send a thank you note afterwards
This is just the most polite thing to do! My mom raised me to write thank you cards for everything that I think is super important. Basically, just thank them for the interview opportunity and that you look forward to hearing from them soon. This is something that employers have told me that they definitely remember and candidates who do this stand out! Mailing a physical thank you note is preferred, but if you can not do the physical address and email is ok, it is just a little too easy. Also, if the interview was arranged by HR and you are not aloud to contact the potential employers who interviewed you or their information was not provided, you can email the HR Recruiter asking them to extend the thank you to them. I doubt that they do that, but the effort in doing so is better than not saying thank you.
Don’ts
Don’t freeze up if you do not know the answer to a question
It is okay to not know the answer to a question, it happens! This is super common when your potential employers ask you questions outside of the ones that you rehearsed for yourself while preparing for the interview. Whatever you do, do not say that you do not know the answer. What you can say is “that is a difficult question” and then give your best answer to the question. Trust me when I say that employers understand that interviews can interviews can be slightly intimidating, they know because they have been in your shoes before as well.
Do not lie
Whatever you do, do not lie. 9/10 it will probably bite you in the butt and come back to haunt you. Aside from trying to impress your employers, if and when you get caught it makes you look desperate, dishonest and slightly selfish. Which are most definitely three traits that employers do not want in an employee. I heard a story about someone who lied about either always watching the news or reading the Wall Street Business Journal and on the interview they asked him about a current event/hot topic of the week that recently published and obviously since they didn’t actually do that they didn’t know the answer. Did they end up getting the job? Nope.
Do not talk bad about your previous employers
Job progression is a natural thing because in order to grow in your career you have to have different jobs. However, if you had a bad relationship with one of your former employers do not and I repeat do not share any of that information on the interview. Super unprofessional! Not only will your potential employer not want to hire you because you may have now just painted yourself as a “problem employee”and a liability to the company, but who knows if you are offered the job what you could share about them to other people.
Do not answer questions with just one word or sentence
This is your time to shine! Elaborate on all the questions that they ask you, but be sure to not to ramble.
Do not be underdressed
I already discussed this earlier in the post, but just a reminder to not dress too casual! No sneakers and jeans!
Do not ask about salary, bonuses or benefits
You can always use the website Glassdoor to find out more about the company from an employee’s point of view and you can also look to get an idea of an approximate salary. A lot of bigger companies usually advertise some of their employee benefits on their website so be sure to take a look. Sometimes employers will share the salary or hourly wage upfront (common for retail jobs or internships) but as we all know money is a sensitive subject and can make you look greedy if you inquire about it if it is not provided during your potential employer. Therefore, it is best to wait to see if you receive an offer because they will discuss that information with you.
Do not get too emotional
I always say that it is better to be safe than sorry! I am not an emotional person and while I do understand that some are, it is best to try not to get too emotional during a job interview. Employers may look at it that it that you might not be able to handle the job because they just witnessed you let your emotions get the best of you. If you do catch yourself starting to get emotional just breathe and reframe it into a positive situation or briefly explain why (if you would like) but whatever you do not leave the room.
At the end of the interview, do not say that you do not have any questions
At the end of an interview, when employers ask you if you have any questions, the answer should ALWAYS be yes. If you do not it can make you look super uninterested and not passionate. I listed some questions above earlier in this post so be sure to go back and take a look at them.
Do not contact the company immediately after your interview. Or at all.
Do send a thank you note, but do not contact the company in regards to finding out the status of their decision on hiring you or not hiring you. It makes you look super desperate and it is kind of creepy. Also, one thing that you should be aware of is that I am sure that there are other candidates applying for the position and they have to share the notes from the interview with the “higher-ups” ex: VP, Directors, etc. if they were not also present during your interview. If you apply for a job and go on an interview and it has been some time since you have heard from them use your best judgement if you should call or just recognize that it is time to continue applying for jobs and focus elsewhere.
Do not accept a job offer if they give it to you on the spot at the interview.
A company doing this shows that they are super desperate! Some reasons why they may do this is because they just need someone to fill the position ASAP or that the company may not be the best place to work. I have been on an interview where this has happened to me before and my response after they offered me the position was simply “Wow, thank you so much and while this sounds like a great opportunity I would like to take some time to think about it. When do you need a response by?”. I did not want to be rude about it, but during the interview I realized that the company was not the right fit for me. Therefore, I ended up declining the position. Typically, employers require a response within a week to two weeks so just be sure to contact them back sometime in that time frame.
