What's Your Story? Shine Telling Them in Interviews

Where I lived in Reading, England

During my junior year, I was the President of a 30-member study abroad program in Reading, England. In this role, I had to plan and coordinate activities for our group; wear the hat of a semi-Resident Advisor enforcing rules for the school-owned houses where we lived; and serve as the liaison between our group and the faculty director of our program. One event I had to lead was our Thanksgiving Dinner where those of us who ordered class rings received them at this celebratory meal. And, then the story would continue….

The experience above is the start of an example I could use if I had been asked “Tell me about a time you have been a leader,” when I was interviewing for my first full-time position. As you prepare for interviews for internships or full-time positions, you need to work on your craft at telling stories. Why? Only you can tell YOUR stories. Your stories are what set you apart from everyone else, and that is what you want to do in an interview, demonstrate to an employer how you uniquely fit what she or he is seeking.

Prove it!

Many interviews only last for 30 minutes, and sometimes even less time than a half an hour. With the stories that you tell, you are giving the interviewer a chance to get to know you better in a short period of time. The specific examples that you give are what will stick in an employer’s mind after talking to 15 or more candidates. “Oh yeah, she was the one who was skilled at getting a group of 30 women to agree on what to have for a British Thanksgiving Dinner,” is what the recruiter will recall rather than “Oh yeah, Claire, she’s the one who is a great leader.”

Your stories are also important because a recruiter has to sell everyone else involved in the hiring process on why you are THE one. The recruiter has to first prove it to bring you on site for an interview and then prove it again to all who have a voice in the final hiring decision. The specific examples that you share give all who interview you "ammunition" for that critical decision time.

Behavioral Interviews: Be a STAR

A popular interviewing method employers use is behavioral based interviewing where an employer spends time analyzing a position, determining key competencies needed for that role. The employer asks questions that get at these specific competencies during the interview. Sample behavioral questions can be found here.

You can use the STAR formula to respond to these behavioral types of interview questions:

S=Situation: Avoid talking in generalities. Get specific. For example, if you are asked about a time you had to work in a group and what your role was within the group, don’t just say, “I have to do group projects all the time. I can take the lead in a group, or follow someone else’s lead.” Instead, a sample reply would be, “In my promotional strategies class, we had to create a promotional campaign for a local daycare center. My role in the five-member team was to oversee the marketing research and report on our findings during our final presentation.”

T=Task: what was the task or challenge you faced? To follow with the above example, “I had to research the key benefits of the daycare center that current users identified.”

A=Action: what were the actions that you took? “We surveyed over 100 users of the center with an online tool, achieving a 50% response rate.”

R=Result: How did the situation turn out? What was the outcome? “As a result of my marketing research, we were able to identify 3 key benefits parents/guardians saw in the center, and we focused our campaign on those benefits. Our group received an A on the project and the daycare center has implemented several of our recommendations.”

Career Services provides a STAR worksheet to help you prepare stories like this for your interviews. You can find the worksheet on page 81 in our Career Planning Guide. Pick up a hard copy of the Guide in Career Services or access it here online.

Last year in a mock interview, a student asked me if he could make up a story to tell in an interview. Honesty is a must for the entire job search process including interviews; actually, telling the truth is a must for life. If you can’t come up with a relevant example, try to think of an example that is somewhat similar. “Although I don’t have a lot of experience programming in XX, I am a quick learner. I spent my spare time last semester teaching myself programming in YY language and was able to help my club improve our website because I knew this programming language.” Added to being honest, you want to describe examples that have a positive result, because during an interview, you need to remain as positive as possible about everything that you say.

Become a stellar storyteller for your next interview. Work on your stories now. And, practice telling your stories in a mock interview. You are the best person to tell your stories. Craft them like the expert you are. It's time to SHINE!

The Career Fair is Over. What’s Next? Job Search 5.0

Resume: Check. Elevator Pitch: Check. Career Fair: Check.

Now what? "Job Search 5.0" Top 5 steps after the career fair.

5. Career Fairs are not the only way to find a job - use other resources too. The number one way to find a job is through personal contacts. If you need to grow your network and improve your online professional image, get on LinkedIn.com. You can connect with alumni and others and search for jobs in LinkedIn too. Some other job search resources to tap into are Hokies4Hire, Career Shift and Going Global, all linked on the Career Services web site.

4. Treat your job search like a 3-credit class. After logging some hours preparing for a career fair, don’t let up now. Looking for a job can seem overwhelming. To break up this monumental task, carve out some time each week to work on your job search.

3. Prepare for interviews. Get ready for interviews by practicing responses to questions  and deciding on questions you would ask in an interview. If you need to practice your skills at interviewing, sign up for a mock interview or visit Interview Stream.

2. Research salary requirements. One of the more difficult questions an employer can ask during an interview is one about your salary expectations. To be prepared for salary questions, do your research. Visit the Post-Graduate report to find out the median salary for your major. Link to Salary.com to search for a salary for a certain job at a particular location. Check out glassdoor.com for salary information for a particular company. Visit paycheckcity.com to figure out what your take-home pay would look like when you receive an offer. Come up with an acceptable range to quote to an employer if you get asked the dreaded question about salary. Need help evaluating an offer? Make an appointment with a career advisor in Career Services by calling 540-231-6241.

And, the number one step to take after a career fair is... 

1. Follow up and follow through. Be sure to enter your information online for those employers you met at the fair or follow the other instructions they gave you. A couple of weeks after the fair, call the employer to check on the status of your application. Ask what the timeline is for the position to be filled and if there is anything else you need to do to be considered for an interview. Send the employer a follow up email, thanking them for talking to you at the fair, and reminding them how your background and experience fit their opportunity. Review previous posts linked here if you want to know more about thank you's and follow up. The saying in the graphic below is so very true...follow up can be a difference maker.

Ready for the Career Fair Game? Play Your Cards Right infographic

The weather is starting to get cooler, college football season has started, it's September. Time for career fairs! Are you ready for the career fair game?

One of your best tools at a career fair: the Elevator Speech

It happens.  You go to the career fair dressed in your slightly uncomfortable yet professional outfit, you’re greeted by one of the many company representatives trying to bring in a passerby, and you find yourself at a loss of words.  Time slows down to a crawl as the sweat starts to build on your forehead, your outfit starts to feel ten times stiffer than ever before, and you’re racking your brain for something, anything to come out.  Whatever jumble of words you manage to get out, you instantly regret.

Stage fright doesn’t just happen on stage; it comes in all shapes and sizes.  It can happen when you have to give a speech in front of a group of people, when a professor asks you a question you don’t know the answer to in front of the entire class, or when it’s time to talk to companies about internships, co-ops, and jobs.  Yes, stage fright is a very real problem for more than just actors.

Despite this, you don’t want stage fright to hold you back from letting companies know how awesome you are and why you should be hired.  Although my only acting experience comes from school musicals and theatre classes in high school, I did learn a few tricks to deal with stage fright.  One of the best tips I learned has really helped me with career fairs: know your script inside and out.

When you meet a company representative, your first impression is an important and could be the deciding factor in whether or not they take your resume and recommend you for an interview.  To make your best first impression, you can give the representatives what is called an elevator speech.  An elevator speech is in essence a pitch where you are both the pitcher and the product you’re trying to sell.  In this pitch, you have about thirty seconds to share important information such as:

•  Your name
• Your class and major
•  What you’re looking for (ie, an internship, a co-op, a full time job) 
•  When you’re looking to work (are you looking for an internship for summer? A co-op for the spring semester?) 
•  Any relevant activities or accomplishments 
•   Relevant personal strengths
• Useful information showing that you’ve researched the company (if you have done so)

Remember, this is an elevator speech.  The name comes from the idea that this speech should only be so long that if you were in an elevator with the recruiter, you would be able to give your whole spiel by the time the elevator door opens back up.  Thus, you don’t want to overwhelm the person you’re speaking to with irrelevant details or your life story.  So keep it short, clean, and to the point.

Here’s an example:

“Hi, my name is Ariel Cohen and I’m a senior in computer science.  Right now I’m looking for a full time offer when I graduate this May.  I’ve always had an interest in helping people, leading me to become both the president of the Association of Women in Computing club here at Virginia Tech as well as create a mentoring system for our computer science department.  I read on your website that you have a software development position for new graduates.  As someone who both wants to help build things that will help people and to get a chance to be creative, I was interested in your position and wondering if you could tell me more about it.”

Short, clean, and to the point.  I start with the basic information such as my name, class, and major, then move on to the more personal details that gives the recruiter a better idea of why I specifically chose to talk to them.  Of course, if you did not research the company ahead of time, don’t be afraid to ask about what opportunities they have available. Recruiters talk to students to recruit, so they’ll be more than happy to provide you with information.

So before you go to your next career fair, take the time to create an elevator speech for yourself.  Not only will you have a conversation starter, but the recruiters will get a better idea of what you’d like to talk about.  Good luck and remember- stage fright happens to everyone. Give it a little practice and you’ll make it through.

ROCK your resume! Be ready for career fairs and fall interview season

September is always a busy time for career fairs and the start of the fall interviewing season on our campus. To gear up for these events, it's critical to have your resume ready to hand out to employers. So, how can U ROCK your resume? 

U

se this 4-step formula for your experience descriptions:

Skill: What did you get out of performing this duty?

Structure: Put result into a statement.

Verb: Start with action verbs.

Clarify: Ask yourself who, what, where, when, why, and how many. Using this formula, take your description from “greeted customers” to “developed communication skills by greeting an average of 15 customers per shift.”

R

esults sell! As you describe your work experiences, volunteer positions or projects, be sure to share what you accomplished. Don’t let your resume just read like a job description.

 

O

rganize your resume sections from most important to least important as you go down the page. For now, list your education section before experience since you are spending most of your time working on your education.

C

ount! Numbers add impact in your resume. If you trained new employees, share that you trained 5 new employees. If you lead the fundraising efforts of your organization, share that you raised $500. Even if you think the numbers are small, they still paint a clearer picture.

 

K

eep it brief. Rather than sentences or paragraphs, use bullets, list items in columns and write descriptions in phrases. Try to keep to a page if you are an undergraduate. Those with extensive experience or advanced degrees may need to go past one page.

 
If you need help rockin' your resume, come see us in Career Services. For walk-in assistance, visit us Monday through Friday, 12 - 3. On Wednesdays in September, we're extending our walk-in resume help during Resumania where you can stop by 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. without an appointment. If you want some additional help as you prepare for the career fairs and fall recruiting, call 540-231-6241 to make an appointment with a career advisor.

What's your biggest question you still have about your resume that we didn't address above?