Getting It Together for that Interview

What's the key to effective interviewing?

Preparation.

Knowing the position, the employer's firm, and the employer's industry is essential to a successful interview--an interview that leads to another opportunity, a second interview, or a job offer.

On-campus interviews should be only one part of your overall job hunting strategy. When interviewing at the Office of Career Services (OCS), make appointments with only those companies that interest you. Interviewing with companies "just for practice" wastes your time and an opportunity another student might have used. Unprepared job candidates and "shoppers" discourage company recruiters from visiting our campus. That cuts the number of job openings available.

You can begin your pre-interview research in the OCS library. Useful directories include Standard [ Poor's Register of Corporations, Directors and Executives, and Dun and Bradstreet's Reference Book of Corporate Managements. We also get Business Week, Fortune, and The Wall Street Journal. We also have a collection of the annual reports of recruiting companies.

Each company fills out a fact sheet about positions or training programs, location of employment, and required concentrations. Those are kept in a binder in the recruiting room. It may seem obvious, but you should have a basic knowledge of what your job involves. If you're interviewing with an investment banking firm, know what an investment analyst does and how she contributes to the company. You should also know such basic information about a company as: what its products are, where its offices are located, what subsidaries it has, what its growth has been, and how it views its future prospects.

Show up 10 to 15 minutes early for your interview. This will give you a chance to get a feeling for the atmosphere of the employer's workplace. How are people dressed? What's the work atmosphere like? Here's where you can get insights that will help you during your interview.

If interviewing at OCS, arrive about 10 minutes early and check the interviewing bulletin board for the appointment schedule, the location of the interview, and the name of your interviewer. If there's more than one representative from the company, be sure you are looking at the schedule on which your name appears.

Personal appearance: In a short, 30-minute interview, it's definitely a big factor. Dress appropriately for the role you're aspiring to fill.

Interview Format: It can range from a very structured, direct interview in which the interviewer has prepared questions, to an indirect interview in which the interviewer sits back and lets the conversation follow its own course.

Initially, the interviewer may try to break the ice by talking about anything but the job--such as sports, the weather or current events. One Harvard senior encountered an interviewer who spent an entire 30-minute interview talking about football. They had a great conversation--but the student didn't get a second interview.

If you see this happening to you, ask questions about the job they have available, and discuss your qualifications for it. Don't be passive. Don't answer questions in monosyllables. Be informative, direct, and succinct in your responses. Steer the interviewer into discussion of your interest in the company.

Basically, the interview consists of two segments. In the first phase, the employer will probably try to determine your interest in the job, your qualifications, and whether your interests and those of the company are compatible. In the second phase, she will usually give you an opportunity to ask questions. Necessarily, the first phase of the interview is the longer of the two.

In your answers, demonstrate how your past and present accomplishments qualify you for the available position. Answer a question whenever possible with specific and concrete examples. Cite instances of your contributions to a group or activity that got results. Try to pick out the specific functions of the job that you can relate to your own experiences.

Emphasize the positive in an interview. One employer told students never to apologize for their concentrations. Stress the value of your liberal arts education--you have learned to think, to communicate, to analyze problems and pose solutions. Don't downgrade any menial work experience you may have had. Some work experience is better than none; and at the very least, you have been partof an organization and learned how it functioned.If you worked your way through Harvard, thateffort in itself will win the respect of manyemployers.

Your questions: The interviewer willusually leave about 10 minutes at the end for yourquestions. Have a few in mind before theinterview. Don't ask questions that are answeredin the recruiting material or in the fact sheet.But you may want to investigate some aspects ofthe position or training program in greater depth.If you have done extensive research on thecompany, you may have an issue to discuss. Yourquestions should reflect an understanding andconcern for the industry and company for which youhope to work.

Salary usually isn't discussed untilsubsequent interviews. But if the interviewer asksyou what you expect to earn, you can respond byasking what the salary range is for that job. Thecompany usually has a certain number of jobs to befilled in definite salary brackets. An OCScounselor can tell you an average starting salaryfor such a position. You may also wish to lookover the Salary Survey, published by the CollegePlacement Council, or look in the U.S. Governmentpublication entitled The Occupational Outlook forCollege Graduates. Both are in the OCS library.

At the conclusion of the interview, askabout the next step in the selection process. Theinterviewer should tell you when you can expect tohear from the company. Follow-up letters areusually mailed within two to four weeks after theinitial interview. It is unusual for someone to beinvited for a second interview at the time of thefirst interview. Do not ask how well you did inyou interview. You put the interviewer in anawkward position.

Thank you notes: Always send one if anemployer has taken time to see you at hisworkplace. Besides thanking him for the interview,reemphasize any point you feel may have beenespecially important. Also, if the employer showedany doubts about one aspect of your background,follow up with points that would help dispell anydoubts.

Relax. Of course you'll be apprehensive.But remember, the interview is a mutual evaluationprocess. Relax and be yourself. The interviewer isbasically trying to get a feeling for what kind ofperson you are and to find out what yourcommitment to her company may be. If you canportray your own likeable self and demonstrate anintelligence about your career planning, you willbe well on your way to getting asked back for asecond interview.

Finally, help yourself and other futureinterviewers by filling out a post-interviewquestionnaire. This will give our office thevaluable information that will help you preparefor future interviews