ecs interview preparation engineering career services university of wisconsin-madison
TRANSCRIPT
ECS
Interview Preparation
Engineering Career ServicesUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison
ECS
NOTE: ECS Interviews• Two types of interviews through ECS– Career Connection interviews
• Employers create their own scheduled on students they meet at Career Connection
– Campus interviews AFTER Career Connection• Sign-up occurs through your myECS account
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NOTE: MyECS Sign-up• All sign-ups begin promptly at 7 AM on
your MyECS account• Preplan your priority sign-up requests
and sign-ups • View interview listings from the
Datebook (Recruiting Calendar) and Job Postings features daily
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Interviewing Preparation
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Be Proactive in your Approach• Interviews don’t
happen to you– you play an active role
• View it as a business meeting
• Be able to answer, “Why are you interviewing with us today?”– If you can’t, you shouldn’t
be there!!!
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Prior to Each Interview• Know the specific employer’s needs• Assess your skills & qualifications• Anticipate the topics & questions• Develop 3-5 themes about which you will
NOT leave the interview without discussing• Practice responses – yes, out-loud!– Do not, however, memorize responses!!
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Know the Employer’s Needs• Review MyECS job
posting for the employer
• Research the employer website
• Highlight key words and phrases
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Anticipate Employer Perspective
• Can I do the job? – Am I a qualified candidate for this employer? Why?– Resumes, papers and documents support the
“can’s”
• Will I do the job?– The interview itself provides evidence about the
“will’s”• Examples of motivation, ability to listen, present and
persuade, integrity, maturity, team player, leader, ethics and values
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Anticipate Topics
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Anticipate Questions• ECS Job Search Guide, pages 50 – 68
• Proper interview attitude• 25 worst interview mistakes• Typical interview questions• Questions for you to ask recruiters• Behavioral interviews, Case interviews and
Brainteaser interviews• Telephone interviews
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Prepare Responses• Think about the employer’s perspective• Develop responses based on specific
examples• Use structured responses - STAR method
• Situation – Task – Action – Result
• Summarize response with “what I learned from this experience…”
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Anticipate Topics & Questions• TIPS:
– Make each response personal to you– An answer that is generic or hypothetical is
NOT a good response– Use all of your resume when using examples
• Do not only use your internship or one work experience
– Examples of things that did not go well, or were difficult are good to use, but stress what you learned
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Develop 3 -5 Themes• Be determined that you not leave the
interview without emphasizing your 3 – 5 themes or strengths– Help the employer clearly see what
differentiates you– Use to form a good summary statement for
the interview close
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Bring a Portfolio• Resumes• List of references• Unofficial
transcripts • Lists of
Publications/Presentations
• Notes• Binder of Visuals
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Practice Responding to Questions
• It’s not… the best prepared student who gets the job, but the… student who is best prepared at getting the job.
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Practice Out loud!• Become adept at telling the story behind
your experiences and skill development• Never provide a simple yes or no response• Past behaviors are the best indicators of
future behavior– Work related– Academic related– Community related
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Take responsibility• Leave nothing for assumption– Explicitly make your qualifications and
interests clear to the employer
• 30 - 60 minutes is a very short time to discuss all that is important about your qualifications
• Be present in the interview by listening carefully to the questions
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Successfully Close the Interview• Ask questions• Summarize your
themes and strengths• Thank the recruiter• Ask what the next
step will be• Restate your
interest in the job• Obtain a business
card
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More Tips: Appearance• Body language,
eye contact, posture, handshake, smile
• Welcoming• Confident, not
arrogant
Aim between being frightened and overly confident
Aim between being frightened and overly confident
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More Tips: Vocal• Vocal pitch,
volume, speed, and tone
• Particularly for a phone interview
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General Tips: Communication
• For brief interactions, what is remembered:– 7%, is verbal (what you
say)– 55% of communication is
visual (body language, eye contact)
– 38% is vocal (pitch, speed, volume, tone of voice)
Business Week Feb 07
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Professional Dress• Suit or jacket with
pants or skirt• Collared shirts• Tie for men• Dark socks and
professional shoes
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Professional Dress & Grooming• Fresh hair cut• No facial hair, unless
nicely trimmed• Hair held back, away
from face• Minimal make-up
and jewelry• No cologne
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Professional Dress• Jacket buttoned
when standing, unbuttoned when seated
• Always leave bottom button unbuttoned
• Stilettos are not appropriate!
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Business Casual• No suit jacket• Perhaps no tie• Otherwise, very
similar to business dress
• Ironed khaki’s or pants or skirt
• Collared shirt
• What is NOT business casual:– Jeans– Flip flops– T-shirts– Wrinkled anything!– Tank tops and
spaghetti straps
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Feedback from Recruiters• Improve
handshake• Make eye contact
when responding to questions
• Be confident, but not arrogant
• Know what my company does
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Feedback from Recruiters• Don’t be too
mechanical• Be genuine; show
me your personality
• Relax
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After each Interview• Assess yourself• Send a thank you
email with 48-hours• Prepare for your
next interview• Follow-up every 2
weeks until you receive an answer
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Questions?