interview skills tutorial

7/29/2019 Interview Skills Tutorial

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MBA Career ServicesInterviewing Skills Tutorial

This power point presentation will:

Give you an interview preparation plan

Describe the different interview formats: screening, assessmentcenter, psychological profile

Describe the different interview types: behavioral, situational,technical, and case

Provide preparation tips and resources specific to each interviewtype and format

Discuss important CSC policies for missed interviews

Answer Frequently Asked Questions (this section will outline WHYand the rationalization for our recommendations)
http://www.bus.msu.edu/


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Preparing for your Interview

Research the company and the position

Check the Hoovers and MarketLine databases through the Gast Library for company and industry profiles.

Read the companys most recent annual report, either on their website or through Mergent Online (a Gast Library

database), for an idea of the companys strategic direction.

Know the companys website inside out this can give you a good idea of the companys culture and values, and

help you anticipate what questions they might ask in the interview. Look for a media or investors section of the

website to see recent news releases.

Check Vault.com and Wetfeet through the eRecruiting website.

Talk to alumni and former interns Look for Use Alumni Connection through eRecruiting to identify alumni that currently work at the company. If you

would like to contact an alum whose information is not listed in the database, please contact CSC and they will

attempt to reach the alum and get contact information released to you.

Check for other students who interned at the company last summer.

Check the Discussion Forums on the CSCs group page on Angel for other students who have recently

interviewed with the company.

Interact with company representatives at corporate presentations, tailgates, golf outings, or other venues

Schedule mock interviews Schedule mock interview(s) with CSC staff, or informal mock interviews with teammates.

Schedule a video taped mock interview with CSC staff. View your DVD with an eye for soft skills and nonverbal

communication. Make sure you dont have any habits or mannerisms that would be distracting to an interviewer.

Prepare thoughtful questions

At the end of the interview, many recruiters will ask if you have any questions for them. Have two or three

thoughtful questions prepared. This could be anything from questions about career progression within the

company, to actual job responsibilities, to something youve noticed about the company in your research.

Open this link for examples of good interview questions..
http://www.mba.msu.edu/careers/students/documents/Questions_To_Ask_Interviewers.pdfhttp://www.mba.msu.edu/careers/students/documents/Questions_To_Ask_Interviewers.pdfhttp://www.bus.msu.edu/


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Interview Types - Behavioral

Used to assess how you have behaved in the past

Interviewer assumes past behaviors will predict how you willbehave in the future

Each question is testing a specific competency. Try to anticipatewhat those competencies might be, based on the job description

or your company research, then determine what questions mighttest that competency. For example,

Give an example of an occasion when

Tell me about a situation where you had to deal with a very upsetcustomer or coworker. To test conflict resolution abilities

Describe the last time you were unsuccessful in getting

someone to follow your lead. Project managementHow would you describe your managerial (or leadership,

communication, etc.) style? LeadershipOpen this link for a list of behavioral interview questions collected

from a variety of companies.
http://www.mba.msu.edu/newsletter/behavioralquestions.pdfhttp://www.mba.msu.edu/newsletter/behavioralquestions.pdfhttp://www.bus.msu.edu/


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Preparation Tips - Behavioral

Look back at your successes - on and off of your resume. Think ofspecific incidents or situations where your behavior led to thosesuccesses. The listener will be assessing how a candidate willhandle various situations for this job based on past behavior.

Think of times youve failed, what youve learned from thoseexperiences and how you would behave differently if the situation

happened again.

Come up with 10-12 stories that focus on different skills orcompetencies.

Use the STAR Technique to structure your answers:

S = briefly explain the background of the Situation

T = identify yourTasks in the situation (or, role)

A = describe what Actions you took to resolve the

situation and why

R = describe the Results of your behavior

Open this link for more STAR technique tips and examples.
http://www.mba.msu.edu/newsletter/STARoverview.pdfhttp://www.mba.msu.edu/newsletter/STARoverview.pdfhttp://www.bus.msu.edu/


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Example Behavioral Question

QuestionTell me about a time you had difficulty with a team mate notcontributing.

Step One determine what behavioris being assessed. This is clearly aboutworking in a team.

Step Two choose an example. When have you worked in a team? Notice,

this isnt about when you were the leader, so dont be too narrow in thesituation. If you havent formally been in a team, consider what a team is agroup of people working toward a common goal. In that case, your teamcould include customers, suppliers, etc.

Step Three organize your response using the STAR technique. In theActions stage, say WHAT you did and WHY you did it. Make sure there areseveral action steps. Note that the Results stage indicates the result of the

behavioridentified in step one (i.e., your superior teamwork skills) as well asthat of the problem in the Task stage.

The next two slides go through a STAR technique answer to this question.


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QuestionTell me about a time you had difficulty with a team mate notcontributing.

S(ituation)I was on a team that was trying to determine the overseas marketsize for a product.

T(ask)My role was to analyze potential markets in Europe and study the

applicable laws, as well as identify opportunities for entry. A teammate wasdoing the same analysis for Asia, but came to the meetings with nothing.


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A(ctions)Its my preference to address people alone when there are problems, but wewere closing in on the deadline and there just wasnt time. To make communicationeven more difficult, the teammate was located off-site, so we only saw her at the fewmeetings she actually attended.

We started with the positive assumption that something was inhibiting her, rather thanassuming she was lazy (what). We wanted to find out what was hindering herperformance and offer her help where we could (why). In the end, though, we needed tomotivate her to contribute and not absorb all her work ourselves.

The rest of the team discussed our approach in advance (what) to make sure she didntfeel threatened (why).

We met with her, where I led the discussion (what) to reduce the feeling of beingattacked (why). She was defensive at first, but as the conversation progressed she sawwe wanted to help.

We asked about her attendance first (what) because that seemed the least emotionallydifficult issue (why). Our meetings were held in the evening, and her family obligations

made that difficult. That was easy to address, we would meet earlier in they day. She did admit that the ambiguity of the task was a challenge for her. We offered to

share with her our data sources and the spreadsheets we had created (what), that shecould use to start her work (why). She was also concerned about keeping our respect asa professional. By helping her to be successful (what) she saw that we regarded her asan equal with the same expectations we had for ourselves (why).

R(esult)She was able to attend more meetings, and soon began bringing in some data

and analysis. She became more a part of the team. Her contributions allowed us to givea more global perspective on the product launch.


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Interview Types - Situational

Used to assess how you would react to a situation. Similar instructure to behavioral interviews.

Interviewer sets up a hypothetical situation and asks how youwould behave.

Structure your response with a modified STAR format (note that

the employer will have already provided you with a situation).Identify your Task or responsibility, outline what Actions youwould take, state what Results you would expect from thoseactions and why.

This technique may be used when the interviewer does not expectyou to have already demonstrated a certain competence. If you

have actually been in a similar situation, you could respond to thesituation and then turn it into a behavioral question. I was in asimilar situation when


9/19

Interview Types - Technical Area

Used to assess both your functional area knowledge AND your thoughtprocess. Functional interviews are most commonly seen in Finance orMarketing interviews, but could be used cross-functionally. These couldalso be called technical or mini-case questions.

Examples of Finance questions would be:

How would you value a company?

What happens to each of the three primary financial statements whenyou change gross margin (or capital expenditures, etc.)?

More examples can be found in the Career Paths in Finance handout.

Examples of Marketing questions would be:

How would you market and sell this pen?

Should (some product) do a line extension?

More examples can be found in the Career Paths in Marketing handout.

Examples of HR questions can be found in the Career Paths in HR handout.

Examples of Supply Chain questions can be found in the CareerPaths inSupply Chain handout.
http://www.mba.msu.edu/newsletter/CareerPath-Finance.dochttp://www.mba.msu.edu/newsletter/CareerPath-Marketing.dochttp://www.mba.msu.edu/newsletter/CareerPathHumanResources.dochttp://www.mba.msu.edu/newsletter/CareerPath-SupplyChain.dochttp://www.mba.msu.edu/newsletter/SupplyChainFunctionalPortfolio.pdfhttp://www.mba.msu.edu/newsletter/CareerPath-SupplyChain.dochttp://www.mba.msu.edu/newsletter/CareerPath-SupplyChain.dochttp://www.mba.msu.edu/newsletter/CareerPath-SupplyChain.dochttp://www.mba.msu.edu/newsletter/CareerPath-SupplyChain.dochttp://www.mba.msu.edu/newsletter/SupplyChainFunctionalPortfolio.pdfhttp://www.mba.msu.edu/newsletter/CareerPath-SupplyChain.dochttp://www.mba.msu.edu/newsletter/CareerPathHumanResources.dochttp://www.mba.msu.edu/newsletter/CareerPath-Marketing.dochttp://www.mba.msu.edu/newsletter/CareerPath-Finance.dochttp://www.bus.msu.edu/


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Preparation Tips - Technical Area

Talk to your CSC functional area staff member for typicalquestions and specifics on how to prepare especially if yourconcentration is Finance or Marketing.

In the interview:

Dont panic!!! These questions dont necessarily have right andwrong answers.

Take your time. Think about how to frame your answer.

Be consistent. Changing your mind midstream will soundconfused.

Ask thoughtful questions. If the problem is not cut-and-dry, getthe necessary clarification, then proceed.

No one is perfect. If you make a mistake, admit it and thencorrect it.

Use this as an opportunity to showcase your knowledge and gobeyond the question. For example, if asked, What is netpresent value (NPV)? answer responding with a comparison toIRR to show your grasp of both concepts and the relationshipbetween the two.


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Interview Types - Case Interviews

Used to assess analytical ability given a set of facts and a situation (thecase).

Can be either oral or written and in some cases are conducted in groupformat.

Can seek to integrate a broad, strategic perspective; a functional, focusedperspective; or simply your quantitative, problem solving skills.

Skills assessed in the case interview:

Leadership, analytical, presentation, energy, attention to detail,quantitative, flexibility, maturity, intelligence.

Sample case interview situation:

You are advising a credit card company that wants to market a prepaidphone card to its customers. Is this a good idea?

Your client is losing market share across all three categories of haircoloring (womens, mens, specialty) and are concerned aboutprofitability. Analyze the situation and create an action plan.

How many square feet of pizza are eaten in the U.S. each month?(Brainteasers or guesstimates are assessing your quantitative and estimation skills, aswell as soft skills such as grace under pressure and the ability to think on your feet.)

Sample taken from The Vault MBA Career Bible, 2007 Edition


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Preparation Tips Case Interviews

Practice, practice, practice!

Schedule up to three case interviews with CSC staff.

Form or join a student practice team, where 5-6 students meet todeliver and critique case interviews.

See mini-books located in Career Services.

Know the basic frameworks of the four types of questions.

Example for Marketing: Utilize the techniques learned inclasses: segmenting, targeting, positioning, etc.

Example for Finance: Utilize alternative capital structureconsiderations

More info can be found in the Career Paths in Consulting handout.

Other good resources are through Vault.com, WetFeet.com (AceYour Case! Consulting Interviews) and Case InterviewsInteractivea 90 day license, available by request of MBA CSC.
http://www.mba.msu.edu/newsletter/CareerPath-Consulting.dochttp://www.mba.msu.edu/newsletter/CareerPath-Consulting.dochttp://www.bus.msu.edu/


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The Candy Questions

There are certain questions that all recruiters will expect you tohave prepared. If you dont have a ready answer, thats a goodindication that you are not serious about the job/company, and it ishighly unlikely that you will get the offer. All of the below are anopportunity to use your pitch. We recommend students haveprepared a 30-60 second pitch and a 2-2 minute pitch.

Tell me about yourself. Give your pitch, then briefly walk throughyour resume: quick descriptions of where youve been, yourmotivation for any major career changes, how and why you cameto MSU, where you want to go from here, etc.

How did you hear about (company name)?

Why are you interested in (company name)? Why are you attracted to this position?

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?


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Handling the Unexpected

Be flexible. There are too many possible interview questions andtargeted characteristics to prepare for them all, be ready for acurve ball question or two.

LISTEN closely to the question. If you dont understand, or need tostall for time, ask the recruiter to repeat or rephrase the question.Note: dont ask for repeats of every question, only use this once

or twice in an interview.

Put yourself in the recruiters role. What characteristic(s) is thisquestion trying to assess? If one of your stories matches with thatcharacteristic, use it.

Think before you answer. Recruiters generally prefer a pause

followed by a well-thought out answer to a rambling non-answer.

Keep responses reflective of professional work experience.Classroom may also be appropriate when examples fromprofessional experiences are not available.


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CSC Policies Missed Interviews

It is fully expected that all students will follow good business practice and responsiblykeep every interview appointment scheduled. Late cancellations as well as missedinterview appointments inconvenience employers and penalize your classmates.

To cancel an interview, contact Pam Jehner, MBA Career Services Center, AssociateDirector, either by phone (517/432-3681) or in person (211 Eppley Center), at leasttwo full business days prior to your interview date. This will allow the CSCsufficient time to contact and receive responses from other students desiring an

interview opportunity.

Students who cancel less than two days in advance or miss an interview appointmentare considered no-shows. A no-show status is excused only under extenuatingcircumstances. To request to be excused, follow the instructions below:

Schedule an appointment with the appropriate functional CSC staff person todiscuss the reasons for your missed interview.

Provide the CSC staff with documentation to support your reasons (i.e., medicalexcuse, car towing receipt, etc.)

Submit to the CSC staff a letter of apology addressed to the employer, along witha stamped envelope for mailing by the CSC after approval from the staff person.

An unexcused no-show will result in your access to on-campus interviewsbeing limited to only those companies preselecting you.


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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

When can I ask about compensation?

After youve got an offer. Until then, asking about compensation earnsyou no points, and can put you at a disadvantage in negotiations.

I had an interview with a company, now what?

Send out thank you notes (email is generally acceptable) to each personyou interviewed with. If there were more than one interviewer, try tomake them distinct those notes may well all end up in the same file, soyou dont want it to look like a form letter. And remember, your thankyou note is yet another opportunity for your pitch.

Ive been turned down for a second interview, is there anything I can

do to change their mind?Unfortunately, you have to respect the recruiters decision. However,you can request feedback from the recruiter to help you develop forfuture opportunities. This can be a touchy subject, so ask your CSCadvisor for help with specific wording before you send it out.


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Ive been invited to interview with a company, but Im not thatinterested. What should I do?

Remember that every interview slot you take is potentially removing anopportunity for another candidate. If you would not accept an offer fromthe company, dont interview. Talk to your CSC representative aboutthe situation for the appropriate steps to take.

I recently interviewed with a company, and I feel as though I wastreated unfairly. Is there anybody to whom I can complain aboutthis?????

Talk to your CSC representative, as they might want to be aware ofwhat happened for the relationship with the employer. Sometimes

comments can be misconstrued, and you dont want to jump toconclusions. However, recruiters are human, and they do makemistakes. In these occasions, the CSC can help you navigate thisdelicate situation.


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I know I flubbed an interview question. Is there any way to make upmissed ground?

You may be able to correct an error of omission or a misunderstandingthrough a strategically worded thank you note. Visit Vault.com's onlinecareer library for details.

What should I bring to a job interview?

Always bring several copies of your resume and business card, a coupleof pens, a notepad in case you want to take notes and/or to write down theinterviewers contact information. You might also want to bring a list ofreferences and your transcripts, just in case. Keep it all organized in aprofessional leather portfolio.

Help! I know Im supposed to send Thank You notes, but I forgot to get

the interviewers contact information.

If you interviewed through the CSC, they often get a copy of the recruiterscard, so start there. Otherwise, you can contact the office where theinterview was conducted, or ask other students who interviewed before orafter you. As a last resort, call the companys main number and hope foran understanding receptionist.
http://www.vault.com/cb/careerlib/careerlib_main.jsp?cl_page=20&ch_id=255&article_id=8801822&cat_id=1993http://www.vault.com/cb/careerlib/careerlib_main.jsp?cl_page=20&ch_id=255&article_id=8801822&cat_id=1993http://www.vault.com/cb/careerlib/careerlib_main.jsp?cl_page=20&ch_id=255&article_id=8801822&cat_id=1993http://www.vault.com/cb/careerlib/careerlib_main.jsp?cl_page=20&ch_id=255&article_id=8801822&cat_id=1993http://www.vault.com/cb/careerlib/careerlib_main.jsp?cl_page=20&ch_id=255&article_id=8801822&cat_id=1993http://www.vault.com/cb/careerlib/careerlib_main.jsp?cl_page=20&ch_id=255&article_id=8801822&cat_id=1993http://www.bus.msu.edu/


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If you're running late for an interview, is it better to reschedule or dothe interview late?

Please, please, please try to be on time for your interviews. Plan onarriving 10-15 minutes before your scheduled interview time, especiallyif the interview is not in the CSC. However, if you are running late, callthe CSC to let them know why youre running late and when you expect

to arrive. If your interview is off campus, try contacting the recruiterdirectly, then let the recruiter decide on the best course of action.

Is it necessary to reconfirm an interview? Who is the person toconfirm - the interviewer or interviewee?

Confirming an interview is not necessary, but it is polite and can remove

any confusion especially for phone interviews across time zones.Confirmation can be done by either the interviewer or interviewee.

interview skills tutorial

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