Interview Guide
Knowing how to interview and practicing ahead of time can increase your chances of getting
hired. Take the following steps and consult a Career Services
counselor
for more assistance.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preparation for the Interview
At the Interview
After the Interview
Questions Most Often Asked by Employers During Job Interviews
What Employers Look For
Illegal Interview Questions and How to Deal With Them
Know yourself
- Review your education, experience, skills, interests, and abilities.
- Consider taking a career assessment (interest inventories, etc.).
- Speak with friends, family, teachers, (former) employers, etc.
- Consult a career counselor at Career Services.
Know the organization and job for which you are applying
- Review the job title and description and seek clarification.
- Contact the organization for a more complete description if necessary.
- Arrange an "Information
Interview" with someone who has the job or a similar one.
- Spend a "day on the job" observing someone actually doing the job.
- Find out who you would work for and ask questions of him or her.
- Research the organization to become familiar with its reputation, work environment,
"culture," problems, and prospects.
- Talk to people who would know about the organization, such as job incumbents, former
employees, family and friends, faculty, alumni, etc.
- Peruse the company binders, directories, and other literature in the Career Services
Library.
- Prepare questions you will ask during the interview.
- Examples include:
- How does the job/department fit in the organization?
- What type of formal or informal training is given?
- How would I advance? What "career paths" are available?
- How is job performance measured?
- What is the salary? (Usually not asked during the first interview.)
- Review the Questions Most
Often Asked by Employers in Job Interviews and write out your answers to about ten of
the most important ones.
- The two major types of questions to expect are:
- Why are you interested in/what do you know about our company?
- What can you offer us/why should we hire you?
- Have a friend or family member (or Career Services staff member) ask you some of the
above questions and give you constructive feedback on your answers.
- Audiotape or videotape yourself.
- Schedule a Mock Interview with a
Career Services counselor.
- Make certain of the interview date, time, and location.
- Write these down on your appointment calendar along with the interviewer's name and
phone number.
- Allow plenty of time to get to the interview location.
- Look your best for the interview, conforming to the organization's standards whenever
possible (check a company manual).
- Check out WSU's Dress To Impress Guide.
- Be conservative in your dress when in doubt.
- Make a "trial run" in new clothes so you'll be more comfortable.
- Trim your hair, have shoes repaired and shined, etc.
- Bring a pen and paper, extra resume, etc.
- "Check in" and confirm the interview time and pronunciation of the
interviewer's name if necessary.
- Take your lead from the interviewer as far as introductions are concerned: use clear
speech and a firm handshake. Do not smoke or chew gum even if invited to do so.
- Show enthusiasm for the interview and job(even if it's not your first choice!) by
maintaining sufficient eye contact, varying your tone of voice appropriately, being clear
and concise in your answers and questions, and by maintaining good posture.
- In answering questions, give a general answer("I believe my analytical ability is
my greatest strength"); be more specific ("That is, I try to keep people
informed of what's going on"); and finally, give an example or two ("When I was
President of my fraternity I established our first newsletter and held weekly meetings
with each committee chair").
- Be ready for unusual questions or approaches and don't let them throw you. If an
interviewer says, "Okay, begin...," be ready to tell about your interest in the
job and organization, to highlight your abilities and relevant experiences, and to ask
appropriate questions. If you're given a hypothetical situation/problem and asked how you
would handle it, take a moment to think about similar situations you've heard about or
been in and then answer as best as you can.
- At the close of the interview, bring up any of your positive points that you may not
have been able to cover earlier and ask the interviewer for feedback, both in terms of
your suitability for the position and how you handled the interview. (Then use this
information to improve.) If really interested, ask for the job.
- Write the interviewer a brief thank-you letter, expressing your interest in the position
and covering any points you were unable to make in the interview. Ask for a second
interview (or the job!) if you're really interested.
- Keep trying! Learn from your experience and improve next time.
Ideally, job interview questions are designed to help an employer learn as much as
possible about you in a very short time. (Most interviews last only 30-60 minutes.)
Questions can fall into a number of categories-- personal goals and accomplishments,
self-assessment, educational and work experiences, relationships with people, and
life/career expectations. As part of your preparation for a job interview, we recommend
that you read the questions below, looking for categories; check off one or more important
questions per category; and, prepare and practice answering these
"high-priority" questions.
- What are your long-range and short-range goals and objectives? When and why did you
establish these goals and how are you preparing yourself to achieve them?
- What specific goals, other than those related to your occupation, have you established
for yourself for the next ten years?
- What do you really want to do in life?
- What are your long-range career objectives?
- How do you plan to achieve your career goals?
- What are the most important rewards you expect in your career?
- What do you expect to be earning in five years?
- Why did you choose the career for which you are preparing?
- What do you consider your greatest strengths and weaknesses?
- Tell me about yourself.
- How do you think a friend or professor who knows you well would describe you?
- Who or what has had the greatest influence on your life?
- What motivates you to put forth your best effort?
- How has your education prepared you for a career?
- Why should I hire you?
- What qualifications do you have that make you think that you will be successful in this
career?
- How do you define or evaluate success?
- What do you think it takes to successful in a company like ours?
- What qualities should a successful manager possess?
- Describe the relationship that should exist between a supervisor and subordinate.
- What two or three accomplishments have given you the most satisfaction? Why?
- Give an example of a time in which you worked under deadline pressure.
- Give an example of a situation in which you provided a solution to to an employer.
- Describe your most rewarding college experience.
- If you were hiring a graduate for this position, what qualities would you look for?
- Why did you select your college or university?
- What let you to choose your field of study?
- What college subjects did you like best? Why?
- What college subjects did you like least? Why?
- If you could do so, how would you plan your academic study differently? Why?
- What changes would you make in your college or university? Why?
- Do you have plans for continued study?
- Do you think that your grades are a good indication of your academic achievement? Why or
why not?
- What have you learned from participation in extracurricular activities?
- In what kind of a work environment are you most comfortable?
- How do you work under pressure?
- In what part-time or summer jobs have you been most interested? Why?
- How would you describe the ideal job?
- Why did you decide to seek a job with us?
- What do you know about our organization?
- What two or three things are most important to you in a job?
- What criteria are you using to evaluate organizations for which you hope to work?
- Will you travel and/or relocate?
- What major problem have you encountered and how did you deal with it?
- What have you learned from your mistakes?
- What salary and benefits do you expect?
- (Technical question from your field of study.)
More and more employers are using a technique known as Behavioral
Interviewing. You should become familiar with this format as well.
Corporate recruiters will usually evaluate an applicant on the following
categories. Pay as close attention to the way to answer questions as you would to
the content of your answers!
- Confidence: Assertive, takes initiative, accomplishment-oriented answers,
persistent in explanations, and poised in character
- Communication Skills: Grammar and speech are acceptable for a business
environment, thoughts were organized before answering the questions, clear expression of
ideas
- Administrative/Organizational Skills: Able to successfully manage school, work
and activities; meets goals; establishes priorities; demonstrates leadership skills
- Time Management: Able to work within a deadline, conscientious of completing
tasks quickly, does not procrastinate, ability to budget time realistically and
efficiently
- Stress Management: Shows ability to cope well while under stressful situations,
able to remain composed during length of interview, remains calm when answers were
challenged
- Analytical Skills: Answers showed good attention to detail, supports answers with
logical reasoning, demonstrates ability to problem-solve, pays attention to finding a
solution
Keep these points in mind as you prepare for your job interview. When practicing mock
interviews, have the observer give you feedback on these points.
Federal law forbids employers to discriminate against any person on the
basis of sex, age, race, national origin, or religion. Many states also have laws that
protect the physically challenged.
Be aware that employment discrimination is often difficult to pinpoint and even harder
to litigate. Using your common sense, the few options available to you should you be faced
with an illegal question are:
- Answer the question anyway.
- Ask the interviewer to explain the question's relevance to the job. This gives you time
to clarify both your choices and what the interviewer is driving at.
- Say, "I don't believe that question is relevant to my ability to do the job."
This is a good way to signal the interviewer that you are aware of what s/he's doing.
- Walk out. If you feel that you are being unnecessarily harassed, and the interview is
becoming unpleasant for you, you are not obligated to complete the interview. You may want
to take the interviewer's business card in the event of any future follow-up activities.
Some guidelines interviewers must follow:
- They may not ask about your age, marital status, pregnancy plans, ages of your
children, or child-care arrangements. They may ask if you are over 18.
- They may not ask about your political or religious affiliations or beliefs. They
may ask whether you can work on Saturdays, or advise you of normal working hours to avoid
possible conflict with your convictions.
- They may not ask about your ancestry, national origin, parentage; the
naturalization status of your immediate family; or your birthplace. They may ask whether
you have the right to work in the United States. If hired, you will be asked for proof of
your status.
- They may not ask about your native language or how you acquired the ability to
communicate in a foreign language. They may ask about languages in which you are fluent if
such ability is pertinent to the job.
- They may not ask about a change in name, maiden name, or inquiries about your
name that would indicate your race. They may ask whether you have ever worked for a
company under a different name in order to verify past employment.
- They may not ask about the nature and severity of any handicaps. The employer
must be prepared to prove that any physical and mental requirements for a job are due to
"business necessity" and the safe performance of the job. They may ask if you
are able to carry out all necessary duties of the job as described to you and perform them
in a safe manner. Except in cases where undue hardship can be proven, employers must make
"reasonable accommodations" for the physical and mental limitations of an
employee or applicant. "Reasonable accommodation" includes alteration of duties,
physical setting, and provision of aids.
Questions you might ask the interviewer include:
- What are some typical (first-year) assignments?
- What kinds of people tend to be successful with you?
- Why do you like working for the company?
- What are the greatest challenges of this work?
- What trends will affect the future of the company?
- How can I expect to be evaluated and promted?
- What are the company's strengths and weaknesses?
- How would you describe your company's personality and management style?
- Is it company policy to promote from within?
- What are your expectations for new hires?
- Tell me about your initial and future training programs.
- What characteristics should a person working for your company exhibit?
- What makes your firm different from its competitors?
- What are the company's plans for future growth?
