Career Services New York City Campus 41 Park Row, 14th Floor New York, New York 10038 (212) 346-1950 Westchester Campus Pleasantville Campus 861 Bedford Road Pleasantville, New York 10570 Cooperative Education: (914) 773-3415 Career Services: (914) 773-3361 Graduate Center 1 Martine Avenue White Plains, New York 10601 Cooperative Education: (914) 422-4016 Career Services: (914) 422-4187 www.pace.edu/careers Table of Contents INTRODUCTION Page 1 PREPARATION Pages 2-14 PRACTICE Pages 15-20 AT THE INTERVIEW Pages 21-25 AFTER THE INTERVIEW Pages 26-29 Introduction Introduction Preparation is key assessing you as a candidate, trying to predict future performance, in addition to ―selling‖ you If you’re like most of us, the thought of going on a on their organization and job opportunity. You job interview is enough to make you break out in are both on a fact finding mission; and you both a mild sweat. Employment interviewing can be play two roles: as participant and observer. an intimidating experience if you don’t know what to expect. Preparation is the key to What are employers looking for? reducing anxiety, so don’t take the ―wing it‖ approach or you’ll be sweating through a lot They are evaluating candidates on many more interviews. different criteria: tangible and intangible. Technical knowledge and ability, past Your sales pitch performance, successes and accomplishments, problem solving and creative talents are all A job search is analogous to a sales campaign tangible evidence. Personal qualities, verbal and and an employment interview is the time to make non-verbal communication skills, self-confidence, your sales pitch! Think of yourself as the product interpersonal skills and enthusiasm are all more and be prepared to be a sales expert. What subjective. Interviewers are trying to determine distinguishes you from the competition? Why basically three major points: should the employer hire you? What do you have to offer that’s different from the other Do you have the skills/background to candidates? By knowing your ―product‖ inside successfully perform the job? and out, you’ll be able to convince an employer Are you willing to do the tasks to hire you and overcome objections skillfully. associated with the job? Will you fit into the company culture? Interviews are a two-way process With all this in mind, we strongly urge you to use The interview is a two-way process: you are there this guide. Successful interviewing is a skill one to present your information in an honest, can develop through preparation and practice! straightforward manner and to evaluate potential job opportunities. The employer is Good luck! 1 Preparation Analyze yourself and the position Keep the following in mind In order to successfully ―sell‖ yourself to a Take time to identify your skills, strengths, potential employer, you must do a thorough self- and past experiences as they relate to assessment. You need to identify your skills and the position you are seeking. what you have to offer before you can convince someone that you are the ideal candidate. Try to get a detailed job description. If one is not available, research similar What are your skills? positions or speak with a career counselor to help you find more information. Review the list of skills and personal characteristics on the next two pages and Reflect back on your activities, highlight those which apply to you. Complete the accomplishments and achievements. Think statements on pages 3 & 5 to help you organize about the skills you used in these your thoughts. When doing your skills analysis, activities/accomplishments as they relate focus on: to each job description. Work Content Skills Identify what makes you stand apart from Those which relate specifically to being able to the competition! do a certain job. These skills are gained through work, education, and personal experience. Evaluate your educational experience and what skills you’ve developed as a Self -Management Skills student. Those personal characteristics related to your personality and to how you work within an Use the following list of self- management organization or perform tasks. and transferable skills to help you think about yourself (on pages 3 & 5) Transferable Skills Those general skills that can be applied to a How would you describe yourself? What wide variety of settings and have been skills are your strongest? How do they developed naturally or through education, relate to the position you are seeking? training and experience. Top 10 Qualities Employers Seek Communication Teamwork Technical Work Experience Leadership Interpersonal Motivation/Initiative Academic Record Analytical Honesty/Integrity/EthicsPreparation 2 Preparation Self-management and transferable skills The following word lists are extremely helpful when thinking about what you have to offer an employer. Action verbs can describe your work experience as well as communicate your transferable skills and strengths. Self-Management skills or personal characteristics can help you describe qualities necessary for performance. Self-Management Skills accurate exceptional quick active listener flexible reliable adept goal oriented responsive anticipatory good listener responsible aware humorous respectful creative initiative successful competent innovative sensitive decisive instrumental strong dedicated independent sophisticated deft integrity self-motivated dependable leader self-confident diplomatic motivated tactful discreet objective team player driven optimistic trained dynamic perceptive unique effective planner versatile empathic problem solver willing Complete the following questions to organize your thoughts. My top 3 self-management skills are: 1)_________________________________________________________________________ 2)_________________________________________________________________________ 3)_________________________________________________________________________ These examples show how I’ve demonstrated them: _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ 3 Preparation Transferable skills and action verbs to demonstrate these skills Communication explain sell teach summarize make public read listen presentations write edit speak define persuade use humor group facilitation demonstrate converse Organization/Management set priorities prepare budget implement coordinate design plan, forecast time management organize manage establish procedures develop Leadership decide supervise debate confront reengineer influence delegate motivate collaborate facilitate mediate initiate redesign persuade resolve Problem-Solving/Analytical compile locate review reason sense clarify investigate assess diagnose abstract ask reflect observe trouble shooting analyze evaluate question obtain research Interpersonal active listening interview care for counsel empathize provide cooperate negotiate advocate communicate Creative entertain design innovate illustrate enable facilitate create display train encourage tutor dramatize Technical compile compute attend to detail allocate cost analysis reconcile budget data management project bid forecast systematize develop reports meet deadlines account estimate record keeping calculate data management organize records maintain 4 Preparation Complete the following questions to organize your thoughts. My top three transferable skills are: 1)_________________________________________________________________________ 2)_________________________________________________________________________ 3)_________________________________________________________________________ I can demonstrate these skills with these examples: _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ 5 Preparation Types of interviews The structured/traditional interview is the most common. The discussion is generally directed by There are several different types and formats of the interviewer, with a question and answer interviews you may encounter during your job format similar to the outline on pages 21-22. search. You may find that several aspects of these interviews are combined. Behavioral interviewing is another common type of interview. This approach is built on the The screening