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By preparing properly, your interview does not have to feel like this...
There are many resources available to UCF students to better hone your interviewing skills. The career center is a great resource (http://www.career.ucf.edu/categories/Students/Undergraduate_Students_50_30.aspx) for students who are uncomfortable with interviewing or those of us who just want to see how we can do a bit better. You can walk in or make an appointment and one of the advisors will sit down with you and go through a mock interview. This will allow you to get familiar with standard questions employers ask, such as "Tell me about yourself" or "What are you goals" etc. Would you be willing to try this out? Why or why not? And if you are really excited about it go and interview with them and let us know what you got out of it!
Below are the instructions for this week's assignment. We’re really looking forward to your feedback and questions!
1.) Review further information about informational interviews by clicking here (http://www.bls.gov/opub/ooq/2002/summer/art03.pdf). Also, review some information from UCF"s Career Services by clicking here (http://www.career.ucf.edu/UserFiles/File/Plan%20for%20the%20Interview/player.html).
2.) Log on to Perfect Interview (http://www.perfectinterview.com/ucf/). For "Your Level of Experience," choose the level that fits you the best.
3.) Complete one "short" interview where the selections are chosen for you. Complete one "short" interview where you make the selections. Choose at least three areas you'd like to work on the most. Note the options of the "Alternate Response" and the "Coach" that can be used.
4.) You may choose to either use video capture or no video capture. If you choose no video capture you will be required to type your responses. Save both interviews.
5.) Draft a reflection about your practice interview, commenting on the questions asked and your responses to the questions. You might comment on what questions were problematic. What were the strengths of your responses? What could you improve in your responses? How did your responses compare to the "Alternate Response"? What did you learn from the "Coach?"
6.) Also, give one question about interviewing or a piece of advice that you've gained in your interviewing experiences.
7.) Click on "Review Saved Interviews." Click on the "Share" button. E-mail yourself your interview and include the links in your posting.
1. I attended the University of Central Florida in which I have a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies and a minor in health service administration. Both degrees allowed me to fully develop the skills and knowledge that you position requires.
ReplyDelete2. The most important thing I learned is that I am great with relating to different types of people. I learned to adapt with the staff members even though we had many differences.
3. I would assess the problem and remain calm
2. I would brainstorm to find possible solutions
3. I would pick the solution that sounds best
4. I would execute the solution and solve the problem
4. The best course I had would be speech class. I believe that communication is very important in the work place and is the glue and essence that holds everything together
5. I haven’t been fired at any job. Every work place has a set of rules or procedures that everyone should follow by. I believe that if this takes place it produces a healthy work environment.
1. I have many goals that I have yet to accomplish. I believe that everyone still has room for improvement and no one is perfect. Although, having so many goals keeps me on the right road to becoming successful
2. I was in a Fraternity in which I learned leadership skills and lead scholar organization in which I learned the same skill through volunteering and helping the community.
3. The major conflict with the co-worker was settled when I brought it to the attention to the supervisor. I believe it is important for notification to deter the problem for occurring in the future.
4. I am excited about joining the working population; it will be a chance to grow on further skills that I have assessed during my time in college.
5. I am a hard-worker and am very dedicated to every assignment or duty that I get. I enjoy working with people and I love to learn new things as well as any improvements that I need to make on my performance.
The first questioned proved to be rather easy. It was based upon listing your qualifications and what skills you posses from an educational background that would prepare you for the job. At first I felt nervous seeing the interviewer fire away questions. However, I thought about the job qualifications and all my prior knowledge and everything seem to fit together beautifully. The most important thing that I learned was to stay calm. Thinking through your response before you ramble is also a skill to acquire during an interview. The alternate response interviewee seems to be very confident and well spoken. I learned that one must speak clear and have good posture when answering the questions. I also assessed that the expectations of the employer will be set very high for the job positions. The coach taught me to maintain my confidence when dealing with employers of that nature. The alternate response communicated positive characteristics of her behavior when the bar was set high. I also learned that stating a weakness doesn’t have to be a negative characteristic, it could be as positive as working too hard at one duty while spending lesser time on others. I got to understand the many different techniques for answering the possible questions an employer may ask of you. This knowledge is important because employers conduct an interview in their own personal manner.
I have had several interviews, which led to several jobs (I didn't get them all, though!), and I am still nervous at the beginning until I warm up to the person interviewing me, which doesn't always happen. I think the anticipation and the waiting after are worse than the actual interview. It's probably a case of mind over matter more so than anything, but I imagine most people get nervous in the same situation.
ReplyDeleteI think this was a really good experience for me. My sister is a GM at a Chick-fil-A and she interviews a lot of people and so I’ve heard a lot of interview stories, but this was different than that. One of the last questions I had was something like, “I doesn’t seem like you are qualified for this position. Is that correct?” (Or something like that.) That really threw me. I didn’t know how to answer that. This gave me a good idea of what types of questions someone would ask, beyond just the basic ones.
ReplyDeleteOne really good piece of advise that I once heard was that you should turn every question into something good. Even if they ask something about your weaknesses, you can turn it into something positive.
Links:
http://www.perfectinterview.com/online/review_gateway.asp?id=3025082&type=standard
http://www.perfectinterview.com/online/review_gateway.asp?id=3025083&type=standard
Sierra Allmand
sierra.allmand@gmail.com
One of my friend's dad works for Best Buy. He's the regional director, I believe. She actually had some entertaining stories of some of the most obscure questions that interviewers will ask potential employees. One of my favorites was "If you could be any utensil, which one would you be and why?" I think some of these off-the-beaten-path questions might make me extremely nervous in an interview. Luckily, I have not encountered them yet.
ReplyDelete*dads. I hate typos!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.perfectinterview.com/online/text_viewer.asp?id=04977E4B-229F-40A2-8DBF-1FD59603195D&mediatype=flv
I think I need to practice being more natural and fluid in my interviews. It sounded a bit stiff and contrived. I also tend to think clearer when I am typing a response in comparison to speaking.
I was wondering if anyone had any tips on how to relax during an interview. I always tend to get nervous and anxious. Also, what are everyone's thoughts on how to conduct webcam interviews? Should you conduct them in a neutral territory, i.e. not your bedroom?
ReplyDeleteDear Katie,
ReplyDeleteThe golden concept to grasp is to remember that it's all in your mind...
I'm sure we all ask ourselves “why am I so nervous?” The truth is that many people who find themselves being nervous before a job interview is likely because they underestimate their skills and abilities.
Here are some tips for you Katie...
1. Remind yourself of the valuable skills you have to offer.
2. Tell yourself that the company considering you for hire NEEDS you as much or more than you need them.
3. Although the person interviewing you probably holds a management position, keep in mind that he or she is also just another person.
4. Concentrate on the information being given to you and not on how you appear to your interviewer.
Follow these tips Katie, and i predict nothing but success for you!
Dear Sallmand,
ReplyDeleteIt seems as if you understand that defining a weakness could also be portrayed as a strength. This is a very important response method that most interviewees haven't yet perfected. However, with the question regarding qualifications that you had- before the interview you should pick a couple of points about yourself (your professional experience and your career goals and stick to those points).
INTEGRATE it with your desire to work for the company. This will help you elaborate more for a qualifications question. By doing this I feel that your confidence will be enhanced Sallmand and that question will fail to stoop you no more!
Dear Stephanie,
ReplyDeleteI could actually picture myself in an interview when everything is going as planned. I'm answering all of the questions that the interviewer is firing at me correctly. Then out of the blue i'd get a question as you described. That would definitely throw me off, however it has really happened to me before. When i worked at Hollister, as every highschool student did, they asked if i could be any animal which animal would i be and why. It was hilarious to hear all of the different animals that came up, and it definitely lightened up the mood. I dont think anyone had the jitters and everyone started laughing at each others responses.
Stephanie,
ReplyDeleteAlso another reason employers might do this is to see how well you can think on your feet. They want to see if you'll get rattled. They may want to test your creativity or sense of humor. They want to challenge you. Employers who ask these goofy questions no doubt may feel the questions do relate to job performance. In creating stress by asking you a weird question, the interviewer may be testing how well you'll respond to the stress of the workplace
Dear Mentees,
ReplyDeleteStephanie brings up a good point...here are some tips for off the wall questions....
1. Simply smile, take a deep breathe, and take a moment to compose your response.
2. Just be yourself and give an honest response.
3. If worse comes to worst, and you absolutely cannot think of an answer, ask if you can come back to that question later.
4. Above all, take comfort in the fact that there is rarely a wrong answer to these kinds of questions.
Steph,
ReplyDeleteI believe that webcam interviews are pretty much the same as regular interviews,but with minor differences. You'd have to play very special attention to body language still, to make sure your not slouching bc when your on the computer at home your usually having leisure time. Also it's much easier to look at the interviewers eyes but now you have to remember to look at the camera as if it were they're pupils. All in all, i find it uncomfortable and would rather have a traditional type interview (face to face). Plus you'll have to be wary of distractions in the house, dogs, family members, grandpa walking in and forgeting you told him you had an interview at hand for the 17th time.
Thanks, Femi! It's always nice to be reminded of easy things that can make something that can be stressful not so much!
ReplyDelete