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3 Tips for College Students Preparing for Job Interviews

Interviews can be an intimidating experience for even the most experienced job candidate, let alone for college students seeking their first summer jobs and internships. However, if you prepare for the interview and use the following strategies, you will end up much more successful in your job and internship search.

Research the company

There is nothing worse than showing up for a job interview for a position and company that you know nothing about and being asked a question about your knowledge of these things. To avoid this embarrassing situation, go on the company’s website and look at the company’s mission statement and recent news about the company. If the position requires some kind of technical skills, make a document with some of the industry terms and review them before going to the interview.

Be up to date on current events, and read over your resume in order to prepare for the inevitable “tell me about yourself” question.

Make a list of common interview questions

There are some interview questions that are asked in almost every interview. Some of these questions include things such as “tell me about yourself” and “what are your strengths and weaknesses?” Many more questions like this can be found on the internet and preparing the answers to some of these questions will help you to seem more professional and experienced.

Also, if you prepare these questions well with great answers, if you don’t answer as well on some of the more specific questions, it might hurt you less since you previously answered well.

Be on time and dress professionally

It might seem like common sense, but being on time and acting professionally can be the deciding factor in a company deciding between you and another equally qualified candidate. Make sure to plan out your outfit on the night before your interview so everything is set for the next day. Be sure to know the route that you plan on taking to get to the company and try to get there 15 minutes early in order to show professionalism.

In following these tips, you will ensure that you are putting your best self forward and show the company that you are serious about the job you are interviewing for. Interviews make or break your job application, so it is important to take them as seriously as possible. Good luck in your job search!

 

Kaitlyn LannanKaitlyn Lannan is a sophomore at Northwestern University. She is majoring in economics and communication and plans on attending business school. Her dream job is becoming Chief Marketing Officer at a Fortune 500 company. You can find Kaitlyn on Twitter at @KaitlynLannan.

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