A Piece of Advice About Interviews

Wow! I haven't posted in for ever! But, that's because I've been ridiculously busy ever since the career fair. As it turns out, I didn't just get one interview, but I'm on my 5th this week! (granted, this is a second interview with a company, so I did only get three initial interviews). What I wasn't expecting was that I'd be moving forward in the interview process with multiple companies at the same time.

With this whole experience I've found some things that I wish I had done differently, and I'm amazed at what I actually got right. Here's some advice for anyone in college now who might ever want to start a career:

1. Seek out {leadership experience} during your undergrad years. This can begin as early as your freshman year. Look for something that you can put on your resume. As long as you can figure out how to relate it to your future career, you can include it. Even if you can't, interviewers like to see examples of leadership.
2. Do an {internship}! This experience really sets you apart and can be crucial to getting an offer.
3. Don't save your internship until your last semester of school or for after you graduate. Complete it the summer before you junior or senior year. This means you need to start {searching and applying} the fall semester before your internship.
4. {Review} your resume with as many people as possible. Some people have great advice, others are just so-so, but you'll learn what different companies are looking for, which will make you more confident as you are applying and interviewing.
5. Don't plan a heavy class load {your last fall semester} (of your senior year). This is when all of the recruiting and interviews occur. You may not be graduating until April, but you should be applying in August and September and interviewing in October and November. Once you graduate it's a little late to start looking for a job.
6. Attend campus information sessions with companies. {Network} all you can. Remember, you're trying to stand out in a crowd of a bunch of paper. If you happen to meet someone who will be reviewing your resume, and you've done this you're suddenly more than just a piece of paper.
7. Always remember to {be yourself}. You're looking for a job that will be a good fit for you. An interview goes two ways. The interviewer is looking to see if they think you will fit in to the company, but it's also an opportunity for you to form opinions about the position, company, the industry, and the culture. If you get a job by being anything other than yourself, you may find that it was the worst thing you ever did.
   
8. Don't let your education discourage you. College teaches you how to learn. It does not equip you with the technical skills to fully jump into a job on day one. It gives you the necessary background info that you need so that you can build on it and draw from it to help you learn exactly how to do the daily tasks that you are assigned with. (I'm a Spanish major interviewing mainly in the financial sector).