How to prepare for an interview receiving an invitation to interview is very exciting it means the employer likes what they know about you and thinks you have the potential to be a good fit for the position they’re hiring for, that said receiving an invite to interview should really prompt you to begin doing your homework. First you’ll want to review the job or internship description you applied to to identify key skills experiences and job duties then you’ll want to visit the employer’s website and review their about us or mission statements along with any other information you find helpful that they share. Sometimes organizations have a newsroom or news blog that can provide useful information about their industry and what they’ve been up to additionally i recommend checking out Handshake and Glassdoor. Handshake increasingly has reviews from students just like you about their experiences interning at the organization this can be useful information for you to know similarly i would visit. Glassdoor to see what information you can find about the organization, Glassdoor provides information about salaries as well as information about interviews if people have provided such information collectively use all the information you find to inform your answers during the interview as well as the questions you’ll ask at the end of the interview. Remember interviewers want to know how your experiences knowledge and skills have prepared you to do well for the role in which you’re interviewing you should answer every question you’re asked with an eye toward telling them why you’re the candidate they should want to hire based on your experiences beyond just answering the questions you’re asked working in information you’ve learned that aligns with their mission or their values or who their customers are or where they’re going as an organization will set you apart from the competition be the person who not only has good answers but clues the interviewers into the fact that you’ve done your homework and you support what they do and where they’re going that said incorporating what you’ve learned into your answers can be challenging based on your research you’ll want to identify the top five skills and experiences you possess that make you the best candidate then you’ll want to practice talking about them the goal should be to have two examples for each skill and experience you’ve identified and whenever possible include information about the organization. For example if an employer asks you to talk about a time you’ve used initiative and your example is from work you did related to sustainability and you know the organization has a focus on sustainability acknowledge this connection to the interviewers as you’re telling them about your experience using initiative what you’re trying to do is connect the dots for the employer don’t make it their job to see how you fit for the role or within the organization that’s not their job that’s your job and keep in mind that you can’t prepare for the specific questions you’ll be asked but you can prepare to talk about your experiences so prepare as best you can by practicing your answers and making connections where you can visit our website to find additional interview resources.
