Interviews

1. COMM 202 –
THE LAST TUTORIAL!
#202forever
Interviews
April 1, 2016
Cheralyn Chok
T39

2. Agenda
1. Employment Interview Assignment
2. Interview Q&A
3. Words of Wisdom 
4. Action Items

3. Employment Interview (10%)
WHEN: April 4th, 5th and 7th
 Check in with “reception” in Birmingham 10
minutes before your scheduled time; your
interviewer will come to waiting area to get you
 The interview will last 20 minutes with 1-2
COMM 202 team members
 Please bring your pen, resume, job posting, and
cover letter in a padfolio

4. Dress to impress – business formal

5. Interview Q&A

7. Questions to expect
Tell me about yourself / Walk me through your resume
What are your strengths?
What are your weaknesses?
Tell me about a time when… x2
WILD CARD / Problem-solving / Creative stumper question
Do YOU have any questions?
1
2
3
4
5
6

8. Q1 – Tell me about yourself
The MOST COMMON QUESTION you will get in
an interview
Can be asked in different ways… PRACTICE MAKES
PERFECT
 Keep it 2 minutes or less
 Brand yourself – give them something to remember you by
 Sound natural, not like you’re reading off a script!
 Speak to your skills and accomplishments
 Show passion
 Provide a well-rounded picture

9. Your story
The Beginning
Growing Interest
The Spark
Your Future
Why you are
here
Introduction – quick background
Realization that this was the career for you
Your formula that makes you perfect for the job!
Where you see yourself
How this position ties into it all

10. Your story: what is your formula?
? + ? ?+
THE GOAL: Tell them a story that no one else can replicate
and impress them in the first 2 minutes

11. My formula
Brief introduction of
my family
background (core
values) and the
catalyst for my love of
design and textiles
How I ended up in
business school and
paired the tools I was
learning with what
I’m passionate about,
to launch Fly At Risk
How running my own
business has given
me transferrable
skills to utilize in all
fields, and how
Operations &
Logistics has helped
my entrepreneurial
development
Why I’m here today and passionate about the
position, what I hope to achieve, and how I can
showcase my personal brand throughout the job
I’m applying for

12. I would hire you on
the spot (2 points)
I would like to interview
you again (1 point)
I would not hire
you (0 points)
TELL ME
ABOUT
YOURSELF
Student provides a
relevant, chronological
“story” highlighting their
beginning, spark,
growing interest, goals
and fit to the
organization in a
concise manner (2
minute max)
The student provides a
chronological “story”
highlighting most but not all
of the 5 aspects listed in the
first column in a concise
manner and/or answer was
longer than 2 minutes
Student provided
“story” that is neither
concise (more than 2
minutes) nor
chronological/logical
✪ Grading rubric: about yourself

13. Activity
Grab a partner and share
“TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF”
stories
2 minutes story-telling, 1 minute feedback!

14. Q2 – What are your strengths?
 A way for the interviewer to tell if you know yourself and
that you know you have what it takes to do the job
 Can also be asked in different ways!
 There is no right answer – just good answers and bad
answers

15. I would hire you on
the spot (2 points)
I would like to
interview you again
(1 point)
I would not hire
you (0 points)
STRENGTHS Student is able to choose
strengths relevant to the
position, give a strong
example with proof of
execution and links the
experience to the job
opportunity
Student is able to choose
strengths relevant to the
position, gives a strong
example of execution,
but may lack a link to the
position
Student’s strength may
be irrelevant to the
position and/or lacks
proof of execution or
link to job opportunity
✪ Grading rubric: strengths

16. Q3 – What are your weaknesses?
Do not flip
WEAKNESSES
into
STRENGTHS!

17. Q3 – What are your weaknesses?
✘ “I’m such a perfectionist”
✘ “Too detail-oriented”
✘ “Over-achiever”
✘ “I work too hard sometimes”
 Weakness wouldn’t impair you from doing the job
 Show you have a plan to improve these weaknesses
 Show the “lesson learned”

18. ✪ Grading rubric: weaknesses
I would hire you on
the spot (2 points)
I would like to interview
you again (1 point)
I would not hire
you (0 points)
WEAKNESSES Student is able to
choose a
developmental area
not key to the function
of the position and
share how they
overcame the situation,
the lesson learned and
action plan moving
forward, while
demonstrating self
reflection and
resilience
Student is able to choose a
developmental area not key
to the function of the
position and share how they
overcame the situation,
however is not able to
articulate the lesson learned
or action plan moving
forward and/or student
choose cliché answer ex.
“My greatest weakness is
my greatest strength”
Student either chose
a skill essential to the
position or was not
able to clearly convey
the lesson and/or
action plan moving
forward; student was
unable to provide a
weakness

19. Q4 – Tell me about a time when…?
S T A R
SITUATION ACTIONTASK RESULT
What position
and where were
you?
What was the
challenge you
faced?
What did YOU
do and how did
you do it?
What was the
accomplishment and
the impact?
+ LINK back to job and why the story is relevant

20. Q5 – Wild card questions

21. Q5 – Wild card questions
 A way for the interviewer to gauge your interest and knowledge of the position and
industry
 Test your ability to communicate clearly
 Shows the interviewer how you think
 TESTS BUSINESS ACUMEN: news, trends, etc.
Industry/job specific or… A SURPRISE!
YOUR
GOAL
Walk them through your thought process
Stay calm and provide a clear answer

22. FINANCE PITCH ME A STOCK
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS VS DOWNSIDES OF USING DEBT VS EQUITY FINANCING?
HOW WOULD VALUE A PERPETUAL ZERO COUPON BOND?
DO YOU THINK THE FINANCIAL MARKETS ARE EFFICIENT?
ACCOUNTING WHY DO YOU WANT TO PURSUE A CPA?
WHY THIS FIRM?
WALK ME THROUGH THE MAJOR LINES OF A CASH FLOW STATEMENT?
MANAGEMENT CONSULTING HOW MANY WORDS ON THE FRONT PAGE OF THE NY TIMES?
TELL ME YOUR 5 WEAKNESSES… AND ANOTHER… ANOTHER
DESCRIBE A PROJECT YOU HAVE WORKED ON THAT CHALLENGED YOU?
CASE-BASED QUESTIONS…
MARKETING HOW WOULD YOU INCREASE SALES OF X PRODUCT BY X%?
SELL ME THIS PEN
HOW DO YOU THINK OUR BLOG IS DOING? WHAT CAN BE DONE BETTER?
TLOG HOW COULD YOU IMPROVE THE COMPANY’S PRODUCTIVITY?
HOW WOULD YOU DEAL WITH A DIFFICULT FACTORY WORKER?
TELL ME ABOUT A TIME YOU IMPROVED SOMETHING WHERE YOU WORKED?
HR TELL ME ABOUT A TIME WHERE YOU HAD TO MOTIVATE A TEAM
ASSUMING YOU ARE SELECTED, WHAT WOULD BE THE FIRST CHANGE YOU WOULD MAKE?
RANDOM WHAT IS 3/16 IN DECIMAL?
TELL ME ABOUT SOMETHING IN THE NEWS, HOW IT RELATES TO THIS JOB?
WHY ARE MANHOLES ROUND?
TEACH ME SOMETHING YOU LEARNED IN SCHOOL?
WHAT MOTIVATES YOU?
Examples

23. ✪ Grading rubric: wild card
I would hire you on
the spot (2 points)
I would like to
interview you again
(1 point)
I would not hire you (0
points)
CREATIVE/S
TUMPER
QUESTIONS
Student “aces” every
opportunity to differentiate
themselves during the
interview: e.g., they offer a
credible, logically-organized,
and concise answer for every
question. If on the rare
occasion, they don’t know the
answer, they then respond by
asking clarifying questions
and/or outlining the problem-
solving approach they would
use. Maintains composure.
Student “handles” some
opportunities to differentiate
themselves during the
interview: e.g., they offer
credible and/or logically-
organized and/or concise
answers for many
questions. They sometimes
respond by asking clarifying
questions and/or outlining
the problem-solving
approach they would use
They “miss” too many
opportunities to differentiate
themselves during interview:
e.g., they offer widely varying
answers in terms of credibility
and/or logical organization
and/or conciseness. If they
don’t know the answer, they
often don’t seem to know how
to respond by asking clarifying
questions and/or outlining a
problem-solving approach

24. Q6 – Do you have any questions?
 Always have at least 2 questions
 Avoid asking questions you could find the answer to on Google
 Never ask a question like, “What do you look for in candidates?” –
probably should have asked this before the interview
 Do not ask something that has already been addressed in the interview
 Always safe to get them talking about themselves – maybe ask
something directly related to their job/industry or some career advice

25. Closing the interview
THANK them
Reiterate your INTEREST
End with a HANDSHAKE
Ask for their BUSINESS CARD
Ask about FOLLOWING UP
Use their NAME

26. Follow up
Don’t write an essay!!
Email in 24
Hours
Thank Them
Refer to Convo
Tailor to the
Reader
Re-iterate
Interest!
Check for
Typos

27. Follow up: example
Hi Michael,
I just wanted to say a quick thank you for taking the time to
interview me. I really enjoyed our conversation, even
though you did not like my top two classic rock bands, at
least we could agree on Zeppelin. Good luck with your
future at Goldman, hopefully the transition continues to be
a smooth one for you.
Best Regards,
Curtis Kuznecov

28. General tips
&
DON’T
FORGET
TO
SMILE

 Bring the energy to the room
 Guide the conversation to where you
are comfortable
 Listen to the question
 Answer the darn question
 Use your skills matrix
 Differentiate yourself

29. Words of Wisdom

30. INVEST IN
YOUR
COMMUNITIES

31. DO WHAT
YOU LOVE
AND
YOU’LL DO
IT WELL

32. SET YOURSELF APART

33. Action items
 Complete Interview Stream by:
 April 3rd at 11:59PM!
 Employment Interviews on:
 April 4th, 5th and 7th
 Informational Interview due:
 April 14th at 1:59 pm