Career Services Fisher College of Business The Ohio State University QUIC Qualified Undergraduate...

Career ServicesFisher College of BusinessThe Ohio State University

QUICQualified Undergraduate Interview Candidate

Qualified Undergraduate Interview Candidate (QUIC)Module 5:Effective Interviewing and Preparing for Your QUIC Interview



Effective Interviewing

You will be expected to pass a QUIC interview before you can interview with company representatives on campus. To pass the QUIC interview you will need to:

• Be dressed in professional business attire and be on time• Be able to effectively answer the following questions: “Tell me

about yourself” and “Why should I hire you?” along with others• Be able to answer behavioral interview questions effectively• Be able to demonstrate your knowledge of the company with

whom you’re interviewing

This module will help you to succeed at these tasks and pass your QUIC interview.



Before the Interview Begins: Preparation and IntroductionYou MUST read and know the job description for

every job or internship for which you interview – target your responses to the company and the job (your responses will be different in every interview you have, because each company and position will emphasize different qualities) Know the key qualities the position requires. But you must also know about the company itself.



Researching the Company

It is critical during your interviews that you convince each employer that their company is a good fit for you. You can only do this if you do extensive research on each company that you are interviewing with.

When doing your research, be sure to look for things that are of interest to you and that match your own set of work values. For example, if you see that a company values customer service and you’ve had jobs where you’ve been trained to work positively with customers, that could be a good fit. Or if you’ve volunteered a lot and see that a company takes social responsibility seriously, that could be a good fit.



Company Research: What to Know

Basic things to research and know:

What does the company do? What type of business are they in?What is their size? Where are the located?How is the company organized? What are their primary business units?What are the company’s core values? How do they fit yours?Are they a division of a parent company? Do they have subsidiaries?Is the company expanding? Downsizing?What kind of training programs do they provide?What kinds of career paths exist in your field?Who is the company’s primary customer base?Who are their major competitors?What share of the market do they have for their primary products/services?What are some key components of the company’s work environment?What is new with this company?



Company Research: Resources to Use

You can find information about companies

in a variety of sources:

• The company web site

• Company literature that is often distributed to students at career/internship fairs

• Company annual reports

• People who have worked there



Introducing Yourself

The interview starts when the employer calls your name and takes you to the interview room. You have about 30 seconds to make that all important first impression. You never get a second chance to make a first impression!

Be confident: strong hand shake, good eye contact as you meet the employer

As you walk to the interview room, be positive – don’t say you’re not feeling well or you were up all night studying for an exam

Obviously, professional business dress is required for all interviews (including the QUIC interview)

You should have a professional portfolio in which to keep your resume. You can keep this on the table in the interview room. Do not take notes during the interview, but you can refer to questions you’ve jotted down ahead of time when asked what questions you have

Leave your coat and backpack in the Career Services’ closet so you’re not struggling with them when the employer greets you



Behavioral Interviewing

If you were an interviewer, what is the best way you could find out if your candidate had certain skills or characteristics? Ask them to prove it! This is what behavioral interviewing attempts to do ~ it requires the candidates to prove they have successfully used certain skills or exhibited certain characteristics in the past. There is an assumption that your past behavior predicts your future behavior.

So, for example, if an interviewer wants to assess a candidate’s ability to manage conflict, they will ask a question such as: “Give me an example of a time when you had a conflict with another individual and tell me about how you resolved it.” As you respond, the interviewer is looking for evidence that you did manage the conflict successfully yourself. What you describe in your example shows them how you will handle conflicts (for example, with customers) if they hire you.



Behavioral Interviewing: The STAR Technique

To effectively respond to behavior-based questions, you must first think of good examples. You can use examples from your previous jobs and/or your involvement in student activities, athletics or community organizations. When answering these questions, you can use the “STAR technique” to help you develop a thorough response…



Behavioral Interviewing: The STAR Technique cont’d.

Situation ~ fully describe the context and background of the story you are about to tell

Task ~ identify the major tasks that needed to be accomplished by you and/or others

Action ~ describe the actions that YOU took or the specific role that you played

Result ~ this is the happy ending of the story ~ your result shows the evidence that you were successful

Be sure to elaborate with a lot of details about each of these things: situation, task, action and … remember the result! Many students leave this out and the story loses its impact.



Behavioral Interviews ~ Sample Questions

Below are some example behavioral interview questions. For each of thesethink about what example you would use. Rehearse your responses usingthe STAR technique.

Tell me about a time when you took a leadership role.Give me an example of a time that you went above and beyond your job

requirements.Tell me about a time when you initiated a project.Can you describe a time when you feel you made an impact at Ohio State?Describe a time when you had to work under pressure to meet a deadline.Tell me about a time when you fell short of a goal you set for yourself. What did you

learn from that?Give me an example of a time when you persuaded another person or group of

people about an idea that you had.

Remember you must be able to answer behavioral questions effectively inyour QUIC interview in order to pass.



Behavioral Interviews: An Example

Q: Tell me about a time when you took initiative

A: I had a summer job after high school at Burger Queen. [Situation] I was in the kitchen preparing the burgers and my supervisor always emphasized how important it was to keep up with the orders so that customers were getting their food fast. [Task] One day during a lunch rush, I thought about how we were putting the cheese slices, which were wrapped in clear plastic, onto the hamburgers and I thought that if they were not fully wrapped, but just separated with one layer of plastic or waxed paper, we could get them on the burgers much faster. So I experimented with this and started timing myself and found that I was saving a couple of seconds per burger. [Action] I talked to my supervisor about this and she not only implemented the idea at our store, but she submitted it as a suggestion to corporate headquarters and they started getting their cheese packaged and shipped to all restaurants this new way. [Result]



Behavioral Interviews: An Example ~ cont’d.

What does this answer tell us about this candidate?• They take their work seriously• They take initiative ~ they were not asked to

improve this process but thought about a way to do it

• If they are excited enough about a summer job to find ways to improve that, they can do great things for our company

• They are results oriented



Closing the Interview

It is important at the end of the interview to leave a positive and confident impression with the interviewer:

• Express your interest and enthusiasm for the opportunity.

• Ask when you can expect to hear back about next steps in the process.

• Ask if you can follow up with the interviewer if you don’t hear within the given time frame.

• Ask the interviewer for their business card.



Following Up After the Interview

As soon as you can, send a thank you to the interviewer. This can be an email message, a written note or a typed and mailed letter.

If you do not hear back in the timeframe that was presented to you, be sure to call – express your interest in the position and ask about your current status in the search process.



The QUIC Interview

By now you should have completed your on-line profile and uploaded your resume into Fisher Connect. Once you complete this module and pass your last quiz, you can use Fisher Connect to schedule a QUIC interview. Please remember, you are not “QUIC” until you have completed this last step in the process – the QUIC interview! When you schedule your QUIC interview, the interview schedule will be assigned a company name. You should research this company for the QUIC interview. You must be able to explain why you are interested in the company to pass the QUIC interview.

You will also be asked to choose a QUIC job description that most closely matches what you are currently looking for and use this job description for the QUIC interview.

Also: remember to bring your final resume to the QUIC interview for approval.



The QUIC Interview, cont’d.

Your QUIC interview will start with the question: Tell me about yourself. Provide some information about your background (where you grew up, any major accomplishments from high school, why you came to OSU, why you chose your major) and also be sure to talk about some of the qualities from the job description you feel you already have and how you have developed them



QUIC Interview Questions

You will be asked at least two behavioral based interview questions. Review some of the sample questions in this module and rehearse your responses out loud.

You will be asked: “Why should I hire you?” It is good to organize this answer into three of your best qualities – and back each one up with a short example. For example: “I’m really good at managing my time. I am currently working 15-20 hours per week while carrying a full load of classes and keeping my GPA to a 3.35. I have also been very involved in the Undergraduate Business Women’s Association. I use a weekly planner and set weekly goals to get everything done.”




You will be asked “What questions do you have for me?” Be sure to ask some interesting questions about the company and/or the position that reaffirms you did your research.

Remember, if you are really interested in this opportunity there must be some things you’d like to know about the company before you would decide to work there.




Finally, you will be asked “ Is there anything else that I [the interviewer ] should know about you?” It is important to have a response to this and to end the interview on a positive note. Summarize your qualities and fit with the position. Express your excitement about the opportunity. Remember the tips in this module about closing the interview!



The QUIC Interview – More Tips

To get even more “prep help” with your QUIC interview (and to increase the chances of your passing it) stop in to Career Services during our Career Coach walk-in hours and ask the coach for more tips and advice. The hours are posted on our web site:

http://fisher.osu.edu/services/career-services/undergraduate-students/career-coaches/



Interviewing ~ Additional Resources

Still want to know more? Check out the following resources for more information about interviewing:

http://fisher.osu.edu/career/ungrad/resources/successful_interviewing.pdf

http://fisher.osu.edu/career/ungrad/resources/preparing_for_interviews.pdf

The WetFeet website also has many good resources on interviewing. You will find it at:

http://www.wetfeet.com/cb/schools/toc.asp?dpid=107

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