Advice on interview preparation
To college graduates, looking for job is probably the most difficult and biggest challenge that they face in their career. The problem is many are not prepared. Looking for job is NOT just filling out application and waits for an interview. They must do research of company that they want to work for and actively pursue what they want. They must know what to ask, what to say, and how to answer difficult questions. Although most college career counselors do provide guidances and helps but many graduates are not following these guidelines.
According to College Advisory Board, the number one issue that many job applicants made is the lack of knowledge about the company that they want to work for as evidence during the interview. A common question is: “Why do you want to work for our company?” A majority of applicants could not give a clear explanation as most only vaguely answer that they just want a job. A senior manager explained: “We want to give them a chance to let us know the reason they want to work for us but most cannot answer it satisfactory. Many do not even know anything about our company.” Sometime applicants are asked: “What do you know about our company?” but most do not know much as they just apply by sending resumes to many companies without any research.
The fact is today almost every company has a website with information about what the company does its products or services, and the types of jobs available. Graduates must spend time reviewing this information to prepare before the interview. As I wrote in previous blog, when you are invited to come to an interview you have 50% chance of getting hired but if you are not prepared, you will miss that chance. The College Advisory Board report stated that as many as 80% of graduates do not know HOW to answer this type of question properly.
In most interviews, the company also allows applicants to ask question but many do not want to ask anything. A senior manager explained: “If they do not ask us anything that means they are not interest in us and of course in that case, why would we want to hire them? Although some do ask question but they only ask trivial question that anybody could easily answer which means that they are not doing any research about the company or know anything about the company.
The College Advisory Board also reported that today most companies also want to know whether applicants have a broad knowledge beyond the technical field as they are interest in the global trend. A senior manager explained: “In this globalized world, a technical person must have the broader knowledge of the trend in business. We prefer to hire people with both broad and deep knowledge, people who read more about global trend. This is a major weakness of college students as many do not know much about the industry and the world that they are living in. In this connected world, if you do not follow these trends, you will be left behind. Being a technical person is not enough, you must be aware of what is happening and willing to learn new thing as the world is changing fast.”
The fact is today there are so much information on the Internet, news, research articles, blogs, websites that provide these information and all types of guidances that graduates can learn to broaden their knowledge and prepare for their career. Today and in the near future, there are more opportunities to work for global companies than local companies as many companies are expanding their business and need skilled workers. Many of you have selected a good field of study and graduated with the right degree but you must also be prepared to overcome the last challenge of getting a good job.
My advice: Please spend time to read more, learn more to build a good knowledge of the global business and be prepared to go to the interview with number of facts, figures, research articles and any material pertinent to the industry or company. Who knows? The company might be fascinated by your knowledge.
Sources
- Blogs of Prof. John Vu, Carnegie Mellon University
