AboutUsBentonBy Benton Howie

OK….you are about to graduate from university having spent the last four or five years working your tail off and having expended an exorbitant amount of money on tuition/ books/fees and other expenses, and maybe having incurred a tidy amount of debt that you will be required to repay….now what?

Your first stop will more than likely be the university placement office and your introduction to the trials of on-campus company interviews.   This is a good thing. You have the opportunity to interview with companies that have come to your university specifically to interview, screen and possibly hire students who are about to graduate…hopefully you will be among those who are offered a job. Both you and they have a captive audience.

KEY---These are as much your interviews as theirs.

Here are the steps to this dance.

You’re Preparation

KEY: You may have to have slightly modified cards for different companies—allows you to provide industry specific achievements.

Preview Sessions

 

If you are lucky, and the companies take college recruiting seriously, they will host preview sessions in the days preceding the interview dates. These are serious events, not just casual “meet and greet” sessions. Whereas they are interesting, they are not for fun. This is serious business. These sessions are where you can begin to separate yourself from the pack. Go to them.

KEY---You will have two targeted objectives both at these sessions and during the interviews. You must differentiate yourself from the competition (your fellow students) and you must present yourself as someone the companies want to offer employment to. You must be memorable (hopefully positively so.)

Company representatives may be a combination of hiring managers, recruiters, and employee alumni from your university. They will have a formal presentation about themselves, usually a power point or video.   Remember, this is a recruiting marketing tool. Pay attention.   You need to thoroughly research the company prior to accepting an offer to fill in the blanks.   The sessions will also be quasi-social. Dress appropriately. Company representatives (usually recruiters, hiring managers and employee alumni) will circulate the room to meet and assess as many students as possible.

Ask company representatives about the company and what type of individual does it take to succeed at the company and anything else you consider important in evaluating a potential first employer. Meet as many people as you can. This is your initial marketing opportunity to that company—make the most of it.

Thank your host as you leave.

KEY---This is also a chance for companies to find out how you handle yourself in social and group situations. That’s one of the reasons they provide refreshments—to find out if you know how to hold a fork and to not talk with your mouth full. This is particularly important for sales positions.

DEFINITION: The Elevator Speech - A short (thirty second) casual verbal presentation which summarizes who you are and what career opportunity you are seeking. It’s a good idea to think a lot about what you will say ahead of time. Have it well rehearsed - practice it in front of the mirror.   At the same time, this is not the time to do a hard sell. Save it for the interview…but if asked, answer questions directly. It’s ok to do a little selling if asked.

 

The Interview

Be punctual and dress appropriately.   I recommend a suit or sport coat for men and corresponding professional business attire for women. Introduce yourself and if you met the interviewer at a preview session, tell the person it is good to see them again. Bring your resume and your business card and give it to the recruiter at the beginning of the interview.

Key…a word about dress: dress politically neutral, no fraternity or sorority pens or crests on jackets, or “save the whales” pins, etc. Interviews and preview sessions are not the time to make political or social statements. If you are involved in particular causes or social organizations it’s ok to put it on your resume. Also…unless you are interviewing for a job as a ”roadie” for a tour band, or for MTV or a Hip Hop production company, remove all piercings.

OK, you have thirty minutes to get a job.

KEY: Unless you really don’t want to work for this employer your objective is to get an offer. You can always turn it down if you get a better offer. But you want to be the one making that decision, not them. If, after the preview session, you are no longer interested in the company, you should contact the placement office and cancel the interview to make room for other students to get on the schedule. It is simply the right thing to do. Do not-- just not show up. You will make a lot of people mad, especially the placement office.

Key: You must indicate a job or range of jobs in a job family that you are interested in. Recruiters are not career counselors; they are there to fill specific needs for their companies.

When scheduling your on-campus interview, here are a few things to keep in mind.

On campus interviews are one of your best ways to find your first employer and hone your interviewing chops. There is a lot of competition and schedules are lean and tight.   Approach this the way you would a major school project. Do your homework, stay focused and take the process seriously.   You might just find your first job.