Internship Interview

Internship Interview: Less is More

Stop talking. It is that simple. Students have a hard time understanding that the amount that they talk isn't that important during the internship interview. Also, realize that it is okay to say "I have no idea." The recruiter knows that you are interviewing for an internship, so they don't expect something crazy. So, my point is, keep it simple during the internship interview and when you get nervous, talk less, not more.

It is very easy to get nervous during the internship interview and start to work vomit about your internship resume or how crafty your internship cover letter is. Remember, less is more, especially when the hiring manager or recruiter goes back to her desk and starts to think about all the internship interviews he or she has done. She will only remember one or two great or bad things from the internship interview, so don't keep telling her more and more and more. Tell her less, but make sure she remembers what it is that you tell her.

Go into the internship interview with a couple points you want to get across and nail home. Go back to these and remember that it is important to do one thing really, really well. Nobody cares about a jack-of-all trades. hiring managers and recruiters want an intern that get get normal things done well, but may be able to knock a couple tasks out of the park.

Internship Interview Balance

Internship interview: a balance between professional and personable.

What are a few things you want your employer to get from an internship interview?  It’s obvious for me.  I want them to know that I am both professional and personable.  Regardless of what boxes your interviewers is checking and what she is asking you in your internship interview, the bottom line is that she wants to know if you are professional and personable.  And you need to show her that you are cool and that you can get things done.

But too much can be a bad thing.  If you are in your internship interview, and your interviewer thinks you take work too seriously and don’t have another side, it can work against you.  Also, in your internship interview, you don’t want your interviewer to get the idea that you are a Chatty Cathy and won’t be able to get anything done.  There is a balance between the two that you need to strike in your internship interview so your interviewer can tell that you are both very professional and very personable (in good ways).

How can you strike this balance and ensure that you are both professional and personable?  There is a lot more to this than I am saying, but for the most part, it’s in the flow of the conversation of your internship interview.

In your internship interview, take serious questions seriously.  Don’t force smiles or fake laughter when your interviewer is trying to get to know your professional history.  Tell a serious story about your success, or have a serious answer to her questions.  If you are a confident and take your professional self seriously in your internship interview, your interviewer will take the lead and know you can get things done.  But don’t feel the need to just stick to the questions and treat the internship interview like nothing more than in interview.  If conversation goes elsewhere or lightens up, go with it.  Trust your instinct at your internship interview and you will land the internship.

Take this advice and let your interviewer know that you are both professional and personable at your internship interview.

Internship Interview Tips

Chances are you’ve done quite a bit of preparation for your internship interview.  But there a few small tips we can give you that will help you out.  Keep these tips in mind for internship interview and you’ll make a great impression at your internship interview.

First, think about your body language.  The larger part of human communication is nonverbal.  If you’re in a positive mindset, you’ll probably convey this in your body language. Stand up straight with your chest out and shoulders back.  Don’t exaggerate it, make it look natural.  Keep head up or level, and don’t look down (ever).  When you walk into the room of you internship interview, your body language should say that you are confident and sure of yourself.

Second tip: slow down.  Everything.  Slow down your speech and your thoughts.  Slow down your movements.  If you so much as turn your head or blink, slow it down.  This is a great tip to be conscious of, especially if you’re nervous before your internship interview. Don’t be afraid to pause before answering a question, or while you’re talking.  Again, this shows that you are confident.  Don’t pause so long that it makes both of you uncomfortable.  Pausing for a few seconds is fine.  Quick movements and quick speech show that you are nervous and not confident, which are not good things to display during an internship interview.

Our third tip is to smile and joke a little, but don’t overdo it.  If you smile and laugh too much during your internship interview, this again shows that you are nervous.  Be serious when you need to be, and be funny when you have the chance.  Remember that they are looking for someone who takes their job seriously.

Keep these tips in mind and they will help you out a lot during your internship interview. Internship interview tips are easy to come by, but make sure you have a great internship cover letter and internship resume so that you can use these internship interview tips!

And always, always, do the best internship work possible. Forget the internship interview tips, this is the best tip you can get - do great internship work!

Internship Interview Thank You Note

Internship Interview Thank You Notes can be very important. After all, how many emails do you get each day vs letters in the mail? A great internship interview thank you note counts!

If you’ve ever interviewed for a job in your professional career, chances are someone who has conducted your interview doesn’t even remember who you are.  You are much more likely to remember them, and can you even think of every person who has ever interviewed you for a position?  These HR reps have the daunting task of interviewing hundreds of people.  During an active hiring period, they conduct multiple interviews every single day.  It must be difficult to think back and remember intimate details about every single applicant.  Standing out is the only chance you’ve got at getting the job you’re gunning for.  There are many creative ways to accomplish this, but let’s not forget the tried and true method of sending a thank you note to your interviewer.

Sending an internship interview thank you note for something that was part of their job may seem unnecessary, but it’s always a good idea to grease the wheels a bit.  Perhaps you won’t blow them away with your courtesy, but sending an honest thank you card to your interviewer can definitely jog their memory as to who you are and show them that you’re appreciative.  Sending an internship interview thank you note in this situation is a perfect balance between being a sycophant and being too nonchalant.  It won’t be the deal breaker in terms of getting the position, but it very well might bump you up a few spots.  Additionally, you will assuredly get a quick response from the company, and they are more likely to consider you for the next job opening if you didn’t land this one.  You should never hesitate to send an internship interview thank you note after your big interview.  Just be sure you spell the name of the recipient correctly!

And don't forget to do great things with our internship resume and especially your internship work!

Intern Interview Questions

Don’t focus on your intern interview questions.

When most people have an internship interview coming up, they freak out over the interview questions.  They want to answer the questions like a great intern would.  If you are wrapped up about the questions during your internship interview, I have two words for you:  chill out.

There are more important things to focus your energy on than the actual intern interview questions themselves.  Focus on your own confidence and you want to be seen.  Focus on having great body language.  Focus on being in a positive mindset when you go into your internship interview.

This is very counter-intuitive, and it may come as a surprise to you.  When you are in your internship interview, DO NOT focus on your interview questions.  If you think about the specific questions too much, you’ll overanalyze them and be nervous.  This is the last thing you want.  Instead, realize that your internship interview is a conversation between two people, and focus on connecting with your interviewer.  Get try to get your interviewer talking about his or her story with the company.

Of course, you should look at some intern interview questions and have an idea about what to say.  Have some stories and experiences lined up in your head.  Don’t memorize verbatim what you’re going to say, unless you are Matt Damon or Johnny Depp.  And if you are, why are you looking for internship advice?

Memorizing what you are going to say is too much, and it will make you nervous.  Have some material in your head, but don’t dwell on it.  There is a lot more to your internship interview questions besides the intern interview questions themselves.  Focus on what matters.

And don't forget to write a killer internship resume and also the biggest part of all, do great internship work!

The Internship Interview - The Top 5 Questions

by Julia Penny
http://www.best-job-interview.com

Internship interview candidates usually lack professional work experience so you will find that more and more companies when interviewing interns will focus on the necessary competencies (also referred to as behaviors) for the internship position rather than on actual task experience.

Based on the premise that past performance is the best predictor of future performance, the candidate is asked competency-based (or behavioral) questions that require them to provide specific examples of when they have previously demonstrated the required competency. The intern will be expected to answer using the following structure:

*Describe the specific situation or incident

*Detail the actions and steps taken

*Describe the outcome of these actions

The 5 most commonly explored competencies in the internship interview

Experience has shown that these are the most common competencies for an internship position. The competency (behavior) is listed, an explanation given of what that competency looks like and a sample behavioral question given. Intern candidates can reflect on past experiences, select appropriate examples and plan their answers. Examples of possible situations are listed to guide the candidate in the internship interview

Learn and apply new information and skills: This competency involves assimilating and applying new data or tasks as quickly as possible. The motivation to learn and the resourcefulness used in acquiring new knowledge is explored.

"Give an example of when you were able to learn something complex in a relatively short period of time."

Examples of possible situations that can be referred to include undertaking a new project, a difficult assignment and learning a new skill.

Initiative: This competency involves the ability to be proactive, generate new ideas, come up with solutions and take on new opportunities.

"Describe a time you have had to meet a major challenge."

Possible situations include your course requirements, your extracurricular activities and sports participation

Problem analysis and Problem-solving: this involves the ability to gather, organize and analyze relevant data using different resources and use this to find an appropriate solution

"Describe a situation where your initial approach failed and you had to try something different to meet your result."

Situations include undertaking projects and assignments, reaching goals and objectives in work, sport and extracurricular activities.

Planning and Organizing: refers to the ability to plan ahead, set priorities and manage time and resources to achieve outcomes.

"What goals have you set for yourself, what steps have you taken to stay on track?"

Teamwork: be able to work effectively as part of a team or group to reach desired outcomes.

"Describe a group project you achieved successfully, what was your contribution?"

Possible situations include group assignments or projects, team sporting activities and community work.

The internship interview should be considered a regular employment interview and prepared for in the same way.

For a full guide to the internship interview.

Originally published on SearchWarp.com for Julia Penny Thursday, April 17, 2008
Article Source: The Internship Interview - the top 5 questions

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Internship Interview Questions

One thing the most students wonder is what the manger or recruiter going to ask me in the internship interview? What are the internship interview questions? Well, here are some of the most popular internship interview questions. Practice these and you will nail most internship interviews.

Tell me about yourself?
Walk me through your resume?
Tell me about a time you worked in a group?
What was your favorite class and why?
Why are you interested in your company?
Why do you think you are qualified for this position?

These are the most important internship interview question. They are also the most common internship interview questions. Keep in mind that an internship interview is significantly different than an entry level interview and companies are willing to take more risks with their interns than a full time hire.

Some companies and individuals love to ask very difficult internship interview questions, like how many gas stations are there in the united states or how many ping pong balls can fit in a 747. These interview tactics are based around the idea that you will show your reasoning process by describing how you would come to the given number. These internship interview questions make a ton of students nervous, but you have to be prepared for this when you are dealing with large consulting firms or banks. These guys are tough on the internship interview questions process, but they also have the most enviable jobs.

Hope this brief list of internship interview questions helps you land an awesome internship! Remember that the first step is to create a remarkable internship resume and then you can ace the interview.

Also, it is not the internship interview questions that make the man, it is the man that makes the internship interview questions. Okay, bad joke. But, don't forget to write an amazing internship cover letter and internship resume. And, the most important thing you can do for your career - do remarkable internship work!

The Right Mindset For Your Internship Interview

There is only so much preparation you can do for an internship interview.  The key to having a great internship interview is how you prepare the day of your internship interview.  Prepare from the moment you wake up until your internship interview begins.

I don’t mean to set your alarm and get up at 5 am to practice interviewing.  I’m talking about having a good breakfast and getting in a positive mindset.  When you wake up on the day of your interview, your goal should be to go into your internship interview and be in the best mood you can possible be in.  Let your interviewer pick up on your positive energy.

You need to go into your internship interview with confidence.  Be sure, but don’t be arrogant.  Remember that your internship interview will be conducted by a PERSON.  There are a lot of communication factors to consider that will help your give it your best in your internship interview.

Don’t be afraid to say some positive reinforcements to yourself before you go into your internship interview.  Who cares if it’s cheesy?  Do whatever it takes to get into a positive mindset before your interview.  You need to have an attitude like you can anything you want, and you are in the control of the internship interview.  If it helps, think of yourself like a celebrity and you’re doing in internship interview for a magazine.  Again, this is pretty cheesy.  But if it works for you, who cares?  It will put you in a fun, confident mindset.  Make sure not to be arrogant if you do this! Also, bring a killer internship resume that will impress the heck out of the recruiter.

Getting in the right mindset for your internship interview is key to a successful interview, and it’s something that not that many people consider.  If you think about it, you can take control of your thoughts, yourself, and your internship interview.

Now, once you have nailed the internship interview, make sure you do amazing internship work! Good luck to you and have the best summer ever.

Make Your Internship Interview A Conversation

An internship interview can be very stressful for some people.  They are a big deal… the last hurdle you have to clear to get an internship.  This might be your first interview.  Well guess what?  It’s everyone else’s first time to.  If you’re a junior in college, chances are none of your peers have interview experience either.

For the most part, the internship interview is what you’d expect.  It’s not difficult to be prepared for an internship interview.  You have an idea of what kind of questions they are going to ask and you.  In some cases, you might know exactly what questions your interviewer is going to ask you.  All too often, when preparing for an internship interview, students focus on having prepared answers for these questions.

I’m going to advise you against this.  You’re probably thinking, “Surely, I need to be prepared for my internship interview.”  You should be prepared for your internship interview.  I’m just saying that you shouldn’t focus entirely on memorizing answers for questions you might be asked.  You need to focus on making your internship interview less of an interview and more of a conversation.

Of course, you should look over example questions and find out what they’re going to ask you.  However, you should have scripted lines prepared.  If you do, then your internship interview won’t flow.  It will follow the format of question, answer, question, answer.  This leaves little room for you to be a human and connect with your interviewer.

Always remember that your internship interview is, after all, a conversation between two people.  If it doesn’t seem like a conversation, do what you can and use your communication skills to make your internship interview a conversation.

Also make sure you do a great job on your internship resume, internship cover letter, and especially (after you are hired) your internship work! Now go get after it and have a great summer experience!

Nail Your Internship Interview

If you’ve got an internship interview lined up, you obviously want to crush it.  You need to be thinking, “What needs to happen at this internship interview for me to land the internship?”  Your interviewer needs to take away these things away from your internship interview:

1.       You are smart
2.       You can get things done
3.       You have a personality

Focus on these three things in your internship interview.   If your interviewer can come out of the interview and know these three things about you, you’ll get the internship.  The company wants an intern who can work independently and get things done.  I know, the internship is a big deal for you.  But it’s not life or death, so don’t stress out about it.

At the end of the day, any company wants an employee who is a good worker and who they would like to see every day.  If you’ve been hired as a CEO at a new company, then obviously, your personality won’t matter as much as your ideas and strategy.  But if you’re looking for an internship or an entry level job, your personality can be a huge asset for you, and you should definitely be yourself in your internship interview instead of acting in a different way.

After all, your internship interview is going to be conducted by a person.  Focus on connecting with the person.  Tell them (without TELLING them) that you’ll be a great person to see on a daily basis.  Keep in mind that your internship interview is as simple as a conversation between two people.  Be confident, but not arrogant.  Be eager, but not desperate.  Be positive, but not overzealous.  Before your internship interview, you can be nervous for fear of rejection.  Or you can have fun with it.  Be laid back but driven at the same time, and be confident.  With this mindset, you’ll go into your internship interview and come out with an internship. Now, take a look at how to write a great internship cover letter and a remarkable internship resume. The goal is to land that amazing internship and do the best internship work the company has ever seen!