Internship Interview Advice?

FoxandBunny · March 2014

So, this is totally last minute, but hopefully some of you ladies will be able to help before I head off to my interview tomorrow (Thursday) morning.

I have my first summer internship interview tomorrow. I'm super nervous about it. I've never really interviewed for anything before, especially not something like this. I've looked up sample questions and had a hard time answering some of them, but I think I'll be ok. I have resumes printed out to bring with me and a nice suit to wear (it's a conservative wealth management company). I've done some research on the company, but feel a little under-qualified, even though they called me 2 days after I gave them my resume.

Do y'all have any advice for me? Any helpful tips? I figure you ladies have done this kind of thing before as y'all mostly seem to be past this stage in life. I guess there are some advantages to being the young one on the board, huh?

bethsmiles · March 2014

I don't have any advice to give but I wanted to say good luck!!

FoxandBunny · March 2014

Thank you! I really appreciate it!

lc07 · March 2014

Be polite and make eye contact and be genuinely kind to everyone you encounter during this experience. My mother used to work as an administrative assistant to the top boss of her company and he would often look to her for advice regarding hiring. She processed all of the resumes (found the typos) and could report back about whether someone was polite to the "underlings" or brushed them off. Be attentive, smile, have good posture, and be genuine. If you are interested in the position be sure to send a thank you note promptly afterwards, like, the same day. Make sure to talk about the reasons you can be a benefit to the company and not just how the company can meet your internship requirements. I always talked about how I take a lot of pride in my work because I believe that my work is a direct reflection of myself and my values (ie: being prompt, taking care of customers, being kind and courteous to people in general, etc.) Remember that this could be a potential reference for a future job, and it's certainly not unheard of for companies to hire interns full or part-time after the internship is complete. Wishing you all the best, OP! ----- paragraphs are not working. Sorry for the jumbled mess of a comment!

phira · March 2014

Eee, good luck! I have some tips that might help, but most of my work has been in academic science, so some of this might not be terribly relevant.

- Be prepared to explain anything unusual about your work history. Even if you're young and haven't had a lot of jobs, you can still explain things like, "Yes, there was a summer that I wasn't working my retail job; I was taking courses at [college] in [field]," or something like that. I had to explain that I only did two semesters of research instead of three because I came down with mono my senior spring.

- While you don't want to be too absurd, don't be afraid to discuss the ways that past work experiences/coursework is relevant to your work ethic in general, or the internship you're applying for specifically. My time teaching summer science programs for children meant that I was experienced with classroom management, essential for teaching bored and tired teens how to pass the SATs. My work in retail was mostly to pay the bills, but I learned a lot about interacting with customers as politely and professionally as possible--I don't snap at coworkers or clients when I'm having a bad day. Etc.

- @lc07 nailed my next two pieces of advice. First, be polite and kind to everyone. Not in a fakey way, obviously. I actually use my retail experience I mentioned above--I just remember that these people might not know how anxious and nervous I am, so don't be rude or short with them. And err on the side of being cautious about what you talk about. I'm in grad school, and current grad students meet prospective students in relaxed settings, and we DO report back to the program coordinator. Most of it's totally fine; we know how nervous everyone is! But there was a prospective student one year who was incredibly rude during student talks, and who said some really inappropriate things to a lot of grad students. You can bet we brought that information with us to the follow-up meeting with the coordinator. Basically, even if you start to feel relaxed and friendly with the people you interact with, stay as professional as possible.

- And secondly, send a thank-you! I actually sent them to everyone I had a significant interaction with. At my last job, that was the two investigators who'd interviewed me (whose opinions really mattered), the HR person I'd met with to discuss benefits, and the coordinator who wanted to get to know me to see if I'd be a good fit with the lab. I wouldn't wait more than one or two days, and I would send emails.

- Finally: Leave as early as you need to in order to ensure you are not late. But if you show up more than 10-15 minutes early, find a coffee shop or take a walk to calm your nerves. I was interviewing interns a few years back, and one of the students showed up an hour and 15 minutes early. I was incredibly irritated because I had planned a bunch of experiments so that I'd be free for his interview, and my boss was busy and couldn't meet with him until his interview with her was supposed to start. For some reason, instead of asking if he should come back later, he basically told the receptionist, "I hope it's okay that I'm early," and asked her to call me to let me know he was here. I was passive aggressive about trying to get him to leave and grab lunch and come back later, but, "He's over an hour early," in a disapproving tone over a phone wasn't enough to get the point across. So, I ended up having to spend an HOUR AND FORTY FIVE MINUTES on what should have been a 30-minute interview, and the delay in my experiments meant I had to stay late that night.

We didn't hire him.

I had actually shown up 45 minutes early for my interview with the same lab a year earlier, but I knew I was incredibly early, so I found a cafe about a 2 minute walk up the block and read a book, so I ended up walking in the door 10 minutes early.

bethsmiles · March 2014

@Phira - Someone seriously thought it was okay to show up over an hour early for an interview?! It just seems like common sense not to walk in more than 5-10 minutes early. Some people are so ridiculous, I wonder how they manage to get by in life.

phira · March 2014

@bethsmiles I checked all of our applicants' facebook profiles. One of them had her privacy settings up. One of them had a pretty generic profile. This guy? He had filled everything out with "your mom."

Religion: your mom

Favorite TV show: your mom

About me: your mom

etc.

So honestly, I have no idea what he was thinking. About anything.

blabla89 · March 2014

Good luck!

I interned for a consulting firm that specialized in outplacement (basically helping senior execs who had been fired get new jobs) and as a perk I got their full suite of interview coaching services. The most helpful coaching I got was on body language: sit up straight, don't cross your legs, don't fidget or do nervous things like clasping your hands together, make eye contact. When the interviewer is speaking, show that you're listening - lean in, nod, don't look away. Also, be confident but not cocky. PPs' advice is great too!

[Deleted User] · March 2014

Good Luck with your interview!

I used to phone interview a lot of people prior to sending them into a face to face interview for my clients and I always enjoyed having them ask me questions about the position and the company, it showed they were interested in joining a company that fits them personally.

Of course, dress professionally to include makeup and hair.

Bring multiple copies of your resume and a notepad and pens to take notes or write down questions to ask them after the interview.

Dignity100 · March 2014

Not sure if I'm too late to the game but my advice is to remember an interview is a 2-way-street. They are not only interviewing you, but you are interviewing them to make sure THEY are a good fit for you! IF it is not a good fit - don't be afraid to ask them to withdraw your consideration or even turn down a job offer.

FoxandBunny · March 2014

Thanks everyone! I really appreciate all this advice! It's really great!

@Dignity100 - You're not too late! I have about an hour before I leave. Plus, this is just the first of many interviews I'll have to do for various internships, so even if you were late I still really appreciate it and would use any advice in my next interviews

I've been thinking/googleing questions to ask them.

@lc07 @TwoDimes @phira - I think the giving examples will be the hardest part for me and what I'm most worried about. I don't have much work experience so I'm worried that all my examples will be extracurricular or school related. Plus, I'm awful at telling concise stories, so that worries me too.

FoxandBunny · March 2014

So, I just got back from my interview. It went well, but I'm not sure that it's the right place for me. I can decide that once I find out if I got it though. My interviewer wanted to schedule a second interview though, so that's a good sign, right?

phira · March 2014

That's definitely a good sign!

The second interview might help you figure out if they're a good fit for you. A friend of mine just got fired from a job he just got. He took it because he was unemployed and, while he thought he might not like it, he wasn't sure. He HATED it. He was relieved when he got fired because he got a severance package and now he doesn't have to feel guilty about looking for another job.

FoxandBunny · March 2014

Yeah, I was surprised they told me that too. It was a little strange. He gave me an economics book to read and said he was emailing me an online quiz to take to see if I was a good fit. He told me to call him to schedule a second interview once I finished the book.

It seemed like they were looking for interns to turn into employees though, and I'm not interested in working in that field. The internship is the field that I'm interested in doing, but how they would employ me is not. He didn't give me much chance to ask questions though. I'm going to keep going with it and I can always turn it down if I do get it.

[Deleted User] · March 2014

A second interview is always a good sign. Definitely think hard about if this is something you want to pursue though because being honest with the employer is very important that way they can continue their process of finding the right person for their job just as much as it is to you to find the right job for yourself.

bride2b71614 · March 2014

Congrats on an offer for a second interview! From what I am reading it doesn't seem like you're thrilled about the company, or going in for a second interview. If this is because you don't know enough about the company, maybe there are other ways to obtain information...

If received an interview for the internship through your school, you could contact students or alumnus who either working for or have worked with the company to find out more. If you are sure that this isn't a fit not due to the lack of information, I ditto with what @southernpeach89 said. Honesty is the best policy for everyone involved.

Whatever you decide to do, I am sure that you'll make the right decision for yourself and for your future career.

Good luck!

FoxandBunny · March 2014

Thanks everyone! I'm going to continue on to the second interview and see how it goes. There wasn't much internship discussion during the interview and he only let me ask one question. If I get the internship, I can always turn it down if I don't feel it's the right fit.

Really though, I really appreciate all the advice. I knew I'd get good advice if I asked here. Y'all are the best!

Dignity100 · March 2014

Many companies want to employ their interns if they worked out. It costs a lot of money to bring in an employee of any kind - so if they take the time to train you and teach the job, most of the time they are hoping that you will stay.

An internship is kind of a 2-way street. It gives people with not a lot of experience a chance to gain experience and training and it gives a company a chance to see if the intern is somebody they'd like to bring on for full time employment.

If this is not something you wish to pursue as a career path, why are you going for the internship? Is it just for a job/money or is it going to give you worthwhile experience? I'm probably the only one that looks at things this way but how would you feel if you were going for an internship at a company you really admired and would like to be employed by and somebody took the internship with no intention of continuing and because of that you didn't get a spot? Not sure if that makes sense.

FoxandBunny · March 2014

@Dignity100 - I'm looking for a marketing internship, and that's what the company told me I would be doing over the summer. It is the field I am thinking about going into so I want to get experience and see if it's something that I would be good at and enjoy.

However, while I would be doing marketing over the summer, it is not what the company does. If they hired me on (like they seem to want to do) I would not be doing any marketing, but instead I would be a financial planner, which I have zero interest in doing. I might consider doing it except all of their planners are independent contractors, which I am really not interested in doing. If they wanted to hire me after my internship to help in their marketing department I'd be up for it, but they would make me a financial planner,which has nothing to do with my internship except it's the same company.

To be honest, it seemed like they wanted an intern that would do free (or almost free, he wouldn't let me ask about the details of the internship like if it's paid or not) work for them while I wouldn't learn much besides how to update a Facebook status. I want an internship where I might actually learn something. It's better than nothing though, so I'm keeping the option open if some of my other (better) options don't work out.

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