Interview Prep

Behavioral. Case. Technical...

You name it, and there's an interview style to match. Today's candidates need to be prepared to succeed in multiple interview settings.

Practice makes perfect, so contact the CCD to schedule a mock interview. Our team can coach you through various interview scenarios as well as connect you with industrial professionals for additional guidance. You can schedule a mock interview via Handshake or email careers@mail.wvu.edu for assistance.

Communicating Throughout The Interview Process: View our resources on developing a strong follow-up plan so that you can leave a lasting impression on recruiters and hiring managers throughout the interview process.

Behavioral Interviews: Behavior-based interviewing is a technique used in which the job candidate has the opportunity to demonstrate their potential for succeeding in the new job by providing specific examples of how they handled similar situations based on their past experience. Read more about behavioral interviews.

Pre-Recorded Interviews: Pre-recorded interviews allow recruiters to more quickly and efficiently find the right candidate for the job. Employers will send you a few questions that all candidates will have to answer in a video of themselves. The timing and format may vary, but these interviews give you the chance to bring your resume to life and stand out beyond how you look on paper. Learn about HireVue's pre-recorded interviewing platform.

Technical Interviews: Technical interviews test candidates on their technical, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills. These help an employer to see how a candidate may approach and solve a specific problem relevant to the job.

Gamified Assessments: Gamified assessments are a new way for employers to see how well you fit the role they are seeking to fill. These can assess a multitude of things like a normal psychometric test would, but they add gaming elements to create a more engaging experience for applicants. Learn about Pymetrics Game-Based Assessments.

Case Interviews: Case interviews are used by employers to gauge how you would handle the business situation that you might face in the job you’re interviewing for. These interviews can help you to demonstrate your soft skills and what you’ve learned in your experiences that have prepared you for the job. View Deloitte's Case Interview Prep resource.

S.T.A.R. Method for Answering

Situation: Provide a clear image of the scenario to the interviewer. (e.g. "In my previous brand management role, I worked on creating social media content for the company utilizing Facebook and Instagram."

Task: Review the responsibilities that you had when in this scenario. (e.g. "In this role, it was my goal to increase our following on these platforms.")

Action: Give the interviewers a sense of what your role was in the organization, give lots of detail. Make sure when answering this part, you are using “I” when talking through actions taken. (e.g. "In order to increase followers on the company platforms, I began by posting regularly and made sure the post was engaging for the audience.")

Results/Reflection: These results can be positive, showcasing how you were successful, or your results can provide details about the things that you learned from this experience and how you improved going forward. (e.g. "My increased posting an engagement with our followers helped increase our follower count by 45%.")

Question 1: Tell me about a project you managed.

S: What is the story you’re trying to tell?
T: What was your role in the situation?
A: How did you apply your own skills to the situation?
R: What outcome did this achieve? What is the result?

"In my last role as a Compensation & Benefits HR Intern, I was tasked with analyzing existing pay levels for the electric division of the company. I completed market research on salary and hourly wages at competing companies and discovered the company was slightly underpaying for certain roles that were also experiencing high turnover. I prepared a report in Excel and designed an accompanying slide deck to present to senior leadership. They agreed with my recommendation to increase pay in line with market rates and implemented it for the next cohort."

Question 2: Tell me about a time when you had to work in a group and there was a conflict. How did you handle it?

S: As part of my internet marketing class, my group and I had to create a digital business and a website.

T: During this time, I worked with my team to understand each of our strengths and how best we could contribute to the project. Once we figured out how each member would contribute, we divided up the tasks to each of the group members and set forth on our tasks. While working, one of the members of my group was not completing the assigned parts of the project and our deadline was approaching.

A: To make sure we finished our project on time, I first reached out to the individual who had not completed their work to see if they were close to finishing. They stated that they would be unable to complete their portion of the project which meant I needed to reach out to my other group members and redistribute some of the workload.

R: As a group we were able to complete all parts of the project on time and received a high grade on the project. Overall, our business plan and business would have been in the market.

Craft Compelling Answers

Want to tell a potential employer that you’re creative? A problem solver? Flexible? Well-worn phrases won’t help you get the job, but concrete examples will!

Don’t say	The story you need to tell
Highly qualified	Highlight your accomplishments in previous jobs. Emphasize your specific skills and note any certifications you have earned.
Hard worker	Explain exactly how you've gone the extra mile for your job. For instance, did you regularly meet tough deadlines, handle a high volume of projects, or tackle tasks outside your job description?
Team player	Provide examples of how you worked with colleagues or individuals in other departments to meet an objective or complete a project.
Problem solver	Highlight a difficult situation you encountered and how you handled it.
Flexible	Describe how you responded to a major change at work (or in your schoolwork) or dealt with the unpredictable aspects of your job.
People person	Can you offer examples of your strong communication skills? Can you describe how you’ve worked with co-workers and customers?
Self-starter	What can you contribute immediately to the company or to the department you work in? Describe how you took action when you saw an issue that needed to be fixed.

Courtesy of the National Association of Colleges and Employers.