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. If you need to prepare for a pre-recorded
interview, contact
Sarah.Glenn@mail.wvu.edu or
Ashley.Lesnick@mail.wvu.edu for access to our new practice platform, JOBMA.
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
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The story you need to tell
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Highly qualified
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Highlight your accomplishments in previous jobs. Emphasize your specific
skills and note any certifications you have earned.
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Hard worker
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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?
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Team player
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Provide examples of how you worked with colleagues or individuals in
other departments to meet an objective or complete a project.
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Problem solver
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Highlight a difficult situation you encountered and how you handled it.
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Flexible
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Describe how you responded to a major change at work (or in your schoolwork)
or dealt with the unpredictable aspects of your job.
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People person
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Can you offer examples of your strong communication skills? Can you describe
how you’ve worked with co-workers and customers?
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Self-starter
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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.
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Courtesy of the
National Association of Colleges and Employers.