Interviewing

From the moment you meet the employer until you say good-bye, you are making irreversible impressions. Be sure you do your homework. As you prepare for an interview, you need to know about two things: yourself and the employer. This section will help you assess yourself and properly research employers.

Big Interview

Big Interview is one of the most powerful tools to prepare you for your interview. In this competitive market, using it may make the difference between getting a job offer and going home empty handed.

You can use Big Interview to learn and practice your interview skills, whether you’re interviewing for a job or graduate school.

Interview Worksheet

This interview worksheet is a great tool to get you started thinking about your strengths and weaknesses and becoming familiar with the types of questions that interviewers may ask you about yourself. It will help you to organize your skills, experience, and “stories” that demonstrate strong examples of life/work experience to back up your interview answers.

Mock Interview

Come in to the Career Services office for a real life mock interview with one of our certified professional career coaches.

Assess yourself

In assessing yourself you will begin to formulate answers to the questions employers will ask. Determine your strengths and your weaknesses. Emphasize your strengths. Much of the interview will focus on issues not revealed in a resume: what motivates you, your personality traits, your values, your ambitions, your career goals, your leadership skills, your communication skills, and your transferrable skills. The key to communicating all the wonderful gifts that God has given you is preparation, so prepare your story. Remember to be positive, upbeat, and truthful.

Research the organization

Researching the prospective employer is essential to succeeding in an interview. As the recruiter searches for the better candidate, your demonstrated knowledge of the organization's products, services trends, and employment requirements will show initiative and preparation.

A thorough assessment of the organization will also aid you in formulating questions for the interviewer. There will always be a marked time for the candidate to ask questions (5-10 minutes). Remember you are also an "interviewer" in this situation. Properly researching the organization will help both you and the employer to decide if this is a worthy match.

There are several ways to begin the research process. You will first want to visit the Career Services department. In the Career Services Library, you will find the most recent company literature or guidance to finding more information. The Centennial Library may also have company stock reports and basic information-seeking tools. One of the best resources is literally at your fingertips: the Internet. The Cedarville University Internet Search Page has several providers that can access the organization information through simple keywords. Some job searching web sites (JobWeb, Online Career Center, E-Span) will include company indexes within their database. You may search by location, company name, or type of company. You can access these web sites from the Career Services home page.