Interviews   When preparing for an upcoming employment or internship interview, there are several areas which students must consider in any of the communication industries. The student actually begins preparation for such an interview by working with Q & A, communication delivery skills, and refining personal and professional communication competencies quite early in his or her collegiate career.   Click on the links below to review important information about preparing for and interviewing for an internship or job. OBJECTIVITY AND SUBJECTIVITY ONLINE INTERVIEW RESOURCES     PREPARING FOR AN INTERVIEW APPEARANCE FOR AN INTERVIEW ARRIVING AT THE INTERVIEW SITE EARLY ENTERING THE INTERVIEW LOCATION DURING THE INTERVIEW CLOSING THE INTERVIEW INTERVIEW FOLLOW UP YOU'RE BEING OBSERVED LEGAL AND ILLEGAL QUESTIONS WHAT THE QUESTIONS REALLY MEAN STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES HONESTY AND REALITY CONFIDENCE AND CONCEIT OBJECTIVITY AND SUBJECTIVITY

	Preparing for an Interview     Be ready for all interviews with the essential interview information. You should already have resumes, references, samples of your work, a complete portfolio (Content is determined by the type of communication position you are seeking.), transcripts, and skill lists. Find out about any company that is going to interview you well in advance of any scheduled interview appointment. -Know the company's organizational structure, and pay particular attention to the department in which you could be employed. -Many companies have a web site with valuable information. Look under "Stockholder Relations" or something similar, if the company is a publicly traded organization. -Consider the question " Why do you want to work there?" You should know the response in advance of your interview as you will need to answer that question during your interview. -Advance research on the company gives you an advantage of deciding whether or not you really want to work for the company. Ask yourself, "Does the position really fit into my career plan?" -Most publicly traded organizations have a profile available online. Enter the company's name in search engines such as Google, Yahoo, or Altavista. Another excellent resource for information about companies is the Vault web site. Know the executives and supervisors who will be conducting your interview(s) - your interviewers, whenever that information is available to you in advance of the interview. -Know them by name. -Know them by reputation. -Know their departments or areas they supervise. -Know their goals and objectives. -If you have a friend or friend of a friend who is familiar with your interviewers, do not hesitate to ask him or her about them. If you have any doubts about the company or the position, either don't go to the interview at all (decline it) or be prepared to ask meaningful questions about these doubts at your interview. -A job interview is a two-way street: the company is assessing whether or not you meet their needs and are the best person for the job, while you are evaluating the company and whether or not the position is one which fits into you "career plan" in an acceptable and profitable way. Be comfortable and organized enough with yourself that you can talk about yourself and your accomplishments, strengths, skills, and weaknesses in an appropriate, succinct, and meaningful way during the interview. -Avoid conceit but exude confidence. -Share both your strengths and accomplishments and your weaknesses. But remember, weaknesses must be stated in a non harmful way that heightens the emphasis on your strengths. -Be organized in such a way that you can easily identify and summarize your skills. One way of organizing skills is by category such as computer, writing, problem-solving, speaking, and relationships with coworkers.

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	Appearance for an Interview   You've heard the phrase "dress for success" and "look the part." It's true when interviewing for an internship or a job. Your appearance does make a difference to the interviewer(s). Appearance includes many areas and not just personal attire. Let's explore some of the general expectations of job interviewers.   Neat haircut, appropriate length and style for the work environment in the particular communication industry or area is essential. For men, the clean shaven look is a good idea. Usually the lack of male earrings or viewable body piercing is the rule. For women, the lack of visible body piercing other than pierced earrings is the standard. Conservative is "in," and liberal dress is out. Trying to set trends in the celebrity fashion scene during a job interview is ill-advised, unless you do not care about the position. Formal dress, unless otherwise advised by the interviewer or official in the HR Department, is well advised. For either women or men, a suit is expected. White or other single-colored dress shirt or blouse is appropriate, and for men a conservative tie is essential. Dress shoes are typical. Women should review the information available from SoYouWanna.com by clicking here, and men should click here to review their interview dress code.

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	Arriving at the Interview Site Early   Be certain that you know where you are going and allow ample time for a timely arrival at the interview site. Generally, this suggest that you do a "dry run" where you actually travel to the interview site at a time comparable to your scheduled interview. Go all the way. Park your vehicle, and walk right up to the interview location in the building. Hold your "trial run" noting important things like parking locations, preferred entrance, floor and room number, and even the decor of the interview lobby. Go right in. Meet the receptionist, and ask for the name(s) of the interviewer(s) or, if you already have those, find something else that you need to ask. While you're at the organizational office, check on other names of supervisors and members of the department in which you are seeking the position. You can do additional research on these individuals later online. Watch your times closely, and for the real interview, add some travel time. Better safe than sorry. Tardiness never looks good for an internship or employment interview. Be advised that it's usually wise to arrive about 30 minutes prior to your scheduled interview time. This will help you to relax and gather your thoughts before the actual interview begins.

	Entering the Interview Location   When you arrive for the interview, pay close attention to the waiting room and the receptionist or secretary on duty.   When you first enter the interview location, introduce yourself to the receptionist or secretary. It's very likely that you may find some clues to the organization's philosophy and policies available to you posted on bulletin boards, as reading material, or even in a bookshelf. If you feel awkward taking a volume out of a bookshelf, as the receptionist. Be on your best behavior as you wait. Use your time productively to relax, think about what you want to say, and consider any of the information you review while waiting for the interview to begin. If you feel that you need to use the restroom, do so, without any worry about it. Remember, it is likely you are being observed and that your actions and behavior could play a part in the hiring decision making.

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	During the Interview   Interview Materials and Rules of Thumb   Keep in mind the investment you have made preparing for this important internship or job interview. Try to relax as you don't want to "blow" your" efforts in the actual interview. SoYouWanna.com suggests "It makes logical sense: if you look like you can handle yourself, you are also telling your [potential] employers you can handle their companies. That is why it is crucial to pay attention to the details on interview day" (SoYouWanna.com, August 22, 2004). Enter the interview with confidence, but not conceit.   Bring some type of professional carrying case, brief case, or bag with you to the interview. Be certain you have extra copies of your resume, reference lists, and a copy of your portfolio displaying your work that is appropriate for the position for which you are interviewing. Do NOT pack samples of your accomplishments that have no direct relationship to this particular interview. You should have some way of remembering major parts of the interview. This could be done by using a cassette recorder, but most interviewers are not happy with such an arrangement so it is better to bring a legal tablet and pen and pencil with you to the interview. I am professionally very impressed with the ten tips offered to enhance your interview by SoYouWanna.com (August 22, 2004). Because these tips are simply put, and right on the mark for use by interviewees during job and internship interviews, let's review them here and now.   1. Offer your firmest handshake. Do not crush your interviewer's hand, however. 2. Make and keep eye contact with the interviewer throughout the interview. Do not let your eyes wander. 3. Smile. This shows confidence, happiness to be in the interview, and displays your pleasant, warm personality. 4. If you are offered a drink or other refreshment, take it, and thank them for their consideration. 5. Sit up straight. Good posture makes the interview easier on you and demonstrates your listening and concentration on the subject at hand. 6. Speak up, but don't interrupt your interviewer. Be concise, honest and straightforward in your responses to your interviewers questions, and don't forget to ask your own. Just DO NOT discuss salary in this first interview. Save salary discussions for when you are actually offered the job. 7. Be aware of the importance of nonverbal communication. Nod in response to an interviewer's suggestions, and use your arms to gesture when you are speaking. However, there are limits. DO NOT over gesture. 8. Stick in some comments about how nice the company facilities, neighborhood, and equipment are during your interview. But, be sincere and do not just offer meaningless babble and banter. 9. Laugh, including at yourself, if the opportunity avails itself during your interview. Do not fear mistakes you make. Just continue with the interview and be certain that your response to the interviewer's questions is clear and concise. 10. Breathe easily. It will help to keep you relaxed during the interview. Take your breath before you begin to speak and at appropriate, strategic pauses in your response to the interviewer's questions.   Remember be confident but not conceited.   Answering and Asking Questions   Simply put, no interviewee can plan for all of every interviewer's questions. But you can be prepared based upon the numerous experiences of other interviewees. Don't be afraid to tell your interviewer that you may not be prepared for every single question he or she asks you.   You'll always get one or two trap questions. A interviewer favorite is "What is your single greatest weakness?" Do provide any of your real personal or professional weaknesses. Rather, try to think of a strength which could still be stronger. Admitting that you have an area (possibly one of your weaker strengths) that could become stronger with mentoring and experience is not really a weakness, but boy it sounds good as a response. According to SoYouWanna.com (August 22, 2004) these are a few of the questions which you will always receive in some form or another during a job interview. -Tell me a little about yourself. -What interests you most about this position? -Where do you see yourself in 5, 10, 20 years? -What is your ultimate career goal? -Tell me about a project that had a tough problem that you solved. -What are your greatest strengths? -What did you like about your last job? -What separates you from other candidates? -How does your previous experience/academic preparation/college activities relate to this work? Sell yourself as a problem-solver since that's what most companies look for in addition to creativity, skill sets, and charismatic personalities in the communication industries today. This is where your experiences in collegiate activities, internships, practicums, and social activities related to this position can be very useful to you. Always report such experiences by identifying the people, summarizing your analysis of it, and offering your productive solution that was applied to making the situation a success. When an interviewer asks "if you have any questions," or is clearly ready to end the interview, YOU MUST ASK SOME QUESTIONS of your own. Consider items such as the following which are offered by SoYouWanna.com (August 22, 2004). -How would you describe a typical workday? -What is the best part of working at this company for you? -Are there significant opportunities to take seminars, classes, etc. to learn more about the different facets of the company? -Why did you join the company? Keep in mind that most interviewers have themselves enjoyed successes in he business world; thus, it is only natural that they like to talk about themselves and their successes. Make this work for you. Design the questions you ask the interviewer, in part, around his or her successes or the length of time he or she has been with the company.

	Closing the Interview   When the interview is concluding, most interviewers will ask if there is anything you want to ask them. Do so. Be prepared with a question or, better yet, some questions for your interviewer. Again, do not ask about salary or benefits at this point in time. Such questions are just not appropriate until the position is actually offered to you.   Be sure to ask for your interviewer's business card. It contains quality, essential follow up contact information. Offer a firm handshake at this point in time, but wait to see if the interviewer will offer his or her hand to you first. Be certain to thank the interviewer for his or her time. Let the interviewer lead you to the door and your departure. If asked "how it went" by the receptionist or secretary, respond honestly and positively if you are still seriously interested in the position. Be certain to tell the interviewer as you're leaving that you are most interested in the position, and you might even ask about the hiring timetable. When do you expect a decision to be made about this position?

	Interview Follow Up   Once the interview is complete and you are at home, be sure to do the following: Send a formal "thank you" letter to your interviewer. Do this the very same day that you complete the interview. This shows your interest in the position and allows you to make the important statement, "If there is any other information you require, do not hesitate to contact me by...." It does not have to be phrased exactly that way and you must choose the most convenient way for the interviewer to contact you (home phone, cell phone, email, fax). Send an email to your interviewer's email address. The one you found on his or her business card you requested as you were leaving the interview. Reiterate your interest and means of contact for additional information. Follow up your email message and "thank you" letter with a telephone call to the interviewer. The call is just to see how things are going, and to offer some additional information. The call could be coupled with an email first and then the immediate call. This keeps your name in the front of the interviewer's mind. Don't ever appear to be harassing the interviewer, but do keep you name in his or her memory. Persistence is good, but pushiness is bad.

	Legal and Illegal Questions   Sometimes you will want to answer illegal questions. Actually it depends upon how badly you want the position. However, most HR interviewers for positions in the communication industries are quite proficient and aware of their interview questioning boundaries. Some of the more frequent illegal questions based upon your Right to Privacy and EEOC Guidelines for nondiscrimination include the following areas. asking about your marriage and spouse's employment requesting details about your family (children, their ages) seeking details of your religion (denomination or faith of choice) inquiries about your health, other than as pertain directly to your ability to perform the job's required duties and responsibilities Some very illegal questions might include any of the following: Can I provide you with the locations of any area schools? If you join our staff, are you interested in the locations of any churches in the area? Might you require day care assistance if you were to join our staff? I know several people here who could recommend area day care facilities for you. Could there be a problem with your relocating to our Fairfax, VA facility since your husband is employed by Dell Computer in Nashville, TN? Find more information and details about on the job and interviewing discrimination by clicking here, and viewing the EEOC web site.
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	What the Questions Really Mean   Sometimes interviewers hide their real intentions or the "real meaning" of their inquiries using carefully worded and delicately phrased questions. In fact these questions might even be illegal. Fortunately most HR interviewers for the communication industries are well trained and fully aware of their legal boundaries of inquiry. However, the following are examples of just some of these troublesome questions where the interviewer asks one thing and really wants something else (Q = question / M = means).   Q: What is your real interest in employment with our firm? M: How familiar are you with our organization?   Q: Tell me about your successes in commercial copywriting or news release writing? M: Show me some samples of your work in these areas. It's really time to produce and display your portfolio work.   Q: Tell me about yourself. M: Tell me about those parts of your career and experience that are important for our position. Add any details from your life experience that are relevant to and support your ability to fulfill the duties and responsibilities of this job.   Q: What about your on-the-job relationships? Do you work well with others? M: Are you able to work with other people with all types of personalities since most communication industry work is in teams?   Q: How easy is it for you to follow instructions and then work independently on your own? M: After your supervisor gives you general instructions are you able to work independently as well as contribute directly to a team?   Obviously there are many other examples of questions that could be included here, but space prohibits that at this point. Stop and think about other questions that could be asked one way, but are seeking other information.
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	Strengths and Weaknesses   There is rarely an employment or internship interview conducted where a question about the interviewee's on-the-job strengths and weaknesses is not asked. Expect to be hit with such a question. Strengths are not difficult to deal with, but when the interviewer suddenly asks you to expound on your greatest weakness or to identify some of your weaknesses, that's a different game entirely. Trust me! The likelihood of your receiving such a question as a part of and internship interview is a possibility, but for an employment interview it is an absolute certainty that you will be asked such questions.   Well in advance of any interview, try to identify some weaknesses in your skills that could easily be perceived as strengths. For example, you might say that you are much more familiar writing commercial copy than authoring public service announcements, but that you do not believe the leap from one to the other presents that much of an obstacle for your success. you might note that some think you have too much independent initiative, but that you believe with the help of a team leader, you could easily direct that weakness into productive independent work as part of an overall team effort. You must be able to turn a negative into a positive when anticipating these type of questions.
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	Confidence and Conceit   There is a major difference between confidence and conceit, but it can be too close to call in some internship and employment interviews. confidence - "a belief or self-assurance in your ability to succeed" (Microsoft Word, Office X, Dictionary, 2004). conceit - "a high opinion of your own qualities and abilities, especially one that is not justified" (Microsoft Word , Office X, Dictionary, 2004). Keeping these definitions in mind, it is easy to see that confidence can become confused with conceit very easily in an interview situation. Even when the interviewee's intent is confidence, the interviewer can often mistake it for conceit. Be careful when you respond to the interviewer's questions that he or she does not take your response as "overconfident" and conceited.
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	Objectivity and Subjectivity   Complete objectivity suggests impartiality, neutrality, the lack of any bias, and in a scientific or even journalistic sense, sterility with absolutely no presupposition, precondition, or predetermination on the part of the individual. A difficult task at best to achieve. Definitions sometimes help so here goes. objectivity - "the ability to perceive or describe something without being influences by personal emotions or prejudices" (Microsoft Word, Office X, Dictionary, 2004). subjectivity - "interpretation based upon personal opinions of feelings rather than on external facts or evidence" (Microsoft Word, Office X, Dictionary, 2004). Personally, I rather doubt the ability of any human being to be clinically objective in any given situation so for me it's a matter of the level of subjectivity rather than neutrality or impartiality. Thus, when asked a question that is intended to force you to self-asses your skills or characteristics in an objective fashion, why try? Simply say what you believe is a good response in an honest and direct way.
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