Interviews
Download and use the Interviewing worksheet to start your interviewing preparation!
You’ve made your case on paper—on your resume and in your cover letter—for a job or an internship that intrigues you. Now, you’ve landed an interview.
Congratulations! It’s time to make your case in person.
To make sure you are prepared for your interview there are steps you should take before the interview, such as researching the organization, planning your attire, and preparing questions. During the interview, the interviewer’s main goal will be to assess how closely your Core Career Competencies, related skills, experiences, and qualifications match the requirements of the position, and to get a sense of your potential fit in the organization. Thus, your two main interview goals are:
- To clearly communicate your Core Career Competencies, related skills, experiences, and qualifications.
- To compellingly connect it all to the position requirements and the organization’s needs.
Sometimes employers will do a virtual interview—whether by video or phone; for these types of interviews, you want to make sure your technology is working and that you have a quiet space to connect with the employer.
After the interview, be sure to follow up with a thank-you note and to assess your interest in the role and organization, remember you are interviewing them too!
CLA Career Services offers many ways to help you prepare for interviews such as through practice interviews which you can do with a career counselor, employer, or virtually.
On-Campus Interviews
Many local and national employers come to campus each semester to recruit and interview CLA students for full-time job and internship opportunities. For-profit, nonprofit, and government employers from a variety of industries are represented in CLA’s on-campus recruiting program.
One of the key ways employers recruit on campus is through on-campus interviews. Employers post a position, qualified students apply for it, and organization representatives select which applicants they want to interview.
Representatives then conduct the interviews in one or more of the interview centers on campus. (CLA’s interview center is in Bruininks Hall.) The interviews are usually led by one or two people and generally last 30 to 60 minutes.