How To Lose an On-Campus Employer in the First 5 Minutes of the Interview

When job searching, especially in a distinctly competitive job market, consider this hypothetical interview scenario between an employer and a student applicant:

“So, Jane, tell me what makes you interested in our Financial Leadership Program?” asks John Recruiter, from XYZ Marketing. 

“Well, Mr. Recruiter, I am interested in this position because it is in line with my interests and career goals.  I welcome the opportunity to use my degree in marketing to help customers create the best brand possible and I believe XYZ Marketing is the ideal environment for me to accomplish this goal” explains Jane Student, recent graduate with a B.S. in Marketing from USF. 

“That sounds terrific, Jane.  Tell me, what in particular about XYZ Marketing makes us your preferred employer?” asks Mr. Recruiter.

Jane responds:  “I have grown up hearing the name XYZ Marketing and knew it was associated with market research, even before I knew anything about market research.  Therefore, I prefer XYZ Marketing because I want to work with a company that has been successful in making their own company a household name.  To me, this shows that XYZ Marketing can really deliver the business solutions they state that they can deliver.”

“I see,” replies Mr. Recruiter.  “Can you tell me about some of the services we offer in order to accomplish this delivery and tell me why you think these services make XYZ Marketing a better choice than other competitors?”

Pausing first, Jane responds: “Yes, certainly.”  As Jane takes a few moments to gather her thoughts she states, “Well, I am not familiar with the specific services XYZ Marketing offers to its clients, but I can say that XYZ Marketing is a better choice than its competitors due to its long history of success and stability.  This is what makes XYZ Marketing stand out from its competition and provides credibility to its services.”

Yikes!  Let’s go back and take a look at how Jane began to lose the employer right from the second sentence of her first response.  Take note that the position for which Mr. Recruiter indicates he is hiring is within their Financial Leadership Program.  Jane responds by saying she wants to use her marketing degree to help clients create the best brand possible.  While this is a component of what The XYZ Marketing Company offers to its clients, this is not the direct function for which he is hiring.  The recruiter would begin to question Jane’s credibility, her authenticity, and whether or not she is truly interested in working for XYZ Marketing.

Next, Jane responds to a question where she is asked what it is in particular that attracts her to The XYZ Marketing Company.  While her response to this is not necessarily poor, it is not necessarily great either.  Here’s why.  Jane could have taken the opportunity to showcase her specific knowledge about XYZ Marketing with her response to this question.  When a recruiter asks you to tell them specifically what you like about their company and why, they are giving you an opportunity to set yourself apart from the competition.  Take that opportunity and showcase some distinct facts which you have researched about the company and tie these facts into your particular interest in their company.  Be sure to do so in an articulate, concise manner.  Preferably, you can even tie these facts back to something unique and memorable about you.  For instance, Jane could have said “Since XYZ Marketing is active in more than 100 countries and has received the “Best of All Marketing Companies Award” for 10 years in a row, I am enthusiastic about the opportunity to work for such a thriving, cutting-edge company.  As someone who has grown up with recognizing the name XYZ Marketing and that it represents the concept of market research, well before I even knew what market research was, I believe XYZ Marketing has the innovative edge on what it truly means to brand.”

So…when it comes to grabbing the interviewer’s attention, you will need to articulate your sincerity about working for that employer.  One way to do this is to find ways to demonstrate your knowledge of the company and to do it in a way that makes it meaningful.  While this aspect alone will not ensure you are the candidate who is hired, it will ensure that you aren’t considered disingenuous in the first few minutes of the interview.  In any job search, but especially in one that is up against a competitive job market, you have to demonstrate that you are sincere, are willing to put in the extra effort, and have the skills to tie your experiences together and describe your fit in the company or organization.  In addition, you may want to find a way to make yourself memorable.

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Anyone Interested in Interviewing in October?

Did you know that lots of great companies come to the Career Center every semester to interview USF students for internships and full time jobs? So far this semester we have companies such as Goldman Sachs, Target, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Geico, Deloitte, The Nielsen Company, Ernst & Young, Regions, KPMG as well as many others and they are ALL hiring! This may sound too good to be true, but I guarantee that it is happening and it’s starting in October, right after the Career Networking Fair, which is being held on October 1st.

The program that I am referring to is called the On Campus Interview Program. The purpose is to bring quality employers to campus to make it convenient for students to interview with them. The best part is that it is open to all USF students who have a Career Connections Account. Career Connections is our online job database, open only to USF students and alumni, which allows you to apply for jobs and to request or sign up for interviews. An account only costs $10 (a one-time fee) and it lasts the whole time you are a student and up to 6 months after you graduate!

The first step to an on campus interview is to have a Career Connections account. After that you should make sure that your profile is up to date, accurate and complete. Even though all the fields in your profile are not required, you should fill them all out or you will be screened out of applying for the majority of positions. Therefore, make sure you choose your “Classification” and fill in your overall GPA even though there is not an asterisk next to them. Also, your profile does not update itself when you make a change to your major, graduation date, etc, therefore anytime something changes with your situation you have to update your profile.

 Ok now that you have an account and your profile is accurate and complete, you are ready to start requesting and signing up for some interviews. Go to the “Schedules” tab at the top of your page and then click on “Qualified Schedules” in the drop down menu.

Scroll down and you should see a list of interview schedules that you are qualified for. You can click on any or all of the interview schedules that interest you.

Once you have clicked into a schedule you will see a button at the top of the page that either says “Sign Up” or says “Request Interview”. If the button says Sign Up then it is an Open Schedule and by clicking the button you will be given a list of timeslots to choose from and once you do, viola, you have an interview! If the button says Request Interview then it is a Preselect Schedule. This means that the employer first has to choose you for an interview and once you receive an email stating that you have been accepted, then you can go in and sign up for a timeslot.

You can find out all the details about the position you are applying for by clicking on the “Linked Job”. One last thing to remember is that these interview schedules do operate on timelines and most schedules stop accepting resumes up to 2 weeks prior to the interview date.

I hope this brief overview is enough to get you started with the On Campus Interview Process. If you would like more detailed information in the form of a hands on tutorial where I will walk you through the entire process feel free to sign up for one of my fun and interactive On Campus Interview Workshops.

Remember check your Career Connections Account as soon as possible to see what positions you are qualified to interview for. Don’t delay, apply for everything that interests you before the opportunity passes you by. If you have any questions, leave a comment and I will get back to you.

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Playing Reindeer Games with your Career Pays Dividends

Meet Melissa Mayfield

I serve as the Employer Relations and On Campus Interview Coordinator here at the USF Career Center. I am primarily responsible for the On Campus Interview (OCI) program. This program brings recruiters from quality organizations right to campus in order for them to interview USF students for jobs and internships. In addition, I teach OCI workshops and meet with students regarding their OCI interviews. I also market the Career Center’s services to employers and assist them in the development of recruitment plans. However, before I go any further I would like to tell you a bit about my background, so you understand where I come from and how I got here.

In 2005, I graduated with a degree in Communications from Marist College, which is located in Poughkeepsie, NY. After college I moved back to Port Jervis, NY, which is the small town where I grew up. Although Port Jervis is a charming little town filled with history and great childhood memories, there are not many opportunities for professional level work.

After job hunting for a few months, I was planning on moving to New York City with a few friends from college. The week after I made this decision I landed an interview with a large shopping mall located a half hour from my house. The interview was for an Assistant Marketing Director Position and after 4 grueling interviews I got the job! Needless to say, I accepted and decided to remain living in Port Jervis. After 9 months I was promoted to Marketing Director. Among my many duties as Marketing Director, I was responsible for event planning. Since the arrival of Santa Claus generally kicks off the holiday shopping season, it is an extremely important event for a shopping mall. With this in mind, I decided to have Santa arrive by walking in with live reindeer. As you can imagine this was not easy to pull off, but despite the difficulties of bringing live reindeer into a crowded shopping mall, it turned out to be a wonderful event that attracted a huge number of shoppers.

I truly enjoyed my job as Marketing Director and remained in that position for over 2 years. Then in the spring of 2008 I felt the need for an adventure and a change. This is what compelled me to quit my very lucrative career and move all the way down to Florida with NO job lined up (something I would NOT recommend). I moved to Tampa last year in June of 2008 when the economy was just starting to decline and competition for jobs was fierce.

So the question arises, why was I chosen for my current position over all the other qualified candidates? The first step was having a great resume and cover letter that were tailored and relevant to this particular position. However, your resume only gets you the interview, after that it is YOU that lands the job. Along with communicating my related experience, bringing my portfolio, and answering interview questions thoroughly, I also stood out. When asked about a time that I had overcome obstacles to complete a project I told my live reindeer story. This was such a unique story that it was impossible for the interviewers to forget me. The lesson here is that in a competitive market you need more than a degree and experience in order to be hired. You have to be a shining star and stand out from the rest of the candidates. The best way to do this is to show the interviewers that you are unique and can bring that special something to the job that no one else can.

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