5 tips to a successful interview

Alexander Graham Bell once said: “Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.” I couldn’t agree with this more. Most things in life require preparation and so will your interview but, make sure you don’t overdo it. You want to remain genuine and natural. It is a hard balance. The key to this is to look at multiple common questions and have an idea or a few bullet points of what you would like to answer/talk about without practicing it so much that you sound like a loop recorder. Remain professional: You might be goofy, and you tell jokes all the time. You might be a super active person or maybe even, a very laid-back person which is great because life would be boring without diversity but let’s keep everything PG-13. What I mean is, a casual conversation with an interviewer can easily make you forget you are in an interview. A casual conversation is probably one of the best ways to really know how the program is and to make you be more in your element but don’t forget, they are continuously analyzing your professionalism. Be genuine. Be professional. “Early is on time, on time is late, and late is unacceptable.” Although this may seem obvious to some, things happen. Your alarm didn’t ring, you messed up the time zones, or maybe, you even got dates mixed up. Despite all of this, you should prepare as best you can for your interview day. Set 2 alarms, double check the time and date, set it up in your phone or calendar. This gets back to #1, be best prepared! Show interest in the program: Have a question, or two, to ask each interviewer. They most likely will provide you with the time and opportunity to ask them questions about the program. You don’t want to be caught off guard if provided with this chance to know more about what they offer. Lastly, be yourself! I cannot emphasize this enough. If you made it to the interview process, it is because you are being considered for the position. They interview too many applicants for them to just give out an interview to fill some of their time… One thing they don’t have, is time. Which means that it is both to your, and the program’s advantage to see if you fit within their program. Show your personality, be genuine and honest, and everything will follow!