Making a Good Impression in an Interview!

Making a Good Impression in an Interview! Roger McCarty Dow Chemical

What are recruiters looking for? • Do you have the right degree and good GPA • This will open the door, not get you the job • Work experience that highlights your skills • Relevant work experience to a specific job • Impact and problem solving capabilities/skills • Leadership and Service activities • Impact and problem solving capabilities/skills

Look sharp or at least professional • Always wear a suit/professional outfit unless instructed otherwise • Conservative suits and tie • No cartoon characters • Avoid hairstyles out of the norm • Shine your shoes

Communicate Confidently • Look them in the eye (even if they are making notes) • Speak concisely and articulately • Don’t ramble (never speak more than 3 - 5 minutes without checking) • Don’t make them pull information out of you - try to be conversational • Be relaxed but respectful

During the Interview • Shake hands and say name clearly • Develop a relationship of trust • Find out something about the interviewer • Express your interest in the company • Ask questions about the company • If you don’t have a question – ask their opinion • Know your ‘brand strategy’

How do they know if you’re the “REAL THING”? • THEY DON’T! • They look for behavioral indicators in your past experiences • Skills can be taught but behaviors seldom change • Behaviors are described by stories (CAR) • Circumstances (Background behind the situation) • Actions steps you took to resolve the situation • Results that came about because of your actions

Impactful Stories • Description of responsibilities statements - C • Responsible for batch process optimization • Impact/Change description statements - B • Productivity improved 22%, costs were reduced • Comparison or value creation statements - A • Selected as best, won award, highest score • My actions made a $250,000 impact • Try for an average GPA of 3.0 or better across your interviews and your resume

What should the stories be about? • Problem Solving Abilities • Initiative and Tenacity • Innovation and Creativity • Organization and Planning • Interpersonal Effectiveness • Teamwork and Leadership • Influencing and Gaining Consensus

Create a story matrix to build your interview Plan *President (or VP) of Men’s Service organization – responsible for: Directing 80 home visits per month monitoring/assisting physically, emotionally, financially, etc. Improved visit consistency by 25% for the highest regularity in my region Led weekly instruction and monthly social and service activities for 40 to 80 people Practice Behavioral Based Interviewing Circumstances 1/2 to 1 minute Actions 2 to 3 minutes Results 1/2 to 1 minute

Integrating Resume and Interview • Your resume and interview should support and reinforce each other • Create one line high impact descriptors from your stories as “Hooks” in your resume • If resume “Hooks” average 3.0 or better they will: • Create interest in you during interview selection process • Provide an outline from which to select interview stories • Remind the recruiter of your stories when they review your resume as they select people to be invited for further interviews or offers

Let your best self come out • Most importantly be yourself • You can’t hide your real self for a career • Let your recruiter do their job • Don’t take over the interview • Look for natural matches with the recruiter • Share something personal and individual about yourself • Be absolutely honest - you don’t lie well

Parting Shots • Start the process early/get your resume out • Do research on the potential companies • Where have previous BYU students gone • Do they enjoy their companies • Is there a good cultural fit • Don’t make your most important interviews one of your first ones – if possible • Have Fun - you may never do this again! • Or it may be a very useful skill to develop

Making a Good Impression in an Interview!