Mastering the Interview

What is the title of the most recent book you have read?

Most recently I've spent a large amount of time reading a study guide in preparation for taking the certification exam for my career. I hope to complete my studies and take the exam before graduation. This is being done in addition to my current classes at college...

Describe a situation in which you were successful.

An example would be the research project I completed as part of my internship last summer. I was responsible for reviewing a new technology tool being developed in the marketplace to decide if there was a value for adopting internally. I completed the research ahead of schedule and recommended a small scale implementation to test the use of the tool internally. Since I delivered my research early, my boss asked me to lead the test implementation. The test implementation was successfully completed while I was there and I provided an implementation plan which was followed by others after I completed my internship. The tool has been rolled out throughout the department...

Why should I hire you?

Because I'm the best person for the job. I know you are interviewing other students with similar qualifications in terms of my degree and my internship. Yet I was awarded the Employee of the Month award as an intern this past summer and was the first intern ever to receive that award. I was given that award over all other nominations of their full-time staff. That award was given due to my delivery on a project that no one else had been able to successfully complete. I not only delivered the project, but I did it while also working on two other projects, both of which were completed during job one summer as an intern. Let me tell you about the project where I won the award...

Tell me about a situation in which you faced an ethical conflict.

During my internship when I was doing my initial research for my project, I discovered an unusual practice by one department in destroying accounting information. I knew this was not an acceptable business practice, so I met with my manager to discuss how to handle it. My manager asked me to fully document my findings and forward the information to her, which I did. She then took it forward to her manager and it was handled at that level. It was difficult for me to be involved, since I was just an intern, but I knew I had responsibility and accountability for my work and my findings...

Tell me about a time when you had too many things to do and you had to prioritize your tasks.

During my summer internship, I was assigned both a primary project as well as maintenance of an existing project. However, the existing project was getting so many support requests that it made it difficult for me to schedule time for my primary project. So two weeks into my internship, I met with my boss to discuss the prioritization conflict and we were able to work out a schedule that allowed me to respond to both the most urgent and important support tasks as well as completing my primary project. The end result is that I received two awards that summer, both for my primary project as well as my quick response to several important issues with my support project...

What is your greatest strength?

Good question. I have quite a few strengths, but if I had to focus on one that I would consider to be my greatest strength, it would be my work ethic. I'm driven to succeed and deliver results, which I know is not the case with many others. As an example, on my recent internship, I was given a secondary project which my boss later realized was much too large in scope to be accomplished within the timeframe of my internship. Yet I was really into the project and kept working on it long after the other interns went home each day. I really wanted to deliver this project before my internship was completed. In the end, I was able to have a prototype up and running before my last day. My boss said she was amazed at how much I accomplished and how I completed something that she didn't think would be possible...

What is the one word that describes you best?

Hmmm...that's a great question. I would say that committed would best describe me. I've been committed in both my academic career and in my recent internship, which shows in how I have delivered on my commitments. Let me give you an example of how I committed on my recent internship project...

What are your short-term goals?

I am working to make the most of my remaining schooling by not only taking the classes required for my major, but also as many other 400 level elective courses as possible. This classroom experience, combined with my recent internship experience, have developed me to make an immediate contribution, which is my near term objective. After starting my new role, I plan to study for industry certification, with a goal to complete it within the first year of work. I would like to become the one of the best in my role in 2-3 years...

How do you personally define success?

I define success as delivering more than is expected of me. Let me give you an example. During my internship last summer, I was given a main goal to deliver research on selection of new collaboration tools for our business unit. I went beyond that initial research and actually implemented several test tools for the team to work with as a trial. Those tools are now being rolled out throughout the company based on my initial work...

Are your grades a good indication of your ability?

I didn't have very good grades my first year of college, which brought down my overall GPA. However, once I got into my current major, I have been at or near the top of my class with my grades. So yes, I would say my grades are a good indicator of my ability for the classes that are directly aligned with my profession. As an example...

Do you enjoy doing independent research?

I do enjoy independent research, yet I also value the input from others with more experience. For example, in my recent internship, I had to come up with an innovative way to solve an indexing problem we were encountering. I found an example posted at StackOverflow that seemed to work well in a different environment. When I consulted with my mentor, she showed me a way to adapt that example to our technical environment to make it work...

Do you handle conflict well?

I do handle conflict well. I try to understand the needs of the other person and look for a way where we can find a common middle ground. As an example, on my internship, there was a conflict within our team over who was going to take responsibility for one of the key deliverables...

Do you handle pressure well?

I do handle pressure well, in fact, let me give you example. In my recent internship, I was asked to add a new feature halfway through the product development cycle. This was not part of the original scope and it meant that it would take extra work on my part to deliver it by the end of the internship. Here is what I did to deliver this expanded request by the end of my internship...

Why is your GPA not higher?

I do understand that my overall GPA was less than ideal. While other students were full-time students and could focus exclusively on their classes, I was also working two different part-time jobs to help pay my way through school. This made my schedule very difficult and, at times, it negatively impacted my grades. However, I am extremely proud of what I was able to accomplish on my own during college and ended up getting A's in all of my capstone classes, due at least in part to what I learned in my work. In the end, I feel that my concurrent work experience helped me to better prepare for the world of work after college.

When did you decide on this career?

I had a broad interest in the legal field when I was in high school and it was among several different career options that I was considering. But I entered college with my major undeclared so that I could take a broad overview of courses in my Freshman year. It was during that time that I met a Partner in your firm. She encouraged me to consider the legal field and had me speak with several other attorneys, both at your firm and at other firms. After doing more in-depth research into the field, I declared my major as Pre-Law my sophomore year and spent my college career and now in Law School preparing me to enter the legal field. I have a real aptitude for legal work as evidenced by my class standing in the top 5% of my graduating class.

What is your greatest weakness?

I have had problems in the past with taking on too many projects and then not delivering quality and, in some cases, not delivering on time. I was simply stretched too thin in too many areas with not enough time to deliver in a quality manner. I think that's the opportunity that is there as a new college student, you want to do everything and be involved in everything. However, I've learned that I'm not at my best when I have too many conflicting priorities. I've had to cut back on some of the less important extracurricular activities to focus on delivering my academic projects with the highest quality. This prioritization of my work has carried over to my work life with my recent internship. I had several key deliverables that were due the same week, so I met with my boss to prioritize the delivery schedule. She helped me focus on both the timing and the quality of the delivery. In the end, all three projects were delivered with high quality results. Would you like me to tell you more about them?

What qualities do you feel a successful manager should have?

I have had two direct managers as well as a team lead in my past internships. It was actually the team lead in my last internship who had the qualities of a successful manager that I admired the most. While my overall manager was there to provide the team with overall direction, which was important, it was the team lead who translated that overall direction into how we could have a specific impact on a day-to-day basis. Many internships do not produce deliverable results, but what impressed me about my team lead is how she kept me focused on delivering results on a weekly basis. The net result is that I delivered my component of a critical project within the timeframe of my internship.

Are you willing to travel? How much?

I have no limitations on my ability to travel for my work and I have done extensive travel to date, including my semester abroad last year. Can you tell me more about the type and scope of travel which may be involved for this role?

Why are you interested in our company?

I have read about your company's reputation for building and growing your leadership talent from within. There are not many companies who can say that their current CEO was a college grad hire, yours is one. So it is your company's commitment to not only that first entry level job, but also the commitment to career development at each subsequent stage of my career that interests me the most. I want to work for a company where I do not have to change employers to advance in my career...

If I were to ask your professors or boss to describe you, what would they say?

I have received personal feedback from several of my professors, who refer to me as one of the most dedicated students with whom they have worked along with recommending me for the Outstanding Student in Accounting Award. I won that award my Senior year and had been recommended by the Department Chair. I have his letter or recommendation along with the copy of the award, would you like to see them?

What is your greatest accomplishment?

I have several notable accomplishments in both my education and my work experience. Probably the most notable accomplishment was delivery of the mobile apps project during my internship this past summer. I joined the tech development team at a time when they were in the process of losing a team member due to relocation. That team member was the lead for the iOS version of the mobile app under development. Since I had already developed two iPhone apps and no one else on the team had worked with iOS, I was asked to take the lead for the iOS development and deployment, effectively half of the project. This was outside the original scope of my internship, but definitely mission critical. I was able to deliver the app on time before completion of my internship and have deployed it to the iTunes store. It has already received over 100 positive reviews from customers. Would you like to see it?

Give me an example of a time when you had to make a split second decision.

I haven't had any split second decisions in my recent internship, but at college there was recently an emergency medical situation where I needed to respond quickly. I'm First Aid, CPR and AED certified, so when I saw a guy fall to the ground while playing a pickup game of football on the quad, I ran over to see if I could help. The other students were gathered around, but no one was helping yet. He was lying unconscious. I pushed my way in and first of all asked someone to call 911 and then asked someone else to call campus security. Then I asked someone to run to get an AED. I knew where one was in the Hall of Administration, so I told him where to find it and get back as soon as possible. In the meantime, I checked pulse and breathing. Nothing. So I started CPR. By then there was another student there was CPR-trained, so we switched off with chest compressions and timing. Then the student arrived with the AED. I had only used one in training and this was a real life experience. I opened and applied the electrodes, then told everyone to stand clear. The system shocked and we got an immediate heartbeat. By then campus security arrived. I stayed with him until the paramedics arrived. He survived that day. Someone in the crowd said that I had saved his life. I'm not sure if I did or not. I was there and just wanted to help...

Have you ever had a conflict with a boss or professor? How was it resolved?

I recently had a disagreement with one of my professors over the wording of a question on one of the key exams, which was missed by several members of the class due to the ambiguity. I brought it up to the professor privately and personally, but he was dismissive of my request. After discussing it with several classmates, we went to him together to discuss it further. At that point, he agreed that there was a level of ambiguity in the question, but still would not change the grade of the test. However, he did appreciate us bringing it to his attention and gave us the opportunity to work on a separate project for extra credit to make up for the shortfall on the test. We completed the extra credit and we were all happy with the end result. It wasn't necessarily the solution we were seeking, but it was a compromise that was acceptable.

Do you have any plans for further education?

I view learning as a lifelong process. Even though I will be graduating in the spring, I want to continue to learn as much as I can to be an effective _____. So if that is a combination of internal and external training, I am ready and prepared to continue to learn in the role...

Why do you want to work in this industry?

I worked in the technology department for an insurance company as my internship last summer. That experience has focused my desire to be fully committed to working in tech specifically within the tech industry. The tools we used in my internship were first class, but tech was always a sideline department, rather than being the primary focus. So I'm looking to be all in with tech in my future career.

Give me an example of a time when you took initiative to get things done.

In my internship project, I took the lead on researching several different external best strategies at different countries. Then I compiled that information along with the internal data to write up an internal best strategy report which is still in use today. In fact, I got to do a presentation on that report in front of the managers.

What do you know about our company?

I'm an Amazon customer and have been for many years. But I know that Amazon is much more than the consumer retail side and the focus on price, selection and convenience. The company also includes Amazon Web Services for Cloud Computing, products such as Kindle, Fire and Echo, and many of the Prime-related activities in entertainment. There are many different parts of Amazon that I find to be fascinating and would love the opportunity to be part of the organization...

What do you think it takes to be successful in this career?

I'm personally committed to being successful in this career. I believe it requires a combination of both educational development and hands-on work experience. I'll give you examples of what I have been doing in each area...

How much money do you need to make to be happy?

I'm seeking to maximize my value to you as my employer. Ideally it will be a positive relationship where my earnings are tied to my value and my increasing value over time. Can you tell me what the expected range is for this role over the first several years?

Are you willing to relocate? In the future?

I'm very flexible about relocation. I currently can fit all that I own into my car, which has been the case each year going back and forth to campus. And I'm open to considering a variety of locations both now and into the future.

Do you have any location preferences?

I'm very flexible about where I will work after graduation. It would be relatively easy for me to relocate to other parts of the country and I'm open to exploring new opportunities.

What interests you most about this job?

I'm very interested in the practical application of chemical theory within this role. In my most recent internship, our team excelled in applying chemical theory in practical ways. Let me give you an example of how we did this with my key project...

How do you spend your spare time?

I've been involved in the student association for our profession since my sophomore year and this year I'm serving as President of the association. In my role, I also serve as the liaison with the local chapter of the professional association. It has given me the opportunity to meet quite a few local professionals in my field and that was also how I was introduced to your company, through Jane Smith, who is an association member...

How familiar are you with the community where we are located?

I've been to Seattle several times before, since I have family and friends who live in the area. I love the combination of work and recreational opportunities in the Seattle area and have already explored with my friends some of the available options for apartments in the area.

Who were your favorite professors? Why?

I've had several outstanding professors, yet one of my favorites is one with whom I am now enrolled in my second class. He's a tough professor and challenges the students. Not everyone likes him due to his tough grading. But I can say that I've learned the most from him because of how he ties the classroom material into real life work examples...

Tell me about yourself

I've worked hard in my education and my internships to prepare myself to become a world class researcher and analyst. I will be receiving my BSocSc in Psychology from the University of Hong Kong and have already completed two internships with international institutions over the course of my study. I worked for World Vision Vietnam last summer in as a research intern and was a representative for my school at the Global Issues Network conference. As the locations of my work experience show, I am specifically interested in the Asia region and am currently picking up new languages like Chinese and Vietnamese to prepare myself for better research of the region.

What are your mid-range goals?

In 5 to 10 years, I would like to get to the point of mastery in my position, which should then in turn position me for either expanded responsibilities or possible future promotion. Let me give you an example of how my recent internship prepared me for this role and what I've done to further enhance my skills before graduation...

Describe a time when you managed a project or people.

In my recent internship, I led a small research team in generating some quick user feedback on a new feature we were looking to launch. I had two other interns working with me on the research, so we split the work by global geography. I took the Americas, one intern took EMEA and the other intern took Asia, Australia and Africa. We did initial planning sessions to structure our work, then came back together to combine and roll up the results to our mentors. Our research report was then pushed further up the organization and we were asked to do a similar project for another new mobile feature in beta. I was asked to lead that team as well...

Tell me about some of your recent goals and what you did to achieve them.

In my recent internship, I set a personal goal to not only accomplish my set objectives for my internship, but also to develop proficiency in a new tool or technology. My objectives for my internship were both completed and I was also able to develop proficiency in Java, which I had previously only used in my classes at school. Let me tell you about the objectives achieved and where I was able to use Java to complete the project...

What major problem have you had to deal with recently?

In my recent internship, I was given a technical problem that no one internally had yet been able to solve. It had to do with a performance issue on our product which was negatively affecting the external user experience. I was able to effectively not only solve the problem, but also developed a way to track and measure the system performance in the future so that we would know before the external users when a performance issue like that came up again. Here is what I did when I was approached with a request to resolve the problem...

What is your long-range objective?

In the near term, I am focused on coming up to speed quickly in my new role. My longer range goal is to become a subject matter expert in my field. I want to become the person others seek out for the answers to their most difficult problems. As an example of this, in my recent internship I took over management of the internal collaboration site for the project managers. The site had not been updated in over a year, so I took responsibility for making the updates and incorporating current material that would be of benefit to everyone. My work in this area won a departmental award, would you like to see a copy?

What goals do you have in your career?

In the near term, I would like to develop myself to become the best _____ possible, learning as much as I can about the role and about how I can best serve the needs of the department and the company. In the longer-term, I would like to become a subject matter expert in an area of greatest need within my role. I would like to develop to the point that I become that go-to person whom others rely upon for the most current information. And eventually I would like to become a lead and mentor to help others developing in their respective roles.

How do you plan to achieve your career goals?

My academic experience has provided me with an excellent foundation for my career and I will be graduating in the top 10% of my class. The internship I had last summer has given me some excellent experience in the field which has further broadened out my foundation. I look forward to working full-time as a _____ and gaining more practical work experience. So my near term focus will be to develop my skills in my role so that I will be ready if and when future opportunities for internal advancement come about. Let me give you an example of this...

How much training do you think you'll need to become a productive employee?

My education and internship experience has prepared me well for this role. I understand that you also provide internal training for new hires related to the role and your company. Given this training, combined with my education and experience, I'm confident that I will come up to speed quickly in this role...

Where do you want to be ten years from now?

My first and primary goal is to become fully productive in my role. I would like to expand that further to reach a more senior level over time as I develop additional experience and expertise. At some point in my career I realize there may be an opportunity to either follow the individual contributor or management path. I want to develop myself to be ready for either role, should the opportunity arise. Let me tell you about what I am currently doing to prepare myself for taking the industry certification exam...

Tell me about the hardest decision you have ever had to make.

My hardest decision was changing majors to my current major in my Sophomore year. I had taken my original major due to influence from others, but during my Freshman year, I took a series of career tests and came to the realization that my competencies, personality and interests were much better aligned to the ______ field. Changing majors meant I would have to take a heavier class load, which could have an impact on my grades. But I have been able to maintain my high grade point throughout and was even recently given an award for the top student in my major...

How would you describe your ideal job?

My ideal job would involve working toward certification in my field. I've already completed the first test for industry certification and passed it the first time, which is a big first step forward. Most professionals, even with experience, don't pass the first test on the first try. I have two more tests to pass, one of which I already have scheduled to complete before graduation. So my ideal job is to become a subject matter expert in my field. Going beyond just being certified to becoming the go-to person for others at my company.

What would your past manager say about you?

My manager for my internship last summer said that I was the best intern she had managed during her tenure as a manager. She said that I got far more accomplished and delivered than any other intern she had worked with previously. I know that she would say she would love to work again with me in the future. How do I know this? Because that is what she said in the letter or recommendation she wrote for me. Would you like a copy?

Would you rather work with information or with people?

My schoolwork has focused on the information element, yet my recent internship focused both on information and people. While most of schooling focuses on individual accomplishments, my internship focused on getting results as a part of the team. I'm equally comfortable working with either element and I have seen through my internship how the people element will continue to grow in importance as I move forward in my career...

Why did you choose to attend your college?

My selection criteria was very specific and I did my research in advance of applying to different schools. I was looking for a smaller school with a higher professor to student ratio. And I was looking for a school that is world class in the _____ field. I found both in _____ and it was my first choice among the schools to which I applied...

Tell me about the biggest risk you have taken in your life.

On my recent internship, most of the other interns chose safe projects with established product lines. I took a risk in asking to work with the new product development group, since it gave me the opportunity for leading edge experience. We were working with experimental tools and technologies that were not yet adopted internally. Part of this project was selection of an automated survey tool for gathering user feedback. I played the lead role in implementation of this survey tool. Not only was it adopted for our project, but it has since been adopted more broadly internally...

If you had to live your life over again, what one thing would you change?

Probably my biggest regret was not settling on my major early enough in college. I took a large number of classes in general fields when I would have been better prepared by taking accounting-specific coursework. So to make up for that lack of focus in my first two years, I have spent the last two years of college taking as many accounting and business courses as possible, actually taking more than required for my major. And I feel I made up for my late start by getting work experience through both voluntary work my Junior year and then my internship last summer. As a result, I was one of the top students in my major. It's been a tough road which I could have made easier by selecting my major earlier.

How has your education prepared you for your career?

Several of my classes have tied into real world examples for my career. A recent example is with our case study class, where we reviewed a recent case of the merger between a large national bank and a smaller regional bank. Even though the case was interesting and highly relevant, it was two years old by the time we reviewed it in class. With guidance from our professor, I reached out to one of the Vice Presidents at the regional bank to assess the impact of the merger. It provided valuable insight not only into the financial models used for making the merger at the time, but also how they played out in the merger itself. My final paper ended up winning an award within my department. Would you like me to show it to you?

What changes would you make at your college?

Several of the capstone classed in my major lacked real world experience connections. So I worked with two other students and the Department Chair on a plan to enlist successful alumni to come in to speak to these classes. Initially these talks were done in evening hours outside of the classroom. But as they showed success, they were eventually incorporated into the classes themselves...

What kind of salary are you seeking?

Thanks for asking this question, since I want to make sure we're in alignment on salary. What salary range do you typically pay other entry level candidates with similar education and experience?

What were your favorite classes? Why?

The classes in my major were my favorites and got progressively more interesting each year. My favorite class is one that I just completed and ties in directly with the needs for this job. I excelled in that class and even received a letter of recommendation from my professor in that class. Would you like to see it?...

What is most important to you in your job?

The most important aspect of my job is being able to deliver quality results on time. This was key for me in my recent internship, where I delivered not only my core project, but also a secondary optional project. Here are the details of those projects...

What are the most important rewards you expect in your career?

The most important rewards for me are the opportunity to do the highest level work in alignment with my abilities and how I deliver on my projects. As an example, during my last internship, I completed the main project ahead of schedule, so I was given some higher level work on an internal project team which needed to move forward quickly. That project was delivered on time due partly to my involvement as an added resource to the team...

What accomplishments have given you the most satisfaction in your life?

The project that I completed on my recent internship gave me a lot of satisfaction, since I delivered the project on schedule and it is currently being used at my intern employer. It also became the subject of a further research project in my schooling that received the President's Award for Excellence and was the only project in my major to receive the award. Let me tell you more about it...

What motivates you?

The type of work I will be doing is the most important motivator for me. I want to be doing meaningful work that makes a difference for our company and our customers. As an example, I selected my last internship employer over two other offers because they provided the opportunity to do real work that was going to have an actual impact, rather than just a test project to assess my skills. My internship project also gave me the opportunity to work with several very experienced professionals as we worked to deliver the solution. In the end, the project was delivered successfully and noted by my manager as being one of the best internship projects at the company that year...

Why did you choose this career?

There were many influences that went into my decision to select this career field. One of my early mentors was a business friend of my mother, who worked in the insurance industry and encouraged me to explore opportunities in this field. She pointed me in the right direction to explore the possibilities. But it was the combination of my career research along with my professors in my major who helped to solidify my decision. My internship last summer helped me to get an inside view into the world of work in this field...

What did you like or dislike about your previous job?

What I liked the most about my recent internship is that we were given the opportunity to work with several cutting edge tools on our project. These are tools I had worked with in school, but this was the first time to use them in a practical way to deliver project work. In fact, several of these tools are part of your technology stack as well. As an example, we worked with...

What sets you apart from other qualified candidates?

While I realize that there are other candidates with similar academic experience, what sets me apart is the real world experience I gained in my recent internship. My internship was focused on deliverables of solutions that would be put into practical use. And because I was able to deliver the beta of my project ahead of schedule, I was able to integrate detailed user feedback into the updated first version that went live before the completion of my internship. Let me tell you more about my deliverables...

Tell me about how you persuade people to accept your point of view.

While working on my recent internship, I needed access to data from a different department to complete one segment of my project. The head of that department initially refused my request for access to the data on the basis of my being an intern. I went to my manager requesting assistance and she said it was a learning opportunity for me to work it out on my own. So I asked the department manager to meet in person. At that meeting, I walked him through the scope of my project, how the data would be used and how it would be kept secure. Once he understood the actual use of the data and its security, he authorized my access later that day...

Are you a team player?

Yes I am. An example of this was with my summer internship team, the Global Standards Project, where we were all working together with a variety of background and skills to produce a result which none of us could have achieved individually. It's important to note that I joined an already established team, so it was important to me to communicate with others and make sure I was on track for delivering my part of the project. Although my deliverable was a small part of the overall project, there were several team dependencies based on my ability to deliver. So I not only kept everyone current during the weekly meetings, I also worked closely with several key team members throughout the week to make sure I kept my portion of the project on track. The end result is that I delivered on time and within budget. The entire project met its deliverables and they are now on to the next phase of the project.

Are you a goal-oriented person?

Yes I am. I have quite a few goals that I have set for myself in my education and career preparation. An example of achieving one of my recent goals was securing an internship this past summer...

Is money important to you?

Yes, money is important to me, since it's both a measure of my value and it helps me to take care of the personal needs in my life. But the opportunities for growth and advancement which would be offered to me are even more important to me than money as I grow and succeed in the role. Can you give me some examples of how others in this role have advanced in their careers over time?