TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL INTERVIEW

www.mun.ca/sgs
 CONTACT INFORMATION

Julie Bowering
Career Development Coordinator, Graduate Studies
jbowering@mun.ca

Enhanced Development of the Graduate Experience (EDGE): https://www.mun.ca/edge/

School of Graduate Studies: https://www.mun.ca/sgs/

Become a Graduate Student: https://www.mun.ca/become/graduate/apply/

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 JOB INTERVIEW
• Opportunity to meet face to face

• Discuss and demonstrate knowledge of your experience and

skills

• Employer assesses your experience and skills

• Employer gets a sense of your personality

• Sell yourself as a good fit for the position

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 IMPORTANT TIPS
Communication:
Direct, assertive, good eye contact, confident posture

Self-disclosure:
• Get comfortable with discussing your likes/dislikes and
strengths/weaknesses as these questions are often asked

Self-promotion:
• Confidence and assertiveness is essential when discussing your
experience and skills

Self-awareness:
• Demonstrate knowledge of yourself, your career goals, and how
they relate to the job
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 PRE INTERVIEW

• Assess your career path – why did you apply?

• Research company/position

• Determine the type of interview

• Develop potential questions and responses

• Confirm date, time and location

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 PRE INTERVIEW
• Thoroughly review your resume and questions you may be asked

• Review the job ad highlighting areas that may be discussed

• Sample Interview Questions:

https://studentstest.usask.ca/jobs/guides/interview-questions.php

• Strengths/Weaknesses Best Answers: https://novoresume.com/career-

blog/what-are-your-strengths-and-weaknesses-interview-questions

• Other Resources:
• https://www.mun.ca/student/career/resources/interviews/Acing_y
our_Interview.pdf
• https://www.mun.ca/student/career/resources/interviews/common
questions.php

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 KEYS TO SUCCESS
• Demonstrate a positive attitude and confidence

• Be enthusiastic and maintain good eye contact

• Be aware of physical appearance and non-verbal communication

• Ensure that you’ve researched the company/organization

• Arrive 10-15 minutes early

• Know your resume and have extra copies available

• Have references available if not included with resume

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 INTERVIEW QUESTIONS/STYLES

• Formal and/or informal Q&A

 1-on-1 or panel (2 or more interviewers)
 Written component – testing is common
 Presentation component
 Rounds of interviews at different levels

• Behavioural Interview Questions

• Situational Interview Questions
• Case Interview Questions

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 BEHAVIOURAL INTERVIEW

• Designed to determine if a candidate possesses certain key

competencies

• Use specific examples from work, education and

extracurricular activities to demonstrate the skill being
assessed

• Example: Describe the system you use for keeping track of

multiple projects. How do you track your progress so that you
can meet deadlines? How do you stay focused? (Measuring
commitment to task, organizational skills)

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 SITUATIONAL INTERVIEW

• Designed to assess your critical thinking, problem solving, and

planning abilities
• What would you do if…
• Often in the form of a scenario

• Example: You are approached by a senior member of another

department to provide your opinion about an issue just
discussed at meeting within your department? What do you
do?

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 CASE INTERVIEW

• Used to assess logical thinking and problem solving skills

• Geared around solving problems on the spot
• Classic business cases are used to test analytical ability, logical
thought process and comfort with quantitative analysis

• Example: You are consulting for a major Canadian airline.

Every year, they make more sales and every year, they lose
more money. What could be causing this?

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 BEHAVIOURAL/SITUATIONAL - STAR

Behavioural Situational

Past Experience What would you do if

• Situation • Situation
• Describe a situation you • Describe a potential situation
encountered • Task
• Task • Describe task(s) you would complete
• Describe task(s) you • Action
completed • Describe the action you would take
• Action • Result
• Describe the action you • What would be the potential result?
took
• Result
• What was the result?

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 TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF

• PAWS

• Personal – Who you are

• Academic – Educational background

• Work – Past and present work and volunteer experience

• Skills – Skills you have that are relevant to the position

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 TYPES OF INTERVIEWS
Structured:
Questions asked in a formal, organized way
Setting usually an office or virtual

Unstructured:
Questions have a relaxed, conversational tone
Setting may be outside an office

Panel/Board:
More than one interviewer

Rounds:
May move through rounds of interviews with different people

Testing: May be required to take skill or written tests

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 VIRTUAL INTERVIEWS
• Dress professionally, smile

• Be aware of unnecessary movement and noise

• Be patient – sounds may be distorted

• Speak clearly and be ok with intermittent silence

• Thank interviewer for their time

• Telephone tips
• Dress professionally to feel professional!
• Stand as you speak

Practice & Preparation for an Online Job Interview:

https://www.thebalancecareers.com/online-job-interviews-2064216

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 CONCLUDING THE INTERVIEW

• If you have a portfolio or more information about your

qualifications - offer to provide it at this time

• Ask questions! Examples:

Could you describe the type of work I would be doing or the types
of projects I will be working on?
Could you tell me about the people/positions to whom/which I
would be reporting?
What are the areas of anticipated growth for the company?

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 POST INTERVIEW

• Recap and make notes

• Send thank you email within 24-48 hours

• Express gratitude for the employer’s time
• Highlight your qualifications
• Restate your interest in the company/career
• Communicate enthusiasm to have met with them

• If you are unsuccessful

• It’s ok to request feedback

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 POST INTERVIEW (CONT’D)
• Evaluate yourself immediately after each interview
• Record your thoughts asap while they are fresh in your mind
• If a certain question caused you a problem, consider an improved answer in
for the future

Consider these questions:

• What skills, experiences or qualifications did they focus on?
• What questions were most difficult to answer?
• What was the interviewer looking for with those difficult questions?
• Were you adequately knowledgeable about the company?
• How did you feel about the interview overall?
• What will you do differently in the next interview?

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 COMMON INTERVIEW MISTAKES
(BASED ON RECRUITER FEEDBACK)
• Lack of preparation
• Under or over answering questions
• Poor non-verbal communication
• Failure to ask questions
• Inappropriate appearance
• Poor/negative attitude
• Exaggerating or being deceitful

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TRANSLATING YOUR ACADEMIC SKILLS

Source:
https://www.findaphd.com/advice/
doing/phd-non-academic-
careers.aspx

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Connect with the MUN community to meet up for career
conversations, in-person or online!

https://www.mun.ca/student/student-success/meet-employers/TenThousandCoffees.php

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https://www.mun.ca/student/events.php

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Enhanced Development of the Graduate Experience (EDGE)

 Offers workshops and resources designed to help graduate

students build diverse skills and competencies to be successful in
graduate school and beyond.

 Follow EDGE on Twitter @MUN_EDGE and Facebook @MUN.EDGE

 Visit EDGE website https://www.mun.ca/edge/

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QUESTIONS?

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