Interviewing for an Internship
Posted in Job Interview Tips
The internship interview is an opportunity for you to know whether there's a good fit between your learning goals, your career, and the internship position. So what would you do if the potential employer has called you for an interview?
Be prepared and confident by anticipating possible questions the interviewer will ask you "Which of your activities or courses has helped you prepare for this internship?" "What are the major you considered when deciding what to major in?" "Tell me about your dissertation. Why did you choose the topic, and what was the outcome?" "How did you decide what extracurricular activities to participate in?" Below are some interviewing tips for a successful internship offer.
Behavioral interviewing
In general, internship applicants don't have enough professional experiences. So expect interview questions that center on the desired behaviors or competencies for the internship position instead of task related questions. You also need to plan your responses using the following structure: description of the specific situation you're involved in; details of the actions you took in this situation; and outline of the results of your actions.
Basically, you have to answer questions like "What happened?" "What did you accomplish?" "What did you learn from the situation?" Here, the interviewer is looking at how well you process thoughts. For a successful interview, you need to reflect on your experiences and choose appropriate and relevant examples.
Problem-solving
Expect also that the interviewer will look for something that reflects how good you are at analyzing and solving problems. He or she is likely to ask you questions like: "How did you research and examine the outcomes for a difficult project?" "What's your toughest academic decision and how did you deal with it?" "How did you meet results for a situation wherein your initial approach failed?"
When asked these questions, you have to show to the interviewer your ability to collect applicable information and diagnose issues. Show that you're really good at organizing information and comparing data coming from different sources. Additionally, show how you consider alternatives and identify the most suitable action given limited resources.
Initiative
In internship interviews, like in any job interview, employers look for proactivity in candidates. The interviewer is likely to ask you a situation when you accomplished more than what was needed in an assignment.
Or he or she will ask how you overcame an obstacle in a complex situation. Show that you're proactive, creative in overcoming obstacles, and have the ability to generate new ideas. Draw examples from your previous work, school activities, your course, and extracurricular activities. Just be sure that the examples you provide are related to the competency.
Understand the questions
It is alright to ask the interviewer to clarify or repeat the question if it's not too clear for you. Understand the questions first before answering them. Know what the interviewing staff is looking for before assuming you have the correct response.
Furthermore, avoid spending too much time answering a question. But you must make sure that you've answered the question fully before moving on to the next question.
