Career Services holds a workshop on interviewing and job search skills for each program. Booklets are given to the students with information on companies in their field, what they are looking for in an employee and guidelines on how to be successful in a job search. For a schedule, check announcements.
Interview Preparation
You never get a second chance to make a first impression, so it’s important to make sure you are prepared when you talk to the recruiter or hiring manager. Below is some additional information that will assist you through our interview process to help you feel more comfortable.
- Research the company and the job to gain an understanding of the culture and needs of the job.
- Think about your skills and experiences and how they can be useful in the job.
- Pinpoint specific examples of past behavior that has led to your successes (or failures) that you would want Progressive to know about. An easy way to do this is to think about your whole story using the STAR approach to describe your examples.
Situation/Task = What was the situation or task in which you took action?
Action = What and how did you say or do in response to the situation or task?
Results = What was the outcome of your actions?
What are some tips for answering Targeted Selection questions?
- Listen carefully to the questions asked of you as well as any other important information the interviewer provides.
- Take a few moments to think about real-life examples from your past or even current job situations before responding to the question, using the STAR approach.
- Don’t hesitate to ask the interviewer to repeat the question.
- Be specific and provide sufficient details. If more information is needed, the interviewer will ask you additional questions.
- Be careful not to offer vague statements or personal opinions, beliefs and judgments
- Ensure you describe what you actually did rather than what you “would like to” do or “would have” done.
- Be sure to show confidence in your responses.
- Relax and enjoy the conversation.
