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Potential Job Interview

F

Fontaine

Apr 27, 2006
3,822
0
#1
Yes folks that is correct, at the end of my spring semester in college I will looking for a co op student placement job for the summer. One of the exciting things is that one of the companies I was HIGHLY interested in working for came into my school and gave off a presentation looking for 2 co-op students for the summer. My field of study is Petroleum Engineering and it will be VERY difficult to land that work term but i got some good news today when one of the petroleum student developers read my cover letter for the resume and was quite amazed by it. I'm hoping this can give me a good edge in landing the first interview, only problem is that the interviews (not to get ahead of myself by any means) will be behavioral based and I've never had one of those before.

So people of TB, any of you out there that have ever had one of your dream jobs rest on an interview type that you have never done before please ring in!!!
 
#2
Gotta love those type of interviews. I've noticed them gaining more and more popularity over the last five or so years.

"So Mr. Fontaine, you are a fifth grade school teacher and one of your students........." or how about "You have your whole day scheduled out with tasks when one of your co-workers calls in sick, and you boss asks you to adjust your schedule to do some of his/her work too. How would you re-prioritize your tasks for that day? How do you choose what to eliminate or move down your list?

Love it!!!

-Mike
 
#3
MJ5150 said:
Gotta love those type of interviews. I've noticed them gaining more and more popularity over the last five or so years.

"So Mr. Fontaine, you are a fifth grade school teacher and one of your students........." or how about "You have your whole day scheduled out with tasks when one of your co-workers calls in sick, and you boss asks you to adjust your schedule to do some of his/her work too. How would you re-prioritize your tasks for that day? How do you choose what to eliminate or move down your list?

Love it!!!

-Mike
Click to expand...

those arnt the ones im generally concerned about its more like the ones:

"Describe a situation in which you were able to use persuasion to successfully convince someone to see things your way."

"Give me a specific example of a time when you used good judgment and logic in solving a problem."

"Tell me about a time when you had to use your presentation skills to influence someone's opinion."

Mainly because they all revolve around the same answer for me....SCHOOL!....which im sure isnt a good thing.
 
#8
You have the right idea. The questions you listed are pretty much what you should expect (I know...I'm an HR guy). Since you have a pretty good feel for the questions, the best thing to do is write out as many as you think they'll ask you and formulate your answers ahead of time. They are probably going to concentrate on such things as organization, attention to detail, meeting deadlines, working under pressure, etc. If they are interviewing you, they already know you are fresh out of school and don't have a ton of work experience, so it's okay to use non-work related situations....just make sure they can be related back somehow. Don't try to BS them, a good interviewer is going to recognize that.

Also, come in with a list of your own questions...not how much vacation will I get or will I get an office, but things that revolve around the growth of the company and what they see as the major challenge of this position, etc.

Also, do your research. Read as much as you can on the company....recent news releases, product strategies, annual reports..whatever. You may even come up with some questions after going through this info. It will impress them if you have good grasp of the company.

Basic things.....if they have you fill out an application, be completely honest, especially when they ask about criminal history. If you had an underage drinking ticket when you were 19, make sure you list it. You may think listing some of these things will make you look bad, but they can't discriminate based on your criminal history (with a few exceptions), but they can rescind an offer because of something you left off that comes up later. Last, don't forget the "thank you" letters. Get everyone's name you meet with and send them a note...e-mail is fine.

Relax, be yourself, maintain eye contact, firm handshake..blah, blah. You'll do fine. Good luck!
 

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