8. Mock Interview

Youtube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWTrVWqXIxI

Being a person who has never actually had a formal job interview before, I have little to no preparation for what to say and how to act when my first interview does arise. For this reason, it's a good idea to practice and prepare responses to common questions ahead of time. Developing these interviewing skills is very important because a job interview is the #1 way to differentiate yourself from your competition. If you can kill it in an interview, it can make up for any holes on your resumes or mistakes in the past--- employers love people skills. I have only ever had an informal job interview where I already knew I was getting the position and my boss was just asking some follow-up questions about my character, so it isn't the same experience. For this section of the IOCSR, I prepared a list of commonly asked questions during a job interview, thought about them, and then prepared responses. The recording of this mock interview is below.

Tell me about yourself.
I have been a student at the University of Maryland College Park for the past 2 years, and am hoping to immerse myself into the marketing industry. My most recent work experience has been handling various office tasks through an on-campus job for the University of Maryland School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures. One reason I particularly enjoy this business, and the challenges that go along with it, is because of the many opportunities there are to connect with people. I consider my real strength to be my time management abilities. I pride myself on my reputation for following through and meeting deadlines, while still allowing time for other projects and hobbies. For example, throughout high school I had a part time job as a waitress at a crab restaurant (where I still work today!) while still making principal's honor roll in school and staying involved in various extracurricular organizations and clubs. The same is true in college, where I have maintained a high GPA as well as held an on-campus part time job and stayed involved in my volunteer tutoring organization and sorority. What I am looking for now is an honest and supportive company that values customer relations, where I can join a strong team and have a positive impact on customer retention and sales.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
I'm looking for a role in a company I can grow with and continue to take on new challenges over the next 5 years and beyond. I'm not too hung up on titles, but I know I would like to take on more management responsibility, and ultimately step into a product leadership position. Ultimately, I want to work for a company where I can build a career.

How have you worked to achieve your own professional vision?
One of my visions is communication, and thus I am a very big believer in being a team player. I have been told I'm an excellent communicator and have the ability to work cohesively with any group of people and still be successful. I've had various opportunities in my work and school to develop my teamwork skills, which allowed me to learn early-on the importance of the strength of a team over the individual. For example, from my experience in the restaurant industry as a waitress, I learned how to take care of myself and my own tables, but also to look out for others and help out with things that ultimately make the entire restaurant run more smoothly as a whole. By helping out other servers when the place gets busy, you are still helping yourself and establishing a sense of teamwork in the restaurant.

Have you ever had a conflict with a boss or professor? How was it resolved?
I recently had a conflict with a peer in the fraternity that my sorority was working with to plan a philanthropy event supporting local elementary school students in College Park. He had sent a rather urgent email accusing my committee of derailing his project and not taking the necessary steps to plan all aspects of the event on time. I responded by asking him to get together with me in person for coffee and for him to walk me through everything he wanted us to have done and by when. I then walked him through our ideas and our timelines. From this conflict I realized the importance of face-to-face interaction when trying to make time-sensitive decisions. It turns out, we were both on the same page and just needed to meet in person to realize this, and the philanthropy event turned out successfully.

Tell me about one of the toughest groups that you've had to work with. What made it difficult? What did you do?
In my other communications class this semester, COMM107, I was assigned in a group with 3 other people who just so happened to be some of the most quiet and introverted people in the class. Because of this, I ended up being the unofficial leader of the group. Our assignment was to create an outline about a communication issue and how to solve it. This outline would eventually turn into a speech in front of the class. Since all of us were very busy people, it was very difficult to meet up as often as we wanted to. This made it difficult to touch base and stay updated with the extent of everyone's research and progression with the assignment. To solve this problem, I came up with the idea of creating a Google Doc for all of us to compile our research information into one accessible source, instead of doing research separately. We could refer to this source if we had any questions or if we wanted to see what information other people were finding and make sure not to repeat anything. Using this Google Doc, we were able to create the outline over the Internet, allowing us to do the work at whatever time was best for us and not having to deal with the stresses of trying to find a time to meet face-to-face that worked for everybody. From this experience, I realized that I am an effective worker in a team setting, and am proactive when it comes to solving problems.