Emilio Lorenzo is the assistant director of career advisement in NSU’s Office of Career Development. Emilio understands the importance of helping students reach their career goals and works with all students, including undergraduate, graduate and professional level students, to achieve their professional goals.

Emily Tasca is a member of the career advisement team in NSU’s Office of Career Development. She works with current students and alumni at the undergraduate, graduate and professional levels to ensure that each individual is supported throughout his or her career exploration and planning process.

Interviews are like an audition. Just as any good actor or actress must utilize a variety of techniques to succeed in such settings, you as well must adopt a strong strategic strategy when being interviewed for a job or internship. Interviews can come in many different forms including phone, skype and in-person, and can feature one to as many as five interviewers. Taking the proper steps before going into each of these types of interviews can be key to not only a successful interview, but can also lead to stronger job prospects and career growth.

The first step to a great interview is to prepare ahead of time, which involves researching the company, managing the logistics of arriving for the interview, evaluating what the interview would entail, preparing questions to ask the employer and “story banking” examples to include with your interview responses. Research is very important because you want to show an employer that you are knowledgeable about their company.

For example, it would be embarrassing to go into an interview with FPL and ask them what the acronym means. Research is more than knowing what the organization name means; it also entails understanding the mission and vision statement, values the organization stands for, skills/abilities needed in prospective position, as well as any other details or initiatives you discover by visiting their website or social media pages.

Once you have gathered all the necessary information through research, it is time to prepare for some of the logistics and prep-work that goes into an initial meeting. Obviously, if you are being interviewed over the phone or via Skype, you do not need to worry about driving distance or getting to the location on time. When it is an in-person interview, however, this is a factor that needs to be considered, as South Florida traffic can be unpredictable. A good strategy is to visit the interview location a day before your meeting to determine the amount of time needed to ensure you will arrive about 15 minutes before the scheduled time of the interview.

When you do arrive for the interview, remember that first impressions are very important. Ensuring that you make eye contact and have a proper handshake can contribute to the interview getting off on the right foot. Be prepared for small talk after that initial greeting, and, more than anything, have a positive demeanor, which shows how excited you are for this opportunity. Positivity is contagious, and showing that this is a quality you possess will help the interviewers see how you can fit into the established culture of the organization.

Considering how important positivity is within an interview setting, it can be even more important when you are not physically there for the interview, such as in phone or Skype interviews. When being interviewed over the phone, it is always important to put a smile on as, although the employers cannot see you, they can easily distinguish if someone has that general excitement they are looking for in an applicant.

Even with a positive attitude, phone interviews can be tricky, especially if you are unprepared for the interview. A good rule of thumb when job searching is to always be prepared for a potential interview if you receive a phone call from an employer. You never know if that person will jump right into the “meat and potatoes” of figuring out if you are an ideal candidate. It’s more than fine to respond honestly if you receive an unexpected call from the employer, and they ask, “Is this a good time?” If you are unavailable to have a quality conversation, like if you are driving or in the middle of class, it is acceptable to let the caller know and to set up another time to talk.

Being prepared for Skype interviews includes a bit more work, as you must ensure that your technology is running perfectly and that the background image an employer will see as you are being interviewed is professional and not distracting. It is a good idea to send your Skype username to the employer prior to the Skype interview to avoid any confusion or delay in the actual interview.

In addition, just as eye contact can set a good tone in an in-person interview, it is important for Skype interviews, too; when using Skype, you’ll want to look at your camera as opposed to the computer screen itself. Although it doesn’t feel as natural, looking at the camera on your side will make it seem like you are making direct eye contact with the employer on their side.

Now it’s time to review what you are probably most worried about: answering the actual interview questions. The best strategy to take in preparing for this is to research potential questions found with this type of position. As you start looking over all of these questions, remember to reflect on past experiences that can help you answer the question not just in terms of telling the employer but also showing the employer. This process of identifying potential stories or examples to include in your responses is known as “story banking,” and can lead to a much more effective and impressionable interview as a whole.

Interviews can come in many different forms, and if you plan accordingly, you put yourself in a better position to be successful and reach potential career goals. Preparing for the interview can be tedious at times; however, the benefits far outweigh the workload involved. With proper preparation, you will come off as knowledgeable regarding the organization, and you will be able to articulate how your skill sets and previous experiences relate to the position and make you a good fit within the organization itself.

How to prepare for interviews:

Step 1: Research the company

Step 2: Plan out all of the logistics in advance, including how long it would take to arrive at the location, to make sure you arrive 15 minutes early

Step 3: Prepare questions to ask the employer

Step 4: Research potential questions you might receive and start “story banking”