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[beerbelly]

I will be having an interview with the head of the IT/human resource department at my University on Wednesday. We are expected to dress up and everything.

We are only being interviewed to see if we have the appropriate communication and technical skills; passing this interview will not guarantee a position, which we have to apply for in late January 2005.

Here's the twist:

4 people will be interviewed at the same time by one interviewer in one little room. I was dumb enough to pick 3 others who have a higher GPA than I do and generally smarter. I have 3.27 while they have 3.40+.

Questions:

What can I do to prepare for this interview? What are the do's and don't's?
Can some of you share your experiences for internship position?

 

[MrAngryFace]

Group Interviews suck, since the tension is obvious and the selling of oneself is extreme.

Questions will probably revolve around 'what can you offer over the other guy, blah blah."

Also prepare some questions to ask them to show some mutual interest. GPA isnt everything, but group interviews are generally extra hard and totally unfair.

 

[GG-Duo]

What industry?

They don't always look at the grades. I know plenty of people who have a solid "B" GPA who got into a major computer company in Ontario.

 

[beerbelly]

That's what i'm worried about MrAngryman, the tension.. you make a good point about asking a few good questions. I almost forgot about that.

GG-DUO, i'm studying Info technology Management at Ryerson in ontario.

 

[MrAngryFace]

Basically make a list of your best points, make sure youre not overly modest or a braggart. Remember them. Remember your questions. If you need to, look up extra stuff on where you'll be working. Then understand how your good qualities could help their work specifically.

This kind of stuff will show a lot of interest in the field, which can often trump gpa differences and help form a bond between you and the interviewer.

 

[xsarien]

The best internship interview I ever had was in April of '99, and it made enough of an impression for them to consider me for the spot the following year after they rejected me (I applied kind of late.)

Basically, they led me into a room, and my chair just happened to be right under a big overhead lamp. I demanded/asked nicely if they'd turn it on and the rest of the lights off so I can be interviewed film noir style.

I got half of my wish, they didn't exactly thrust me into a Raymond Chandler book, but it was a lot of fun nonetheless.

 

[miyuru]

Basically, they led me into a room, and my chair just happened to be right under a big overhead lamp. I demanded/asked nicely if they'd turn it on and the rest of the lights off so I can be interviewed film noir style.

Uh...

Anyway, always be prepared for the question "Why do you want to work as a <job title>?".

 

[6.8]

Yeah, I've had interviews for 4 terms (6 of them were "successful" - damn the IT business). I've never had a group interview though. I imagine they must suck all sorts of ass. I sure know that phone interviews do!

 

[beerbelly]

Thanks for all your inputs.

Does anyone care to supply some more specific questions?

 

[Particle Physicist]

group interviews... ive had two of those before.. the first one was with 10 potential candidates.. they dismissed me cause they didnt want anyone with a college degree. *scratches head*

.. the second one i had was for an internship. there were about 4 potential candidates.. (but for different positions) . the reason for the group interview was to explain to everyone what the projects at the company were and to just give a general overview to what they were doing (it was a start up) .. the bossman later took each of us individually to assess our skills. i cant remember any specific questions.. but he basically asked me what my goals were.. my greatest accomplishments.. skill set.. he went through my resume and asked me about certain projects ive done.. what i learned from them.. what i liked best.. what i didnt like. . etc. etc.

best advice i can give you (that hasnt already been said), is to be relaxed.. and bring a notepad to take notes (if needed) .

 

[beerbelly]

*****UPDATE*****

I had the interview on Wed Nov. 3 and were asked only 3 questions. There were 3 interviewers and 4 interviewees which made me even more nervous. The questions asked were based on my work experience at fast food restaurants and how I dealt with the work there....and my strongest/weakest courses in University so far. Overall, I thought I completely bombed the interview; I noticed that I kept saying "...that's about it" when I was done answering each question. I rubbed my waterbottle too much (in a masturbation gesture which made one of the interviewees chuckle (I didn't notice I was doing that because I was really nervous)). I felt I didn't have good enough answers to pass the interview at all. And the most discouraging thing that happened was that I was the only one who was not asked a scenario question, which made me believe they just weren't interested in me.

Tonight, however, I just recieved an admission e-mail by one of the interviewer. I am glad I made it and I'm planning to try even harder to keep my GPA high.

I just wanted to share my success story.

 

[Lathentar]

I just came back from Seattle for my Microsoft Internship Interview.

I find out this week if I get it. I think I have a good chance, I did well.