Interview Tips... OPE Style!

Hey everyone. Today was my relaxed day of the week, so I got to do some work in the office and catch up on tasks that were on my to do list from Monday. We also finished up the second interview process, so that was a good (albeit long) meeting.

After work, a couple co-workers and I went to Oshkosh to get things ready for OPE tomorrow. I wasn't planning on this, but after stepping into the conference center, I quickly reverted in OPE mode, aka how I was as a candidate last year and the time before. It took me a few minutes until I was walking alongside a co-worker to realize I had a quick, confident stride and I was focused on getting to my destination with speed and purpose. We did some basic decorating in the interview rooms set aside for us (more to follow tomorrow), and as we were packing up to leave for the night, part of me felt weird that I wasn't preparing for interviewing with a slew of schools.

Oh, and I did run into some old co-workers who were representing my old school in Missouri, which was an unexpected fun reunion. Sadly, I didn't recognize any of the names of my alma mater's delegation.

Since my co-workers and I are on the verge of a bunch of interviews, I figured tonight's entry could be tips I've learned about doing well in interviews. I feel like my knowledge has been pieced together through others' advice, my own interview experience, and interviewing students for various positions/opportunities. With that said, this is simply my perspective, so feel free to take some of this with a grain of salt.

1. Be yourself. A company wants to know the real you to make sure you will best fit the role at hand & team that you would be joining.

2. Have answers prepared for questions you know you will be asked. The first question will almost always be "Introduce yourself and tell us why you're interested in the position", so make sure your answer covers both of those things. Think of it as your elevator speech (aka how you would market yourself to a stranger while riding in an elevator). Depending on the field of work, there will be important values that you will be asked about. For Student Affairs, we should always be ready to talk about diversity, teamwork (including difficult situations), supervising/advising, and task management.

3. It's okay to ask the interviewer to repeat a question. It's better to take the extra time to hear the question again rather than blurt out a response that really doesn't get at the heart of the question. Along the same line, it's okay to take a few seconds before answering a question. It may feel like an eternity to not start talking right away, but that's speaking from sitting in the hot seat (aka it may not be that long in reality).

4. Make yourself stand out. Share stories that demonstrate how you work in a team or deal with conflict. Some interviewers may ask questions like "What do you do for fun?" or "If we walked into your living space right now, what would we see?" These are the perfect questions to showcase who you are as a person. (Then again, don't expect these types of questions in every field of work.)

5. Always have questions to ask the interviewers. If you want the job and you don't have it, you have to realize that you don't know everything about it. Research the position - look at websites and published material. Re-examine the position description. I found 3-5 questions to be a good amount, with at least a couple focusing on something specific to that school. There were some general questions I could ask any school, with the timeline for the position being the last piece.

6. The interview process continues after the in-person (or phone) interview is done. OPE pulls a lot of schools together and you may be sitting in an elevator from someone from a school you interviewed with earlier in the day. Of course, OPE has some huge socials where schools will look and see who stops by to chitchat and who doesn't. Also, plan to write a quick thank you card very soon after your interview, unless a school says otherwise. Some schools will want you to take time for yourself or want to be green by saving on paper. If that's the case, respect their choice and don't just write a card anyway. I realize that that stuff is OPE-specific. In general, a thank you card can show appreciation and definitely be mindful of how that school/company may see you while they're thinking about hiring you. (So, be aware of what you put online and how you act as you step out of the interview room or out of the building.)

I think that's a good list. Who knows, maybe I'll post some more tips depending on how tomorrow goes. In any case, tomorrow will be a long day, so I need to get some sleep.

I just realized today was National Bacon Day and I missed it! Darnit! In terms of something I did embody, February is National Expect Success Month. I definitely have high hopes for tomorrow and I'm looking forward to interviewing a lot of strong candidates.

DFTBA!