So you finally hear back about the application you submitted. As many people who are trained in research tend to do, I love to dive right into ways of preparing for interviews once I get that interview request email. The transition from the academic world to the corporate world is still a bit hazy to me, and I have decided to write about my experience job hunting this summer as a part of this blog. I’m used to “putting myself out there”, but job hunting, especially in industry, is a totally different set of norms for me to explore.
There’s a fine line between an interview and interrogation
Sometimes, for academics, it can seem as though the job search out of the tower is fuzzy. Even the applications themselves seem to request so “little” but leave so much open to interpretation. When I started hunting this July, I was shocked. This application only requests a resume? A one page cover letter? That’s it? No roll of references, or fifteen statements about every form of teaching, working, living or personal philosophy under the sun?
I have agonized over my portfolios (and even this website) long before I ever considered that I might receive the a request for an interview. Don’t get me started on the hours I poured over design challenge approaches. While it is important to be prepared, make sure that your portfolio, interview prep, and other useful prep tools are not shifting from preparatory work into procrastination tools.
Consider this in your own job hunt process— what are your procrastination tools? Do you really need to chase the perfect portfolio, or can you go ahead an apply now? There’s nothing wrong with anticipating questions, but there’s no need to plan out an elaborate response for questions that haven’t even been asked of you yet.
Here are a few quick tips and pieces of advice that I am finding useful during my own job search I officially kicked off the first week this month:
Prepare for the general questions for your field, of course, but also consider how you will address behavioral questions. How do you handle conflict? Have you had to negotiate with peers or supervisors? Behavioral questions do not seem to arise much in conversations around academic interviews, but they are a crucial part of understanding not just yourself, but the environment in which you will enter.
Speaking of environment, one thing I would recommend is to drop the jargon. Regardless of your discipline, academia as an institution has its own jargon that can be overwhelming or even worse, give the impression that we are distancing ourselves from our interviewers (or gives off an air of pretension). It can hard to avoid, and I find that the more nervous I am, the more quickly I retreat into the comfort of “verbal distance”. A quick example— at a workshop I described a product our team created as a “pet hydration system, focused on mobile water portability”…we created a water bottle for dogs. While I was able to catch myself and self-correct in the moment, focusing on avoiding those types of behaviors is a major plus!
Don’t be afraid to let some of your personality shine through. It can be intimidating, but remember that interviews are the start of a conversation with your potential coworkers. You should observe how they treat you— are they welcoming? Standoffish? Trust your gut and follow it. As someone who has been on both sides of the table, I believe it is important for everyone to feel heard and respected, and the ideal candidate will walk away from the interview thinking “wow, I really want to work with them”!
People are drawn to stories. SAR is one popular framework, but remember that as Nicky says in Orange is the New Black , people are “story junkies” (…maybe don’t use that exact quote in an interview…maybe). Make sure you can get to the point and summarize your projects quickly and succinctly.
Prepare for the unexpected. You will sometimes have wild questions and scenarios thrown at you. You will survive and learn from each experience. Remember that you have had years worth of students and workshop attendees who made every day a new adventure. You know your skill set and now you have to focus on selling it.
頑張って and Happy Interviewing!