Isham and CSO debrief the interview

Author: Nial Vele

Looking for a suitable job tops the priority list for many seniors here at Middlebury, and with recent downturns in the economy the anxiety has begun to mount. With that in mind, the College has put forth a great effort to make the job search process easier and less stressful for its students. Middlebury's liberal arts program produces well-rounded graduates prepared to enter a wide variety of careers, from medicine to government initiatives to creative fields. To supplement skills developed in the classroom, the Middlebury Career Services Office (CSO) has hosted numerous workshops with the aim of helping students find jobs that will suit them well and be fulfilling to them.

"The financial crisis is affecting students across the board - especially international students, as firms must sponsor them after the completion of one year at the job," said Divvya Dasan '09.

Ria Shroff '09 agreed that standards for job applicants have become more exacting. "Employees are looking for students who multitask," Shroff said. "In the teaching profession, for example, they are looking for students who can teach more than one subject."

One particularly important component of the hiring process, the interview, has long vexed job applicants. To demystify the process, CSO hosted a workshop on the basics of interviewing on Nov. 6. Tracy Himmel Isham, assistant director of CSO, presented a slide show to help seniors tackle their upcoming interviews.

Isham emphasized how an interview is different from an interrogation, explaining that an interviewee should communicate with his or her interviewer in a manner that resembles a conversation with an equal. This can help to improve the level of comfort of the interview and to avoid awkward situations.

Interviewees should also evaluate their own personality traits - their strengths and weaknesses - and compare them to the philosophies of their prospective employers. Getting a job is a two-way street, and Isham stressed that finding the right match is essential, as "work is what you do all day." Researching a company and looking up factors like size, location, services and working environment is a great way to see whether a job is a good fit.

Isham explored the different range of interview styles that might be encountered, including formal, informal, behavioral and informational, and demonstrated that job candidates should train themselves to quickly assess and interview atmospheres and react accordingly. To create a lasting positive impact on the interviewer, Isham suggested relating personal experiences (where appropriate) and being as genuine as possible. Additionally, good signals to the interviewer include professional touches like arriving early, having a firm handshake, maintaining eye contact during a conversation and good posture. Isham recommended staging a mock interview as a useful way to fine-tune these skills.

At the workshop, sample interview questions were also explored. Commonly, interviewees may be asked to talk about themselves, and many people find it difficult to answer questions regarding their own weaknesses. Isham suggested picking three things that could also shape up as being strengths in some circumstances - for example, being too organized or being too passionate about an assigned task.

Dasan, who recently had an interview with the retail store Ann Taylor, found herself somewhat surprised with her interviewer's choice of topics.

"I was surprised to get personal questions which I usually associated with qualitative jobs, like 'What are your goals in the next five years?' and 'Where are you applying besides here?'" said Dasan. "I would advise interviewees to prepare adequately for similar questions because you never know what you're going to get asked."

Fittingly, Isham finished her presentation by advising students to end their interviews on a strong note. This includes asking your own questions to an interviewer, picking up on the signals that an interviewer wants things up, and asking for the interviewer's business card. Following up with the interviewer via e-mail and a thank-you note is always a good idea, too.

So, while many seniors express frustration at the difficulty of finding a job in today's harsh and competitive climate, resources at hand such as these workshops, a wide College alumni network and online resources can help make this process a lot simpler.