1. Mastering the Internship Interview
| AMHERST SELECT INTERNSHIP PROGRAM Loeb Center for Career Exploration and Planning Amherst College
LOEB CENTER

2. There are four easy steps to enroll in Amherst Select:
Attend a Making Mammoth Plans workshop
Attend an Internship Prep Workshop:
Foundations of Resume Building
The Art of the Cover Letter
Mastering the Internship Interview
Have resume reviewed and approved for Handshake
Complete the Amherst Select Internship Program application

3. Have Questions about Amherst Select?
Victoria Wilson, Associate Director for Internship Programs
Marcela Murillo Robinson, Internship Coordinator

4. Types of Interviews

5. Screening Interviews Determining if you match basic qualifications
Assessing communication style, maturity, attitude and interest
Your chance to make a positive first impression
Show strong interest in position
Screening interviews can be via phone or video:
Difficult because you can’t use non-verbal cues to adjust as needed
Treat these interviews like face-to-face; full professional outfit!
Find quiet places where you can focus; eliminate all distractions
Test technology ahead of time

6. Selection/Fit Interviews – On Site
Focus is to assess suitability for the position and “fit” (alignment with culture, values, and behaviors)
Evaluating a candidates behavior, personality, and character
Testing communication style and handling stress
Could be one-on-one, a group of people (panel), or multiple people in successive order (round robin)
These can range from an hour to all day
Ask about the structure and the name(s) of the interviewer(s)
Research!
Make connections with everyone you meet
When doing round robins, keep your answers consistent
During panel interviews, engage with and build rapport with everyone; respond to the group

7. Case & Technical Interviews
Common consulting, finance, and marketing
Asked to analyze and solve a business case; types of cases and formats will vary
Assessed on problem solving skills along with structure and logic of thinking
Technical
Common in the tech field
gauging technical knowledge, how apply that knowledge in real world, and how you think
Asked to do coding assignments (preliminary test and/or in-person coding challenge)

8. Preparation

9. To prepare, research, research, and research!
Learn everything you possibly can about the company
Get a feel for the skill and qualities they value in an intern
*Hint – contact a former intern
Come up with a list of questions to ask at the end of your interview

10. Gather necessary materials & information in advance
Plan attire ahead
Have copies of resume & work samples on hand
Think through logistics
Err on the side of being conservative unless the employer explicitly tells you otherwise
Bring the most recent copy of your resume and samples of work, especially in journalism, graphic design, architecture, etc.
Test computer connections, phone reception, locate the office ahead of time, nail down transportation and parking

11. Selecting Your Outfit – Business Formal
Suit jacket & pants/skirt – Solid colors (black, navy, or dark grey)
Skirt just below or above the knee
Shirt/blouse – White or color coordinated with suit
Tie
Leather belt
Neutral-colored pantyhose
Portfolio, briefcase, or bag

12. Selecting Your Outfit – Business (Sort of) Casual
Khakis/slacks
Button-down shirts/blouses, twinsets, or sweaters
Avoid wearing polo shirts
Skirts/dresses below or at knee
Blazer
Optional tie
Closed-toed, professional shoes (not sneakers)

13. Additional Outfit Tips
HAIR & NAILS
Pick a hairstyle that is neat and won’t tempt you to play with it during an interview; trim your nails and clean; go for clear or neutral polish
SCENTS & MAKEUP
Less is more
JEWELRY
No large, clunky jewelry that’s shiny or jingles when you move
PIERCINGS & TATTOOS
Keep piercings to minimum (one earring per ear); cover tattoos if possible
CLOTHING COLOR
Pick conservative colors (i.e. blue, black, grey, and cream); no bold prints or colors
Different industries and different companies have different expectations in terms of dress and appearance
DO YOUR RESEARCH on the company culture, but, when in doubt, dress up and not down
If you don’t feel comfortable with the company’s expectations…maybe it’s not a good fit for you

14. Remember, how you say it is just as important as what you say!
Body language accounts for over 90% of your overall communication effectiveness
Make sure to have a firm handshake and strive to keep your voice calm and confident; no robotic, monotone voices
Maintain eye contact and remember to smile
No slouching, fidgeting or excessive hand movements
Actually listen to your interviewer and let their body language be your guide!
It’s okay to pause to gather your thoughts and to ask for clarification

15. The interview doesn’t end when you exit the door
Send a thank you note to everyone you interviewed – within 24 hours
If you don’t hear from the employer within the state timeframe, contact them to ask for update on candidacy
If you receive an offer, don’t accept immediately
Take into consideration how you felt about the people, organization and position during the interview before making a decision
Do not. Renege. On an. Internship! ESPECIALLY AMHERST SELECT

16. Great! But, what about IT?
You know, the questions part.

17. Before coming up with answers, think about what are employers looking for in an intern
Competency
% of Respondents
Information processing
98.7%
Teamwork
94.9%
Planning/prioritizing
89.7%
Decision-making/problem-solving
Verbal communication
88.5%
Data analysis
76.9%
Computer skills
61.5%
Job-specific technical skills/knowledge
51.3%
Written communication
30.8%
Selling/influencing
28.2%

18. Traditional Interview Questions
Close-ended questions (Y or N); hypothetical questions; personality questions
Your opportunity to demonstrate skills, interest and character
Examples:
Tell me about yourself.
What is your greatest weakness?
What is your greatest accomplishment?
Why do you think you’d like this particular internship?
What would you do if you had a disagreement with a co-worker?

19. Use the “Elevator Pitch” to answer “Tell me about yourself.”
What is it?
30-60 second, pre-planned speech that tells what you do and why someone should hire you
Targeted and customizable
Other things to know
Not a summary of resume
Practiced, but don’t memorize word-for-word
Make sure you have a “hook”

20. How do you craft one? Answer these three questions:
Major
School
Class year
Interests/ motivation
Who are you?
Skills
Accomplishments
Strengths
What do you do/have done well?
Goals
Aspirations
What do you want?

21. Elevator Pitch Example
Who are you?
I am an English major at Amherst College who is finishing up her first semester as a junior. For as long as I can remember, I have been passionate about challenging people to think differently through the power of writing.
What do you do/have done well?
I was promoted to editor-in-chief position of the Amherst Student during the fall semester. Additionally, I’ve had freelance articles published at several online publications and completed an internship during the school year with The Common, a literary magazine based in Amherst.

22. Elevator Pitch Example
What do you want?
I think that I bring drive, dedication to getting the facts right, and a fanatic’s eye towards details to any story that I’m working on. My hope is to be able to apply these skills to an internship at The Washington Post this summer and, hopefully, to a future staff writer position once I graduate.

23. Behavioral Interview Questions
Based on the premise that the best predictor of future performance is past performance
Employer knows what skills they are looking for and ask pointed questions to get you to demonstrate you have those skills through a story
Prepare by having a list of go-to experiences you can use & practice describing
Examples:
Give me an example of a situation in which you succeeded/failed.
Tell me about a recent challenge or mistake and how you handled it.
Describe a leadership role you’ve held and why you committed time to it.
Tell me how you work as part of a team.

24. Use S.T.A.R to frame your answers
SITUATION: Describe the background and context
TASK: Explain your task and responsibilities, or the challenges you had to overcome
ACTION: What action(s) did you take to handle the task or address the obstacles
RESULT: What was the outcome? What did you learn or accomplish? What impact did you have on the situation? S T A R

25. S.T.A.R. Example: “Give me an example of a situation in which you succeeded.”
I was hired as a summer intern by Safety Insurance’s Fraud Investigations and Prevention team.
Situation
Our objective was to identify fraud patterns and develop detection mechanisms.
Task

26. S.T.A.R. Example: “Give me an example of a situation in which you succeeded.”
I researched more than 500 volumes of client and health care provider records, analyzing and manipulating large amounts of data to reveal fraud patterns. Finally, I compiled information summarizing the time and resources devoted to this project and prepared a PowerPoint presentation for the General Counsel to submit to senior management.
Action
Senior management used this presentation as the basis for the development of company-wide policies that maximized company savings and recoveries.
Result

27. TO THINE OWN SELF BE TRUE

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QUESTIONS?
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