The document provides guidance on preparing for and conducting oneself during a job interview. It discusses researching the employer and position, proper interview attire, common interview questions and how to answer them, following up after the interview, and reasons interviews may result in rejection. Key tips include dressing professionally, having researched questions prepared, focusing answers on one's relevant skills and experience, asking for the next steps, and always sending a thank you letter after an interview. The document aims to help candidates make a positive first impression and demonstrate they are the best fit for the role.

1. Cara Valentine
Career Development Center
SUNY Buffalo State
valentc01@buffalostate.edu

2. Class Year?
Major?
Career?
Interviewed before? How did it go?

3. What is an interview?
Well-prepared formal meeting in which one or more hiring manager(s)
question, consult or evaluate your knowledge, skills, experience, attitudes and
abilities.

4. Purpose of an Interview?
 Move forward in the hiring process!
 Get the JOB!!
 Demonstrate your knowledge:
 Organization
 The job itself
 What you can offer them
 Show your professionalism
 Opportunity to make a POSITIVE PROFESSIONAL first impression with a
potential employer!!!!

5. Preparing for Interview:
Research, Research, RESEARCH!!!
Position Organization
• Position
description, duties, salary
range, minimum
requirements/qualifications.
• Deadline for application and
start date.
• Geographic location of the
position.
• Who will be interviewing you.
 Website, LinkedIn, Google!
 Products or services of the organization.
 Other employees employed.
 Age of organization, history and its mission
statement.
 Current problems, competitors, trends and
anything in the news.
 Parent company and any other divisions.
 Location(s) of the organization.

6. Preparing for Interview:
What do I bring to the
table…
Verifying Interview
• Strengths and weakness
• Personality characteristics
• Relevant skills you have
• Experience, training and
previous activities
• Contacts!!
• Screen calls
• Exact interview date & time
• Location, parking, what
entrance
• Names of interviewer(s)
• Map out time/consider traffic
during that time of the day

7. Proper Interview Attire
 Wear a suite to every interview!
 Dress for the job you want, not for the one you have!
Men should wear:
• Navy, gray or black suit
• Solid white or blue button down shirt
• Conservative tie
• Shined dress shoes
Women should wear:
• Navy, gray or black pant or skirt suit
• Unpattern blouse with conservative neckline
• Basic dark closed toe heels (no higher than 2”)
• Neutral sheer hosiery
• Minimal amount of make-up

8. What NOT to Wear
 Semi- Formal
NO JEANS, NO SHORT SKIRTS, NO VESTS!!

9. What NOT to Wear continued…
Quick Tip:
Always err on the conservative side with your
clothing and accessories! Remember what
your clothes say about you… now is not the
time to make a statement about your fashion
preferences!

10. Types of Interviews
Telephone What you need to know…
• Typically, but not always, the first interview (pre-
screening candidates)
• Free of interruptions and distractions.
• Eliminate background noises such as
children, dogs, cell phones, television, etc.
• Have a copy of the version of the resume sent to the
interviewer.
• Have a note pad and pen.
• Have a minimum of 5 questions you’ll want to ask
the interviewer.
• Treat the phone interview as seriously as a face-to-
face interview!!
• Dress up- at least a little.
• Talk directly into the mouthpiece & sound upbeat!

11. Types of Interviews
Face-to-Face, One-on-One What you need to know…
 Firm handshake and eye contact
 Bring at least two copies of your
resume
 Dress professionally
 Bring note pad and pen
 Have questions prepared

12. Types of Interviews
Face-to-Face, Group What you need to know…
 Firm handshake and eye contact
with everyone
 Bring multiple copies of your
resume
 Dress professionally
 Bring note pad and pen
 Record the names and titles of
interviewers
 Have questions prepared

13. Types of Interviews
Skype What you need to know…
 Treat like a face-to-face
interview!
 Dress as though you were in a
face-to-face interview (even the
bottom half).
 Quiet space without
distractions.
 Test the equipment to avoid
technical problems

14. During the Interview:
What to expect
 Introduction
 Small talk
 Create rapport
 Ease nerves
 Shake hiring manager(s) hand
 Settle into space (Pull out leather bound notebook, resume and any other additional
material needed)
 Background analysis
 Often starts with the “Tell me about yourself” questions
 Assessing your attitude, self-confidence, ability to communicate
 How you handle yourself professionally
 Matching candidate to position
 Hiring manager will match your background with their needs
 Move toward deciding whether or not you the type of candidate they are looking for
 Closing
 Ask questions/clarifications

15. Top 5 Interview Questions
 Tell me about yourself.
 Where do you see your career in the future?
 What do you consider to be your greatest strengths?
 What do you consider to be your greatest weakness?
 Why should I/we hire you?

16. Tell me about yourself
 2-3 minute response
 Overview of your education
and professional career
 Reflect on:
 Where you came from
 Education
 How you picked your field
 Where you are now
 Current employment
 Current organization
 Where you strive to be
 What you want to do in 5-10
years (Be careful here!!)
Well, to start off I was born and raised in Upstate New York about an
hour North of Watertown. I graduated from a very small public High
School and was one of twenty-two students in my graduating class.
From there I completed my undergraduate work at St. Lawrence
University where I obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree in
Mathematics and Statistics. After graduating in 2010, I got accepted
and had plans to attend American University to obtain my Master’s
Degree in Statistics. However, I struggled with committing to that
decision both intellectually and financially so I decided to step into
the working world instead of continuing my education.
A few months later I landed a job at MRI Network in Ogdensburg,
New York. I was hired as an Account Executive which meant I ran my
own desk recruiting sales and marketing professionals nationally in
the medical device and pharmaceutical industries. I learned a lot
about managing my “own business” as well as interviewing, hiring
and working with a variety of different people. I was employed there
for roughly 18 months and ultimately decided to make a change
because I did not enjoy sales and the culture of sales.
Through the positive experiences I had at St. Lawrence and as a
recruiter, I decided to seek a profession that combined the two:
Student Affairs. I began to research and apply to different Higher Ed
MS programs in the greater Buffalo area. Ultimately, I decided on
Buffalo State College due to the Graduate Assistance I was offered at
the Career Development Center. I am currently employed there full-
time while completing my graduate degree, also full time. I aspire to
be a career counselor at a college or university.
I also have an invested interest in developing relationships with
employers and an open to the opportunity to gain further experience
doing that in the Higher Education industry.

17. Deeper meaning: How ambitious and committed are you, can you plan ahead, is this career path a good fit for you, is this employer
right for you?
How to answer:
Don’t be presumptuous or over-confident: the future can change.
Stay away from “I’m not really sure” or “I don’t know.”
Avoid personal life, but talk about professional goals if they will impact your career (obtaining a Masters).
Be realistic and practical; you don’t need to be too honest but be genuine.
Reflect on:
what you imagine doing in this position and in this career.
Right now I’m focused on getting as much experience as I can in career services, networking with other professionals in the
industry and helping the students I work with to the best of my ability. Once I’ve obtained my Master’s Degree my ultimate
goal is to received a full-time professional position in Student Affairs at a college or university, preferably in career services
with a focus on Employer Relations.

18. Deeper meaning: Are you honest, passionate, enthusiastic and able to prioritize? Are you confident?
Focus on:
What sets you apart from others
What enabled you to succeed in the past
How you will be an asset to the employer
I believe my greatest strength is my ability to build both strong and positive relationships with others. I
pride myself on being reliable, honest and knowledgeable. By being that way, I’ve found that I can gain
respect and trust fairly quickly from others which has allowed me to connect, build and keep relationships
with students and employers.

19. Deeper Meaning: Everyone has something they are working on. If we hire you, what can we do to help you grow?
Do you have a weakness that would flagrantly go against our mission?
Focus on:
What you know about yourself that you are improving upon.
Don’t try to evade the question; try to turn a negative into a positive.
Avoid using generic responses like: “I’m a perfectionist” or “I’m a workaholic”.
My greatest weakness is that I tend to judge and form an opinion on a situation too quickly.
Although often times my intuition can be useful when I’m initially working with students, co-
workers, or other professionals, sometimes I have to force myself to let go of preconceived
notions/opinions to fully have a positive relationship with said person.

20. Deeper meaning: We have over 40, 50, 100, 400 etc applicants for this position. What makes you the best
fit for our needs here?
Focus on:
Your opinion of why you’re the best fit.
Matching the employer’s needs with concrete examples of your skills and accomplishments.
Be positive and re-emphasis what you spoke about earlier.
I am confident that I would make a great fit for the career services internship at University at
Buffalo. Given my experiences as a recruiter and a graduate counselor at Buffalo State’s career
center, I offer both a unique and qualified background that would only aid in my success in this
position. Most importantly, I am open to learning more about the services your office offers
students and applying your practices to my future career.
See handout
for more
questions!!

21. Behavior Based Interview Questions-
STAR
 The Situation
 Choose a specific situation, which YOU have directly been
involved with, not generalized examples
 Bad answers: Often times I…, A few times I did…,
 The Task
 Explain briefly the task(s) associated with the situation
 The Action
 Describe the action you took to meet, overcome, resolve or
complete the task(s)
 The Results
 Describe the result of your efforts, positive or negative
These question are designed to elicit patterns of accomplishments relevant to the hiring managers situation. They are based
on the belief that past performance is a good predictor of how that person will behave in similar situations in the future.

22. Behavior Based Example Questions
 Give an example of when you were faced with a challenge and were able to
overcome it?
 Give an example of when you needed to improve a process, how did you go
about doing that?
 Give an example when you worked as part of a team, what role did you take?
 Give an example when you had a conflict with a peer, co-worker or a supervisor,
how did you handle it?
 Tell me about a setting when you had to learn something new in a short time.
 What do you like most/least about your current job?
 Explain a time where you you’ve had to deal with a disappointment?
 Give an example of a time you had to be flexible?
 Give an example when your persistence paid off?
 Have you ever had to make an unpopular decision/announcement? Describe it
and tell me how you handled it?

23. Behavior Based Questions
Education Majors
 Describe your teaching style and beliefs and tell us how you
have implemented this in the classroom?
 What steps have you taken prior to parent-teacher
conference to ensure its success?
 What strategies do you use to improve skills of students
who are far below grade level?
 Describe the process you have used in dealing with a
student who was disruptive?
 Describe your experiences working with a diverse student
body.
 Tell me about a specific lesson plan or situation that did
not go the way you anticipated?

24. Candidate Questions
 Why is this position open?
 Do you have a history of promoting from within?
 What keeps you at “ABC Company”?
 What would my specific duties and responsibilities be in
this role? (Appropriate if company gives you vague JD)
 Describe a typical day on the job.
 What is training and development like here?
 What are example of the best results produced by people in
this job?
 What is your management style?

25. CLOSING!!!
1) Let them know you have interest in the position!!
2) Ask them if there is anything YOU should explain
further!
3) Ask them for the next step
 Mr. Hiring Manger, I am very interest in moving forward in your interview process, is there any
additional information that I can provide to you to make you feel comfortable recommending
me for the next step?
 Ms. Hiring Manager, I am excited about your company and the opportunity we discussed today.
Have I answered all of your questions clearly enough? How do you see someone like me fitting
into your organization?
 HR Manager, This opportunity sound like a great mutual fit and I would like to be considered as
a candidate for the next step in the process. When should I expect to hear back from you?

26. Reasons for Rejection Following an
Interview Poor Attitude
 Appearance
 Lack of research
 Not having questions to ask
 Asking questions you could have easily researched
 Not readily knowing the answers to interviewers’ questions
 Relying solely on resume (Employers hire people- not paper!)
 Too much humility- Its okay to sell yourself
 Not relating skills to employers’ needs
 Handling salary issues ineptly
 Lack of career direction- “Job Hunter”
 Not having a hard enough close
 There was a better candidate

27. During the Interview: DO NOT’s
 No smoking prior
 No chewing gum
 No cell phones (turn off)
 Talk negatively about organizations, managers, co-
workers, etc.
 Discuss salary unless brought up first

28. How to Handle Salary
 Salary discussion should be avoided, if possible.
 Research the position to get an understanding of the salary range!!
 Occupational Handbook
 Simply Hired
 ORCA/Nacelink
 DO NOT be the one to bring up salary, benefits or vacation time
 What if they ask your current salary?
 Best advice: Answer truthfully!!!
 What if they ask for your desired salary in the first interview?
 “I am looking for the right opportunity and I am confident that if you find that I am the best candidate for this position,
you will extend me your best and most fair offer.”
 “ With respect Mr./Ms. Hiring Manager, it seems too early in the process for me to answer that question. If it is alright
with you I’d like to get a better understanding of the position available, the culture of your organization and the type of
candidate you are seeking. If at that point this is a mutual fit, I’d be more comfortable discussing salary and benefits with
you.”
 Salary negotiations are discussed often discussed in final interview or when offer is presented to candidate!!
 That may mean walking away from a job offer!

29. Follow Up Thank You Letter
ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS send a thank you letter
after every interview!
Sample Letter

30. Interviewing?
Job Search?
Follow Up?
Resume/Cover Letter?
Miscellaneous?
Cara Valentine
valentc01@buffalostate.edu