Four Things Interviewers Look For When They Interview You
When you go into an interview as part of your Graduate School Admissions
process, you have one precious chance to make a good and lasting impression
on alumni interviewers and admissions officers. Once that chance is gone, you
can never get it back.
It isn't necessarily obvious to current applicants what interviewers look for
when they interview a prospect. Students have been focused on grades and
tests for so long that they often forget that they're dealing with human
beings who like to be treated with respect and get a firm handshake. In order
to help the current pool of applicants, I'm going outline four of the most
important things that interviewers look for when they interview you.
1. Good Eye Contact
Forget your GMAT and GPA for a minute. When you walk in the door and meet
your interviewer for the first time, you need to greet them with good, strong
eye contact. Eye contact indicates confidence and maturity in a prospective
student, and is especially important when dealing with western interviewers.
If you look at your feet too much, or shift your eyes around all over the
place when you meet with your interviewer, they will feel uncomfortable
speaking with you. You want to give your interviewer every chance possible to
feel comfortable and positive in your presence, so be sure to go in with
excellent eye contact.
2. A Firm Hand Shake
One of the worst things in the world is a bad handshake. The "wet
fish-handshake" as I like to call it, where you feel like you're gripping an
uncooked fish when you shake someone's hand.
Just like eye contact, a strong handshake communicates confidence to the
person interviewing you. Pump your hand 2 - 3 times, make sure your hand
isn't sweaty, and be firm but don't crush your interviewers hand.
3. Interviewers Want to Feel Like You'll Fit In
Interviewers need to feel like you would be a good fit for their community,
and the best way to accomplish this is to get the interviewer talking about
their community. Ask questions about the traditions and values of the school.
By asking questions about the traditions and values of the school, you give
the interviewer a strong impression that you really want to understand what
their community is all about. When they say something like "diversity is so
important in our community" you are then free to echo their words and
emphasize how important a value diversity is in your own personal life.
4. Sincerity
Interviewers have to meet with many potential candidates. So many candidates
that their head starts to swim. The vast majority of students they interview
are insincere. They don't really want to be at the school they are
interviewing for, and so the interviewer feels that their time is being
wasted. Even if the school you're interviewing for isn't your top choice, you
should always let your interviewer know that you are excited about the
prospect of attending their school in the specific city in which it is
located. Be prepared to talk about some of the advantages that the location
has to offer, and about one of the values of the school which you genuinely
respect.
If you can help an interviewer to see that you are a confident and mature
young person by using good eye contact and good handshakes, and show them
that you are genuinely interested in their school, they will walk away from
an interview with you feeling confident you will fit in well in their
community.
If you are in the process of applying for Graduate Schools or MBA Programs
and would like help thinking about how to ace your interview, I"ll be
offering a course called Interview Mastery which you can contact me, David,
for details on at [email protected].
--
Transcend Admissions Consultants
--
When you go into an interview as part of your Graduate School Admissions
process, you have one precious chance to make a good and lasting impression
on alumni interviewers and admissions officers. Once that chance is gone, you
can never get it back.
It isn't necessarily obvious to current applicants what interviewers look for
when they interview a prospect. Students have been focused on grades and
tests for so long that they often forget that they're dealing with human
beings who like to be treated with respect and get a firm handshake. In order
to help the current pool of applicants, I'm going outline four of the most
important things that interviewers look for when they interview you.
1. Good Eye Contact
Forget your GMAT and GPA for a minute. When you walk in the door and meet
your interviewer for the first time, you need to greet them with good, strong
eye contact. Eye contact indicates confidence and maturity in a prospective
student, and is especially important when dealing with western interviewers.
If you look at your feet too much, or shift your eyes around all over the
place when you meet with your interviewer, they will feel uncomfortable
speaking with you. You want to give your interviewer every chance possible to
feel comfortable and positive in your presence, so be sure to go in with
excellent eye contact.
2. A Firm Hand Shake
One of the worst things in the world is a bad handshake. The "wet
fish-handshake" as I like to call it, where you feel like you're gripping an
uncooked fish when you shake someone's hand.
Just like eye contact, a strong handshake communicates confidence to the
person interviewing you. Pump your hand 2 - 3 times, make sure your hand
isn't sweaty, and be firm but don't crush your interviewers hand.
3. Interviewers Want to Feel Like You'll Fit In
Interviewers need to feel like you would be a good fit for their community,
and the best way to accomplish this is to get the interviewer talking about
their community. Ask questions about the traditions and values of the school.
By asking questions about the traditions and values of the school, you give
the interviewer a strong impression that you really want to understand what
their community is all about. When they say something like "diversity is so
important in our community" you are then free to echo their words and
emphasize how important a value diversity is in your own personal life.
4. Sincerity
Interviewers have to meet with many potential candidates. So many candidates
that their head starts to swim. The vast majority of students they interview
are insincere. They don't really want to be at the school they are
interviewing for, and so the interviewer feels that their time is being
wasted. Even if the school you're interviewing for isn't your top choice, you
should always let your interviewer know that you are excited about the
prospect of attending their school in the specific city in which it is
located. Be prepared to talk about some of the advantages that the location
has to offer, and about one of the values of the school which you genuinely
respect.
If you can help an interviewer to see that you are a confident and mature
young person by using good eye contact and good handshakes, and show them
that you are genuinely interested in their school, they will walk away from
an interview with you feeling confident you will fit in well in their
community.
If you are in the process of applying for Graduate Schools or MBA Programs
and would like help thinking about how to ace your interview, I"ll be
offering a course called Interview Mastery which you can contact me, David,
for details on at [email protected].
--
Transcend Admissions Consultants
--
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