Interview Preparation

The most important part of the interview process is to prepare. No matter how competent you feel you may be during an interview, you can always do better! Your competition will be prepared for their interviews so in order to stand out from the rest, you need to do your homework.

Learn to market yourself

The focus of the interview is you, so you should be able to clearly articulate your skills, interests, abilities, and goals.

• Review the job description and think about how your skills and experience match the qualifications sought by the employer.
• Be ready to expand on everything listed in your resume or cover letter.
• Prepare concrete examples of tasks, responsibilities, or experiences that demonstrate transferable skills.

Research the organization

Learning more about the organization is your chance to decide whether or not the position is a good fit for you.

• Read about the organization’s history, mission, programming, products, geographic locations, clientele, and plans for growth. See the Conducting Employer Research handout for more information.
• Prepare a list of questions that demonstrate your interest in the company or position and also what you have already learned from your research that led to additional questions. There is a list of sample questions later in this guide.

Practice!

• Practice reciting answers to questions outlined in this guide with a friend, in front of a mirror, or into a tape recorder.
• Use the STAR technique (later in this guide) to keep your answers short and to the point.
• Schedule a mock interview at the Loeb Center to practice in a more realistic situation and receive feedback prior to the interview.

In addition to using AI to scan submitted application materials, many employers utilize AI to analyze the performance of candidates during the interview process.  At some point during a future job or internship search, you may be asked to complete a virtual, pre-recorded interview.  This type of interview requires you to record your responses to a list of questions pre-selected by an employer.  Unlike an interview conducted via video conferencing software like Zoom, you don’t interact with a human in real-time.  Some employers utilize interview platforms that deploy bots to ask candidates questions.  

In addition to the strategies listed above, the best way to prepare for video interviews is to practice on platforms like Big Interview.  Big Interview allows you to improve your interviewing technique by providing AI-generated feedback on mock interviews you record and save.  Feedback includes rating your answers on a series of criteria (i.e., the pace of your speech, the number of filler words you use, and the strength of your vocabulary) and tips on improving.  All Amherst students can set up a Big Interview account for free.  You can learn more about how to use Big Interview, including its AI-feedback feature, by reading this user guide.  

Chatbots like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini can generate a list of potential interview questions to practice on your own, give suggestions about how to answer questions, and provide feedback on potential interview responses you have drafted.  Consider any responses generated by AI platforms as starting points only as you think about how you might answer interview questions.   As you would with your job and internship application materials, you should review AI interview suggestions for accuracy, tone, vocabulary, and syntax.  Remember that when practicing answering interview questions, the goal is not to memorize an answer word-for-word but to feel comfortable enough with the structure of a strong response to not rely on notes.

TRY THESE SAMPLE PROMPTS:

• Please give me ten possible interview questions and sample responses for each based on this job description:[INSERT JOB DESCRIPTION].  
• I am interviewing for an open [NAME OF JOB] position at [NAME OF COMPANY/ORGANIZATION].  Here is the job description for the position: [INSERT JOB DESCRIPTION].   Act as the interviewer for the position and ask me interview questions one at a time.  Give me feedback on my response before asking the next question.
• Can you provide me with a sample response to the question, “[INTERVIEW QUESTION],” that uses the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, and Result) method?
• I have an interview with [NAME OF COMPANY/ORGANIZATION].  Can you share some of their recent accomplishments and news, along with insights into their culture and values, that I can mention during my interview?
• I am interviewing for this position: [INSERT JOB DESCRIPTION].  What skills and experiences should I highlight in my interview?
• Please provide me with an example of a thank you email I can send as a follow-up to my interview.