Your first post-grad interview can be challenging. You might not know what to expect or how to make a positive impression.
Understanding how to prepare, what to say, and the mistakes to avoid helps you advance in the interview process. The following dos and don’ts can help.
Preparing For Your First Post-Grad Interview
Dos for Your First Post-Grad Interview
The following help you stand out during an interview:
- Understand the job description: Ensure you have most of the job qualifications, fit the company’s culture, and would enjoy the work.
- Research the company: Use the company’s website, social media pages, and an online search to learn about the organization’s history, mission, vision, values, products or services, work environment, latest news, competitors, and related information. Also, read employer review sites to determine what employees like and dislike about working for the company.
- Consider your contributions: Determine how your knowledge and skills could positively impact the organization. Show why you are the best candidate.
- Practice answering interview questions: Focus on your career goals, problem-solving abilities, why you want to work for the company, and other relevant details. Include examples and stories to demonstrate your job qualifications.
- Dress appropriately: A blouse or button-down shirt, skirt or dress pants, and a blazer provide a professional appearance.
- Map your route: Determine when to leave for your interview and how to get there. Take a practice run at your interview time days in advance to see what traffic might be like. Adjust your plan accordingly.
- Allow adequate travel time: Leave 15 minutes earlier than needed to navigate potential traffic issues.
- Bring copies of your resume: Show you are prepared and want the interviewers to understand your qualifications.
- Ask the interviewers questions: Demonstrate engagement in the conversation and interest in the role.
- Express gratitude: Thank the interviewers for their time and consideration. Email a follow-up note restating your interest in the role.
Don’ts for Your First Post-Grad Interview
Avoid the following during an interview to help you advance to the next step:
- Arriving unprepared: A lack of preparation suggests you do not care or are not serious about the role.
- Forgetting to smile and make eye contact: Suggesting disinterest in the conversation hinders the odds of advancement in the hiring process.
- Answering without considering your response: You likely will miss essential information that could help you move to the next step.
- Providing long interview answers: Including nonessential details extends the interview beyond the given time and disrupts the interviewers’ schedules.
- Overselling yourself: Sounding overly confident about your knowledge and skills implies you are not a team player.
- Being dishonest: Uncovering discrepancies in the information you share will remove you from the candidate pool and impact your professional reputation.
Get Help Preparing for Your First Post-Grad Interview
Element Staffing can help you prepare for interviews and connect you with your first big scientific or technical job opportunity. Visit our job board to apply for a role today.
