During the Interview Tips

Be Yourself

Relax and let your personality show while remaining in the bounds of professional behavior.
Try to exhibit an attitude of respect and self-confidence without appearing fearful or conceited.
Be friendly, warm, genuinely interested and enthusiastic.

Be Positive

Refrain from saying anything negative about past experiences, employers, courses or professors. Instead figure out what was positive about an experience and focus on that.
Be "up" about yourself, and if you are genuinely interested in the position, let the employer know.

Be conscious of your body language and posture

Try to sit forward, facing the interviewer, straight in your chair, but without adopting an "unnatural" style.
Be aware of nervous tendencies.
In general, avoid any mannerisms that indicate tension or nervousness.

Be aware of slang/sloppy speech

Practice speaking without using common slang such as "umm", "uh", "like", "you know", etc.
Participating in a taped, mock interview gives you a wonderful opportunity to become aware of any use of slang or sloppy speech.

Listen attentively

Ask for clarification if you don't understand a point or a question.
Employ active listening skills such as paraphrasing, summarizing, head nods and smiling to show you are listening.

Answer questions directly and concisely

Use specific examples whenever possible and try to balance these examples from various areas of your life experiences.
Avoid both one word responses and long, rambling explanations.

Maintain eye contact

Look directly at the interviewer when he or she is addressing you and when you are addressing him or her.
If there are two or more interviewers, direct your comments to all and establish eye contact individually.

Avoid discussion of salary and salary negotiation

Issues of compensation should not be brought up by the interviewee during the first interview.
If it is brought up by the interviewer, you should try to determine what their anticipated salary range will be.
If your expected salary is within that range you can simply say that the range seems appropriate.

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