Page 81 - Carlson School GBCC Career Guide

Stages of the Interview Process (continued)
by multiple people over the course of several hours. Feel free
to ask what the agenda will be ahead of time. If you interviewed with Human Resources on-campus, be prepared to interview with hiring managers, executives, and other leaders who work
in the particular functional area during the second interview. Keep in mind that the people you will interview with haven't met you yet so you still need to impress them with your story. The questions these people ask may be more technical, and may be more or less structured in format. You may be asked very similar questions during each of these interviews. Don't worry about repeating your answers, as the second interviewer is hearing your answers for the first time. Some companies may even ask you to take an assessment of some kind (e.g., personality test, critical thinking, numerical or verbal reasoning) as part of the process.
Many companies will fly candidates out to their headquarters the evening before the second round interviews and host a dinner or cocktail reception. Keep in mind that this is still technically part
of the interview process, so be sure to make a strong impression during these social events. Make an effort to interact with as many people from the company as possible; however, you should also make it a point to interact with other candidates who have been brought in for second round interviews as well. As with any interview, you will want to make sure that you have conducted thorough research into the company so that you can speak to why you feel that the company and position are a good fit for you.
Resources for Preparing for Interviews
The GBCC offers a number of resources as you prepare for interviews with companies during your job or internship search.
Interview Stream
Interview Stream is a tool that allows you to practice your interviewing skills on your own with the use of a computer and
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a webcam. The system enables you to select from a number of different types of interviews (e.g., Consulting, Finance, General Management), or allows you to customize an interview by selecting from various interview questions.
Small Group Interview Practice
Small group interview practice sessions are a great way to practice your responses to behavioral interview questions. Trained facilitators work with students in small groups (limited
to no more than three students per session) and ask randomly selected behavioral interview questions to participants. Real time feedback is delivered in order to help you refine your skills in a comfortable setting.
Mock Interviews
The GBCC offers mock interviews that give you the opportunity to conduct a practice interview one-on-one with a career coach and receive immediate feedback on your interviewing skills. Before scheduling a mock interview, we recommend that you participate in at least one small group interview practice session in order to receive initial feedback.
“ I participated in the mock interview event and interviewed students at both the mock event as well as during on-campus interviews. The improvement that the candidates made from the mock event to the actual interview was astonishing. Students who took the time to participate in a mock interview and practice their skills were clearly identifiable and performed much better in their interviews. ”
– Recruiter, Pepsi
Case Interview Preparation
If you do not have experience with case interviewing, you are encouraged to familiarize yourself with the concept. There are many resources that can help you get prepared, including some online sites that include interactive practice cases, on the GBCC site.
The GBCC Resource Library also has a number of resources available for you to check out:
Crack the Case, by David Ohrvall Case in Point, by Marc Cosentino Vault Guide to the Case Interview
• You should consider dinners, lunches, tours of the area, and other events as part of the interview process. The company representatives are constantly observing and evaluating you just as you are evaluating your fit with them. Don’t let your guard down even if an event is positioned as a casual “get to know you” gathering.
• Most companies will communicate their timeline for making a decision at the end of the interview, but you should ask if they do not. This will allow you to more effectively manage the interview process with other companies.
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