An Interviewing Experience

I participated in Mock Interview Day sponsored by Letters & Science Career Services in the fall of 2011. I call it "an experience interview."

Before we started, I asked my interviewer to be very critical about my performance. We spent about 45 minutes discussing my resume, going over specific experiences in great detail. The interviewer covered almost every section of my resume and, thus, helped me see what kind of questions each section raised.
There were several questions that I had never thought I would be asked, even given my thorough preparation. For example:
1. What is your secret for a 4.0 GPA?
2. What was your favorite class in graduate school and why?
3. What was your favorite professional experience and why?

Now, it seems obvious to me that these questions can be asked during the interview, but at that time I was preparing for other types of questions focusing on demonstration of leadership, team work, problem solving, conflict resolution, etc.

I am really grateful to my interviewer. After 10 seconds she managed to make me feel very comfortable and open up. This way, she could really see me as a potential employee.

I highly recommend Mock Interview Day to everyone. My interviewer was REAL: a vice president of Human Resources at one of the computer software companies based in Milwaukee. I believe that everyone will benefit from a real employer's advice.

Thank you Letters & Science for providing this opportunity for students.

Daria Fedyukina is a graduate student in the chemistry department at UW-Madison.

Spring Mock Interview Day
Tuesday, February 28
1:00 - 5:00 pm
Wisconsin Idea Room, Education Building
OR
Wednesday, March 7
1:00 - 5:00 pm
Wisconsin Idea Room, Education Building

Sign up on Buckynet beginning February 13!