Interviewing in the U.S. can be challenging for international students as American communication style and interviewing etiquette may differ significantly from that of their home country.
In this article, ZoomInterviews will provide a number of useful tips which can be instrumental in acing an interview with a U.S. based business school or organization.
Sell yourself. While in some cultures selling yourself is not welcomed, in the U.S., self-marketing is an integral part of the interviewing process. During the interview, you are expected to be aware of your “brand” and sell yourself effectively. This does not mean, however, that you should be arrogant or oversell your strengths. It is important to convince the interviewer that you are the best candidate for the school or job and support your statements with clear and concise descriptions of your strengths and significant achievements. The interview provides an excellent opportunity to test your selling skills and you should leverage the opportunity to sell the product that you know best – yourself.
Discussion of your goals, strengths and weaknesses is expected. You should not be embarrassed to discuss these topics openly. When you discuss your weaknesses, however, don’t mention anything that can be a deal breaker for your application. When you discuss failures, explain what you learned from these situations and why you will not fail in the same task again. Your judgment about the selection of situations you describe is as important as the content of your answer.
Provide examples. General statements regarding your strengths and achievements will not be sufficient and you will need to support them with examples. For instance, if you state that you are a creative person provide examples that support this strength, such as: I am a creative person. In the last three years I filed three patents, two of which were approved by the US Patent and Trademark Office.
Be structured and concise. While interview style may be conversational, you are still expected to express yourself in a structured and concise way. Structure your answers with logical sequence and avoid rambling or too informal of a tone.
Describing your work experience provides a point of reference. Mention the size of your company and other distinctive characteristics it has. For example, you can say that your company has $3B in sales and offices in 20 countries. It is a leading provider of XYZ services in your home country and is well recognized for its technological leadership. Not mentioning these details may make your answers seem out of context.
Have a firm handshake and good eye contact with the interviewer, but don’t stare. U.S. interviewers are quite sensitive to your manners and your ability to behave according to U.S. corporate etiquette. Good eye contact is an important criterion according to which you will be evaluated.
Be aware of “small talk” practice. In the U.S., an interviewer will rarely start with a question right off the bat. Most likely, the interviewer will spend a couple of minutes at the start of the interview on more general discussion about your travel, weather, specifics of your home country, etc. The goal is to put you at ease and open the door for more constructive dialog. Be prepared for this general chat and don’t complain about anything in this part of the interview. Complaints about difficult travel, bad weather, or problems in your home country will immediately turn a red light that you are the type of person who will continuously complain at school or work.
Know the organization you are interviewing with. If you have not done your homework and don’t know basic facts regarding a school or an organization you are interviewing with, you will create an impression that you are not serious about your application or don’t work hard enough to achieve your goals.
In the end of the interview ask two or three intelligent question. The best questions show that you did some research regarding the organization you are interviewing with but are not so challenging that the interviewer will not know the answer herself.
Don’t ask for feedback at the end of the interview. This question will put the interviewer in an awkward situation. It’s ok, however, to ask what the next steps are and when you can expect results. Reiterate your interest and say good bye.
Write a short thank you note after the interview. State that you enjoyed the conversation, mention a couple of specific points which were especially interesting to you and reiterate your interest. The thank you note will demonstrate that your interaction with the interviewer was positive and that you are still interested in continuing with the application process after the interview.
Good luck with your interviews!
