Speak clearly and enthusiastically about your experiences and skills.

Be professional, but don't be afraid to let your personality shine through. Be yourself. Don't be afraid of short pauses. You may need a few seconds to formulate an answer. Be positive. Employers do not want to hear a litany of excuses or bad feelings about a negative experience. If you are asked about a low grade, a sudden job change, or a weakness in your background, don't be defensive. Focus instead on the facts (briefly) and what you learned from the experience. Be prepared to market your skills and experiences as they relate to the job described. Work at positioning yourself in the mind of the employer as a person with a particular set of skills and attributes. Employers have problems that need to be solved by employees with particular skills; work to describe your qualifications appropriately. Research information about the company before the interview. Some important information to look for includes what activities are carried out by the employer, how financially stable the employer is, and what types of jobs exist with the employer. Researching an employer during the job search can help determine more about that organization and your potential place in it. Know how you can help the company and prepare questions to ask the interviewer about the company. Arrive early for the interview. Plan to arrive for your interview 10-15 minutes before the appointed time. Arriving too early confuses the employer and creates an awkward situation. By the same token, arriving late creates a bad first impression. Ask for directions when making arrangements for the interview. Carry a portfolio, notepad or at the very least, a manila file folder labeled with the employer's name. Bring extra resumes and a list of questions you need answered. You may refer to your list of questions to be sure you've gathered the information you need to make a decision. Do not be preoccupied with taking notes during the interview. In many career fields, the lunch or dinner included during the interview day encompasses not only employer hospitality, but also a significant part of the interview process. Brush up on your etiquette and carry your share of the conversation during the meal. Often social skills are part of the hiring decision. After the interview, take time to write down the names and titles (check spelling) of all your interviewers, your impressions, remaining questions and information learned. If you are interviewing regularly, this process will help you keep employers and circumstances clearly defined. Follow up the interview with a thank-you letter. Employers regard this gesture as evidence of your attention to detail, as well as an indication of your interest in the position.
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Do not be passive and do not answer questions in monosyllables. Never be afraid to say, I don't know" or "I hadn't thought about the question in that way." Always try to tell a story which includes why you chose a course or activity and your contribution to the group. Emphasize the positive viewpoint and never apologize for your major. You have learned to think, to communicate, to analyze problems, and pose solutions. Talk about any special

knowledge you have gained from your course work and other activities or summer experiences. Interviewers want to know how you make decisions, why you picked Williams, your major, or certain activities; how you think and the analysis you follow to solve problems; how you perform in certain situations; or how you deal with frustration. An interviewer should not ask you questions that are not job related. Legislation exists to discourage discrimination making it illegal to ask about age; social, religious or political preferences; national origin; ethnic background; sexual orientation; or arrest record. If you are asked a difficult and possibly illegal question, try to avoid a direct answer. Be sure to mention any possibly illegal questions to one of the OCC staff immediately after your interview. The interviewer will usually leave time at the end for you to ask questions. Do not ask questions which are answered in the recruiting material; however, you may ask for a more complete explanation of some statement contained in the publication. Your questions should reflect an understanding of the industry or organization. Before you ask your first question, you may want to mention points that weren't covered in the interview. "Yes, I do have some questions, but first I would like to talk about" Salary is usually not discussed until the on-site interview or when an offer is made. If the interviewer does ask you, you can respond with a question about the salary range for that job or suggest that salary is only one of the factors you will consider when making the decision about which offer to accept. Before you leave the interview, be sure you understand the next step in the process. The interviewer will tell you when you might expect to hear from the employer, if the second interview will be on the telephone, or if you will be asked to provide additional information. Do not ask the interviewer how well you did - you will probably know, and such a question puts the interviewer in a very awkward position. Always send a thank-you letter if the interview was at the employer's location. The question of whether or not to send a thank-you after an on-campus interview is debatable. However, if you have a reason for writing, do so within 24 hours of the interview and an e-mail to a recruiter is usually acceptable.