In the last post, we shared the first half of our interview with a close friend that happens to be a hiring manager and long time career fair representative. She has attended innumerable career fairs throughout her professional life in association with companies, large and small. Her candid comments on what she typically looks for, avoids and asks have provided valuable insight thus far, so now we continue, intent on extracting every piece of useful advice she has to offer. Some of you might find the last question particularly relevant… (more…)

As career fair season approaches, college students everywhere are stricken with nervousness about what to expect at these massive impersonal functions, full of ten-second introductions and snap judgments. So where do we look for answers? Our friends, family, and campus career counselors may all chime in with advice of their own, but we at Majoring in Careers have decided to go to the source. Where better to find out about what a career fair representative is looking for than the representative herself? In this spirit, I sat down with a hiring manager I know personally that happens to have attended innumerable career fairs for several different companies and knows a thing or two about the process. Here’s what she had to say: (more…)

For most of us college students out there on the job hunt, the level of nervousness prior to an interview is matched by very few events in our academic lives. It’s on par with final exams and formal presentations, but there is one key difference - you can’t study. All of your life, you have been able to directly affect your performance in important moments like these by preparing more thoroughly than the next guy, but with interviewing, the safeguard of knowing what you’re going to be asked about is gone.

You can try to look online for a list of specific interview questions the company typically asks, but I have tried this multiple times and trust me, it doesn’t work. Instead of trying to find every question you might be asked and come up with answers, I recommend devising one answer for all the questions you could be asked. It’s easier, and if done right, more reliable.

I am referring, of course, to the universal story. The majority of the questions college students are asked during a first interview are situational, i.e. they ask about a time that you’ve encountered this, or dealt with that. Naturally, your answer to a question about a situation will be a story, and the beautiful thing about stories is that you’ve spent the last 20 years of your life mastering the art of crafting and molding them to fit your needs. (more…)