Interviews are an opportunity to reveal who you are, but also a space for companies to reveal who they are and what they value. I think you should approach an interview like a first date. While I don’t date, I would imagine that the same principles such as: leave a lasting remark, never address controversial topics, leave things to be desired, be authentic. You want to show that you can add value, for some that by showing you can an analytical side and by showing that you  add cultural and workplace value.

I love interviews. For me interviews have always been a way for me to test my emotional intelligence. Interviews are my chance to challenge myself is tailoring my skills and experiences to organizations or missions that I find intriguing.

I think the key to doing well at interviews is knowing what interviewees want you to say/think. If you know that your interviewer wants excitement, then look for ways to incorporate that. If your future employer or organization values creativity and innovation, look to highlight stories and experiences that speak to those experiences.

Similarly, if you know the guy or girl you are seeing for dinner appreciates a love for arts, then you should cater your conversation to topics of creativity, reflection and artistic qualities. And the best interviewees will look for ways to connect the arts or artistic skills into the passions they do. For example, someone could easily make the case the football is an art that takes training and practice but at the end of the day requires you to see the field as a canvas with many “plays” display for an audience to enjoy.

In the discussion, I think that there were varying points on how to prepare for interviews. It’s a time to be reflective and for me, the reflective piece comes prior. And an interview is a time to preform. Its about striking the right balance between prepared and authentic. I spend a remarkable amount of time prepping for interviews (unfortunately, its typically the night of). But because of the amount of time I’ve spent prepping for interviews, I know how easy it is to fall into a script. That’s why its important to leave room for spontaneity and authenticity. I agreed with the majority of the people in the room that you don’t want to come off as formulaic, and over preparation and memorization can contribute to that. But for me that has never been the case.  A technique I use are to prevent this from happening is recording my elevator pitch and responses to typically asked questions and building excited into my pre-scripted remarks. This is what makes the difference between a quality and a mediocre interviewer.

Like I mentioned before, I don’t really date. I don’t think Cornell dating culture encourages typically dates but if I ever do I hope that I can incorporate so of these interviewing techniques to stimulate conversation and learn more about the other person.