Her Career: Nailing the Interview from the First Moment

One of the first posts I did was about how to get noticed and getting your foot in the door. But that is only half the battle. Say you have done all the right things and you now have an interview with your dream company for an internship or job. An an interview is one of the scariest things you will do in college. No one likes being interrogated and judged while sitting in an uncomfortable blazer. But getting good at interviews is like getting good at anything else, practice, practice practice. Ten days ago I completed my 21st interview and it still is just as nerve-racking as the first time I did it. There is no one way to do a perfect interview because every company is looking for something different in a candidate. There are, however do's and don'ts of any interview process. Let's start with some don'ts:

Only do the stuff in the video above if living on your parents' sofa for the rest of your life is a major aspiration.

At the case of it all interviews aren't that hard. The best way to think about it is to recognize that your main job is not impress them, but to be yourself and show them how awesome you are. But here are few tips to make sure you are being your most awesomeness right from the beginning:

The interview starts from the moment you walk through the door

A lot of people think they don't have put on their professional face until they are sitting down across a conference room table from their interviewer but there are things you can do from the moment you walk in the door.

Make friends

Many times when you walk in you will be guided to a receptionist. Be very friendly. Talk to them and don't just think of them as an obstacle to your interview. A lot of times you may end up having to call the company and it's useful with the reception person remembers you. Also companies talk, and a lot of times someone may ask reception off-handedly what they thought. And if they say, " What a ****", that's not good.

Play Ispy

The most awkward moments of the interview can be the first 25 seconds. After the initial "Hi nice to meet you." The walk to the conference room can be silent and deadly awkward. So look around the office, see what they are all about; what kind of art they have on the wall, how the place in organized. Think of some topic of small chit chat to bring up. This way your interview gets off to a good start and the person instantly connects with you.

Purell and Shake

May sound weird but I always take purell with me on interviews. Nothing is grosser than shaking a clammy hand. Purell helps dry your hand up. And while on the subject of handshakes... Dive in, grip strongly without breaking something and give two strong shakes. I have two business parents and I know that nothing annoys interviewers more than a weak handshake. So before an interview find someone and ask them to shake your hand, it's a small factor but it makes a huge difference.

Now once you are in the interview room you have already made a great impression, so just breath and enjoy the interview. Think of it as a nice conversation not an interrogation:

But here are just a few things to try to remember when being interviewed:

-Be friendly

-Speak up

-Don't play with your hair

-Bring extra copies of your resume

-Always ask for their business card

-Have question prepared for the end of the interview

-Have your resume memorized, they are GOING to ask you about it

-Enjoy yourself