Before the Interview

Your first interview might begin with the interviewer asking you to open the window. You were on the 43rd floor overlooking Water Street. The window was sealed shut. That was, of course, the point. The interviewer just wanted to see whether your inability to comply with his request led you to yank, pull, and sweat until finally you melted into a puddle of foiled ambition. Or, as one sad applicant was rumored to have done, threw a chair through the window.

You dropped your resume off at the campus career center, and you now receive notice that you're being invited to a first-round interview on campus. The first-round interview is the first in a series of hurdles that you'll need to jump in order to get a job at an investment bank or consulting firm. But take heart-your odds of getting a job have greatly improved since the resume screening stage. Your chance of progressing from the first round to the next round is close to one in five.

This article covers how to prepare for the interview and explains the "soft" skills-communications, clothing, and etiquette--you will need to succeed in an interview.



You should act conservatively during the interview process. Does this mean that all banks and consulting firms are humorless and hidebound? No. But you never know who will be offended by what, and it's better not to take a chance. Play it safe first, and take your risks after you've gotten the offer.

Some things have changed since the 1980s, when Michael Lewis penned his memorable description of the Lehman Brothers interview. Consulting firms and investment banks now put on a kinder, gentler face toward students during recruiting. The stress interview is all but gone.

Of course, other "sealed windows" will stand between you and the job. Interviewers walk into interviews with a checklist of skills that they are looking for in a candidate. Typically the interview will be organized into sections testing these different skills.

During the interview, the interviewer probably will let you do 75 percent or more of the talking. If you're not familiar with how the first-round interview fits into the overall recruiting process, this may be a good point to review.

Logistics

The company will notify you if you are being invited for a first-round interview. On-campus candidates typically receive a notice from their campus career centers, which manage the interviewing logistics on behalf of recruiting firms. Candidates outside the campus recruiting process will receive a phone call.

Generally, you are given several interview times to choose from. Don't take the first time slot mentioned to you! Your interview order can have a major impact on your chances of making it to the next round. Before you decide on a time, ask the recruiter whether there will be many other candidates interviewing at the firm that day or if you will be the only person seen that day. If you're being squeezed into a day of interviewing with other candidates, you will be competing for attention. One pattern holds true for most interviewers: They remember early candidates and later candidates best. Avoid choosing a slot in the middle of the day, especially since you might be close to an interviewer's lunch hour. Also, try not to get the very first interview of the day, since the interviewer will be the most critical at that point.

One more important scheduling point: If you are applying through an on-campus recruiting process, submit your resume to a firm or two that you consider less desirable than your top choice. If you are lucky enough to get interviews with several firms, you will then have a few "practice" interviews before your meeting with your top-choice firm. A practice run-through is valuable because interview responses will definitely be rusty the first time they come out of your mouth.

If you are traveling to the company's office, make sure to ask the recruiter for very specific directions, including parking, traffic, and travel time information. Plan on arriving at the office at least fifteen minutes ahead of schedule. Being late for an interview is likely to get you rejected, unless a major disaster prevented you from being on time.

Acting Your Way Through

Succeeding in an interview requires a good acting performance. Recruiters like people who are similar to themselves: They look for a "pattern" of backgrounds that have been successful in the past at their company. And unfortunately, often they are misled by surface impressions, by the fact that some candidates look and act like themselves.

Acting is the operative word. To psych yourself up for an interview, picture a stereotype of a consultant or banker. If you have any doubt as to how a banker or consultant speaks or acts, attend a campus information session and watch the presenters carefully--their way of communicating, moving, and dressing. Now, try to adapt some of these characteristics. Avoid saying "like" and other speech patterns that give away how old you are. Carry yourself with maturity, and keep your emotions under control. Imagine that you are in a situation in which you must lead a meeting with senior executives. How would you act out this situation? Walk into your interview with this scenario in mind. You are managing your image to conform to the image the recruiters want. Of course, you still want your natural personality and warmth to shine through.

Headlining

Interviewers aren't perfect. They are fallible human beings, and often they make mistakes during the interview process. Put yourself in the recruiter's shoes: You spend eight hours in a row interviewing one student after another, asking the same questions all day. It's hard to even remember candidates' names and faces at the end of the day, not to mention what they said. Frankly, many interviewers find their minds wandering when they are especially tired or bored. Sometimes you literally can see their eyes glazing over. Events that are important to you, the candidate, aren't as important to the interviewer. Candidates magnify every event that happens in an interview, both positive and negative. In reality, the interviewer either didn't notice or didn't care.

Much of the interviewer's assessment, whether he admits it or not, is subjective. Interviewers quickly make up their minds whether they like you as a person and whether you have "presence," and this will make the difference between two candidates who are equally qualified.

The bottom line: You need to make a lasting impression on an interviewer so that all other applicants pale in comparison. To do this, don't approach the interview passively, taking whatever questions are thrown your way; approach it actively with a clear agenda for the interview.

What's your agenda? Come up with headlines--a few key points about yourself that will influence the interviewer. Prepare headlines in advance and back each headline up with a well-chosen anecdote that is interesting enough to help the interviewer understand and remember the headline.

Do you want the interviewer to know that you are exceptionally motivated and hardworking? Slip in an anecdote that mentions you worked your way through college. Want him to know that this is absolutely your top-choice firm? Say that you've been talking to friends at the firm for a year about what distinguishes that firm from others. It's up to you to choose which stories to tell about yourself. The key is to slip in points about yourself during appropriate moments, not to force them on the interviewer obviously or awkwardly.

Use the Interview Preparation Worksheet to develop your headlines. Then check your headlines against:

• The skills the firms are looking for-your headlines should suggest that you have these skills;
• The questions firms ask during the interview--so that you have an idea of when you can slip in your headlines;
• The characteristics of the firm you're interviewing with--so that you can tailor your headlines to fit the firm.

It's hard for most people to know what tics they have, whether they say "umm" frequently or rock back and forth in their chair when they are nervous. The most important preparation you can do is to go through a dress rehearsal with a friend playing the role of interviewer. Make your real interview the second time you explain your thoughts out loud. The smoother you seem, the smarter you'll seem, and the appearance of confidence is critical to landing a job.

Tape-record your conversation. Ask your practice interviewer for his impressions of your style: Did you seem genuine? Did you seem nervous? Were you so long-winded that you lost the interviewer's interest? Did you seem energized? On these softer issues, your friend will have some good input. Afterward, listen to the tape and be alert for nervous speech habits or answers that were unclear. Think about how to rephrase an answer so that it fits critical skills.

To practice management consulting "case" questions, try to find a consultant or an experienced businessperson to play the role of interviewer.

The Day Before

If you haven't yet, make sure you find out (1) what the company does, (2) how it's different from its competitors, (3) three reasons why you want to work for the company as opposed to its competitors, and (4) five questions to ask the interviewer. If you're really in a rush, the fastest way to answer these questions is to check the company profiles by surfing the Web and visit the firm's individual site. You can do this preparation easily in an hour or two. Of course, if you're going in for a second or third-round interview, you should do additional research and preparation.

Make sure to get a lot of sleep the night before the interview and even a few nights before that if possible. Get your preparation and "dress rehearsal" done a day or two early so that you can relax the night before the interview. Do something fun with friends to take your mind off the interview; you'll come across as more rested, positive, and confident the next day.

If you travel to an office for an interview, you'll probably look a little windblown when you arrive. Get there a little early so that you can go to the restroom, comb your hair, and take a deep breath if necessary. Relax, and view this as a fun opportunity to exercise your acting skills and meet some interesting people; remember to visualize yourself as an executive attending an important business meeting. And remember, the world will not end if you don't get the job. If you get in to the interview thinking that this is a life-and-death situation, chances are you will psych yourself out.

During The Performance

Attitude: Don't complain or be too negative about anything, even when asked for your "honest" opinion of something. Focus on the positives of all your past experiences--doing so will make you seem like an optimist who makes the best of any situation.

Communications Skills: The unfortunate fact is that interviewers, just like the rest of us, judge messages based not only on content but on delivery. Your interviewer will be deeply influenced by your communications and interpersonal skills, whether he admits it or not. Be aware of the way you communicate and the effect this has on the interviewer. No matter how obnoxious the interviewer is, try to find some redeeming quality about him. Really like the person as if he were a friend. Why is this important? Interviewers like candidates with whom they feel some sort of rapport. Your attitude toward the interviewer will come across on your face and will make or break that rapport.

Nonverbal Communication

• Eye contact: Looking at the interviewer strengthens the point you are making. Maintain fairly steady eye contact with the interviewer, especially when you are making a statement where your credibility might be questioned (e.g., ethical dilemma, interest in job). If you are thinking over a question, it's okay to look down or away for a few seconds, because this suggests reflection. When looking at the interviewer, never try to look into both his eyes at the same time; instead, shift your gaze from one eye to the other in order to signal warmth and sincerity.
  
  
• Facial expression: You want to come across as a happy, well-balanced person, because firms like happy people. Smile occasionally as if you have no worries in the world, and don't let the interviewer read nervousness all over your face. Some interviewers will watch your face for signs of emotions.
  
  
• Gestures: Subconscious movements, such as waving your arms to make a point, folding a piece of paper, or playing with your hair, are distracting to the interviewer. In addition, they may come off as a sign of nervousness or dishonesty when you're answering difficult questions. Sit up straight in your chair; slumping conveys a sloppy, laid-back attitude. Lean forward when you want to seem excited or interested.

Verbal Communication

• Pace: Many interviewees speed up when they're nervous, and their words become slurred. Pausing for effect will heighten the listener's interest in what you're saying.
  
  
• Space-fillers: Don't be afraid of silence. Space-fillers like "umm," "uh-huh," "you know," and "like" are both distracting and unprofessional. They also make you seem young.
  
  
• Logic: At all times, keep in mind the question you're supposed to be answering; if you use a lengthy example, remember to tie the example back to the question. Doing so makes it seem that you had an organized approach to your answer, even if you didn't.
  
  
• Amount: Cut yourself off when you've made your point. Don't let yourself recite information in five different ways.

In other business fields may not be considered acceptable in investment banking or consulting. The following points will help you brush up your etiquette.

• Don't talk too much about money or perks.
  
  
• Crudeness or foul language is not acceptable during the interview, even if you're bonding with the guys. You never know who's going to take offense.
  
  
• Just in case, use politically correct terms. Use "women" instead of "girls," and so on.
  
  
• Don't sit down until the interviewer asks you to or until he has done so.
  
  
• Posing overly tough or critical questions is impolite.
  
  
• Be really nice to the secretaries or administrators in the office. Besides the fact that this is the right thing to do, it will have an impact on how you're evaluated.
  
  
• Don't delve into extremely personal topics or preferences, such as your love life-either yours or the interviewer's.
  
  
• Thank the interviewer for his time at the end of the session.

Spin Control: Too many qualified people rule themselves out because they think they lack raw material: They think to themselves, "I haven't had any real leadership experience," or "My business experience isn't as good as John's is." Let's destroy this myth right now--everyone doubts themselves at some point, no matter how great their accomplishments. Those who get jobs are the ones who can put a positive spin on their background. To demonstrate the power of packaging, here is an example of the same accomplishment described in two different ways:

Let's say you were asked the question: How have you exercised leadership skills during college?

Just okay: "I was elected as the student representative on a five-person committee that advised the economics department on faculty hiring. We interviewed job applicants on behalf of the economics department and I was there in order to give the department student input."

Better: "I was elected by the economics majors in my class as the only student to represent them on a committee that determined faculty hiring. I spent several hours each week planning questions and issues to discuss with potential faculty members. I interviewed the applicants, summarized my conclusions in short written reports, and communicated these recommendations to the department chair. The majority of our committee's recommendations were adopted by the department."

Notice in the second answer there is an emphasis on using "I," which more powerfully demonstrates what the individual has accomplished. The second answer also is better because instead of just mentioning the position held, it explains the skills demonstrated by holding the position and the results accomplished.

As you develop your answers to each type of interview question, think about ways in which you can put a positive spin on the facts of your life.

Three Methods of Communication

You can communicate a point to the interviewer in three ways: directly, by implication, or by demonstration.

• Directly stated: "I have strong quantitative skills."
  
  
• Implied: "For my summer job, I performed a great deal of spreadsheet modeling to quantify the costs of the project we were considering." (The recruiter must make the connection between your previous work and quantitative skills.)
  
  
• Demonstrated: You answer a quantitative question well during the interview. (This also allows the recruiter to make the connection himself.)

Which of these three methods is the most effective? In this case, the second or the third method is effective. The listener doubts the validity of the first statement because it seems too carefully planned and therefore not honest. The point is that there is a right time and place to use each method. Some things, such as interest in the job, are better off stated directly. One of the most common mistakes job-hunters make is using only the first method: They state everything directly. Personality traits, for example, should be demonstrated, never directly stated. It sounds strange to say "I am a mature, likable person with good judgment." Stating this actually conveys a lack of judgment. You should imply qualities-- especially interpersonal and communications skills--through your presentation style, or how you say things.