Interviewing main menu page

View of Career Services Building from southeast

Career Services Building (0128)
Corner of Washington Street & West Campus Drive
Blacksburg, VA 24061
phone 540-231-6241 fax 540-231-3293 www.career.vt.edu

Career Services is for all students: freshman, sophomore, junior, senior,
and graduate level, at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
> Our Mission and Core Values

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JOB SEARCH TOOLS & SKILLS:

Resumes and vitae

Cover letters & other letters

E-mail

Telephone

References

Researching employers

FINDING JOBS & EMPLOYERS:

How VT grads did it

Who hired VT grads

How to start your job search

Pros & cons of ways to job-hunt

Hokies4Hire & the On-Campus Interviewing Program

Job & internship web sites

On-line job search advice & privacy protection

MEETING EMPLOYERS:

Handshakes

Career fairs / job fairs

Employer info sessions

Interviewing

Interview attire

Business casual attire

Dining etiquette

DECIDING ON A JOB OFFER:

Salary, benefits, negotiating

Responding to job offers

Acknowledging a job offer

SPECIAL INTERESTS:

International students

Students with disabilities

LGBT students

Graduate students


Interviewing skills
Prepare \| Practice \| More sources

PREPARE
•	Safety issues (we're not kidding!)
•	Information sessions - held by employers prior to interviews
•	Typical interview format
•	Telephone interviews
•	Interview attire
•	Sample questions
•	Sample questions for teaching candidates
•	Behavioral interviewing
•	Interview DOs & DON'Ts
•	Researching employers — why and how
•	Questions to ask the employer
•	Responding to salary questions \| don't be taken by surprise
•	On-site interviews
•	Dining Etiquette
•	Interview expenses
•	After your interviews \| follow up \| thank-you letters
•	An EMPLOYER'S interview tips for students (PDF)! Published by Career Services with permission from Eastman.
PRACTICE
•	The Mock Interview Program: In person, at Career Services.
•	Interview Stream: Web-based practice interview program
MORE SOURCES: Good stuff off-site:
Who owns these sites? Career Services does not own or maintain websites outside www.career.vt.edu. We provide links as a service to our students. Links leaving www.career.vt.edu open in a new browser window.
•	CareerTV.com: Videos on job search topics
•	Interviewing articles on CareerBuilder.com
•	Handshakes are critical! Excellent article: CampusCareerCenter.com > job seekers > Get a Grip: Handshaking 101
•	Interview Q: What are your weaknesses? The "weakness" question: 7 ways to handle it well CollegeJournal.com from The Wall Street Journal. (Editorial note: you'd be wise to skip the joke mentioned in strategy 6.)
•	Handling case interviews AcetheCase.com This web site offers free advice (in addition to products for sale) on handling case interviews which are often used by management consulting firms.
•	About psychometric tests sometimes used by employers PsychometricTests.com What are these? Psychometric tests aim to measure attributes like intelligence, aptitude and personality. They provide a potential employer with an insight into how well you work with other people, how well you handle stress, and whether you will be able to cope with the intellectual demands of the job. On this web site, learn more about these and other tests (personality tests, aptitude tests, etc.).