Establish a Common Bond with Your Interviewer « Application Boot Camp – College Admissions, Admissions Counseling, College Acceptance Help

Establish a Common Bond with Your Interviewer

We spend so much time helping our students with
interviewing techniques that we have a brief list of
tips to help those who face interviews this summer:

1. Don’t be afraid to focus in and expand upon a subject
that interests you. You do not have to cover EVERYTHING
as the admissions office will also have your complete file
when they read your application. That’s why it’s OK to
spend 20 minutes talking about your love of Greek and
Latin, especially if your interviewer happens to share that love.
If you find a common bond, follow up! There are no rules to what
must be covered.

2. Look the interviewer in the eye — it’s off-putting to stare
down at your feet.

3. Make sure you have substantive questions, not just typical
questions you could find the answers to in the view book or web
site. If the interviewer attended the school, ask pointed
questions about what he or she liked or didn’t like about the
school.

4. After the interview, write a brief thank you note (hand
written is best) and try to mention something specific that you
talked about so they remember who you are.

5. Make sure you do your research about the school BEFORE the
interview so you’re not caught asking embarrassing questions
about a program that doesn’t exist or a major that is no longer a
real program.

6. Students tend to overcompensate for how they think they should
dress for an on-campus or alumni interview and end up looking
like they are going to the prom. Others who don’t want to look
concerned about how to dress end up looking like hobos. Part of
how to dress of course depends on who you are and how you
normally dress. If we had to make the most general suggestion,
we’d suggest dressing only a standard deviation or so up or down
from how you normally dress unless you are very far from the
“normal” spectrum. If you are too dressed up (dresses for girls,
suits and ties for boys) it looks like you went way out of your
way and that draws unnecessary attention to yourself. Unless you
go to school dressed that way, avoid it. On the other hand, you
don’t want to wear ripped jeans, a tongue ring, dyed hair and
tattoos unless you really want your dress to make a statement for
you. Either extreme ends up detracting from what you actually
have to say.

You don’t have to be a boring conservative, but you
shouldn’t be ultra casual either. For boys, usually either
khaki-type pants and a neat shirt (polos are fine or collared
shirts if you feel more comfortable) with some clean shoes are
appropriate for any interview. Some sneakers might pass, but hey,
try shoes which look better with pants! Boys can also wear clean
and neat jeans instead of chino-style pants if that’s closer to
their normal style of dress (but keep the shoes). Girls have a
wider variety of options. You do not have to look “dressed up.”
Any slacks and shirt works, or a skirt and blouse if you like
that type of clothing. When in doubt, go for neat and aim to fly
under the radar. In the interview, your words should speak for
you without your clothing interfering too much in any one
direction!

If you are meeting someone for an alumni interview at an office,
however, dress accordingly. So, if you are going to a fancy law
firm, a jacket and tie might be appropriate. If, however, you
are meeting the person at Starbucks, ditch the jacket and tie.

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