How to prepare for a job / admission interview

The time of the year is there to apply for summer internships, summer jobs, college programs and so on. Usually, interviews will be part of the admission procedure, regardless of what you apply for. This post will mainly be about preparing yourself for the contents of the interview and not so much about your appearance during the interview because although your appearance is important, the contents may be more important.

First thing to do is to find which person(s) within the organization is/are going to interview you. Knowing this is useful so that you can search for this/these person(s) on the Internet to get an idea of his/her/their interests and activities. Once you know this, you can tailor your interests to fit his/hers/theirs. It may also make you less nervous to know who sits opposite of you. 

The second thing to do is find out what you can add to (a department) the organization. For an employer or university, it is important to know what you can add to their organization so that they can see whether your needs match theirs. If they have a certain need and you happen to be able to bring them that need, there is a perfect match between their needs and yours. During the interview, knowing what you can add also gives fuel to a discussion about which person(s) within the organization can help you add your knowledge and skills to the organization.

And of course, the things mentioned above can be found on the  Internet.

Thirdly, you may want to print stuff. Your motivational letter and résumé you submitted are the documents they go by when preparing the interview with you, so you will look more prepared if you printed your own stuff compared to "excuse me, may I take a look at the letter you have there?" Your printed documents may also serve as a reminder during the interview.

Fourth, now that you have taken a look at the documents you have submitted, put yourself in the shoes of those who are going to interview you and consider what they might ask based upon those documents. Which things may require further explanation? Are there things unclear in your letter or résumé? Be prepared to answer this kind of questions, because they will be asked. 

Potentially other relevant documents for me.

Fifth, after printing the documents you have submitted, also take other possibly relevant documents with you.  Diplomas and certificates are evidence for what you have written down on your résumé or in your letter. They may also serve as another reminder of things they may ask about. It may, for example, be helpful to have a list of your study results with you in case questions arise about it during the interview. Seeing the course name and the grade your teacher gave you may also help you remind how you obtained that grade.

The last thing to do seems like a no-brainer, but take notes of everything you might be asked about as you are preparing yourself for the interview. Write down key-words that just must be used in your answers and also take notes of the questions that arise from your side as you are getting ready. One reason for doing this is that you will definitely forget some of the things you wanted to say/ask as you sit there. The nerves will grab you, empty your brain, and make you lose some of your memory. The other reason is, again, that you come across prepared. Coming across prepared is always a plus, because in your work and study, you will also have to be prepared for tasks. Being prepared also shows interest in the function/position and the organization. 

These are my tips for preparing for the contents of a job/application interview. Have you ever been so nervous during an interview that you forgot what you wanted to say/ask? Have you done some of the above for interviews or maybe you have never even had an interview yet in your life? Let me know! 

How to organize yourself and your college stuff

We all know that awkward moment when you stand in front of your door and you realized you forgot your key. We also know that moment that you were convinced that you had your books packed for class and that, once in class, it turned out you did not have them with you. This exactly why organization is important, but sometimes it is difficult to awake the discipline inside yourself and actually start getting organized. There are different tips and tricks and today I will share some of my own with you. In an earlier post, I gave tips for saving room. Some of these tips might complement the tips from that post. 

Files can hold very much paperwork and protect it at the same time. In Dutch, they are called ordners, and for a reason. Not only can you easily and chronologically order your stuff in the files, but with tabs, you can also make sections for the paper work of each course. No more searching for old lecture notes or papers that might be handy for a follow-up course. As long as you file everything, you will not loose anything! I always keep lecture notes with the printed powerpoint slides of that lecture and add the readings to them, so that I have everything ordered by class session.

In order to know which documents are in which files, you need to use labels. You can keep them very general, such as 'Bachelor, year 1' or 'Master', but if you need several files for one semester or year, it might be wise to label them by course. I have, in fact, gone as far as to label them in the same order as they are in my files: 

I also value mail partitions. Sometimes you get mail that you only have to store, other times you get mail that requires you to undertake some action, such as transferring money to another bank account. Or maybe you just want to have papers within reach of your arm, regardless of what it is and how often you really need it. Mail partitions are the solution, as long as you use one shelf for each type of mail or documents. This should also help you keep track of your private finances. 

It is also tempting to make a mess of the drawers inside your desk. I know all about it and the only solution is to keep your discipline, so that your drawers will keep looking like this: 

Note the divider between the front and the back of the drawer. This way you can also keep things and items for different purposes separate from each other. 

I also like to keep my books together. When you read a series such as Twilight, Harry Potter, Hunger Games, or Gossip Girl, this is fairly easy, but with college textbooks, you might need to rethink your methods. While you can order by colour, I prefer to order them by general, overarching topics, so I keep methodology and statistics books together, I have a section for psychology books, a section for interpersonal and conversational skills, and so on. 

Last but not least, we often forget stuff because we start packing at the very last moment. It is therefore wise to keep a look on the clock and pack your bag the night before your 9 am class next morning. It is an advice my 7th grade tutor gave me, when my class was fresh in junior high school and still afraid to forget books because forgetting something could result in expulsion and detention. In college, no teacher will remove you from class when you forget something, but for yourself it is handier to be prepared. So, pack your stuff in time so that you can remain organized outdoors, after the aforementioned indoor organization advices. 

What do you do to stay organized? Or is your (part of your dorm) room an 'organized chaos'? Do you have other tips to become and remain organized? We probably all have our own ways, so everyone gets wiser by the exchange of information ;)