Interviewing curriculum is now a must for college seniors

There are tens of thousands of graduates competing for far fewer jobs right now. As a favor to a few friends, I interviewed/met with three in the last week. All are very nice, smart and personable and graduated from good universities. None had any clue how to interview well.

That's a real problem.

Ok. I know what you could be thinking. Maybe they were just a little intimidated because of my position. That's duly noted. But, the main issue has little to do with jitters and entirely about what the focus of any interview really needs to be.

You see, my belief is that any interview with me needs to revolve mostly around, well.... me. That is, it should focus on the interviewee asking questions about Peppercom, Ed Moed, the world of PR and communications and anything else relevant to my professional life or what his/her job might be. Contrary to what most might think, I don't want to have to ask 25 questions about the candidate. No, instead I want the candidate to show me how smart he/she is by asking 25 intelligent questions about my business and firm so that I can see how savvy he/she is. This will truly create a natural dialogue with the candidate. When this happens (and it is rare), it demonstrates that this person really took the time to research what is important to me and to make sure that he/she really wants to stand out among competitors.

I'll never forget the best interview I ever participated in a few years back. It wasn't an easy interview because both Steve and I conducted it together (and we like to have fun at the expense of each candidate) with this woman who was interviewing for a management supervisor role here. She really surprised us by opening up the conversation with just how much she knew about Peppercom, our offerings, our philosophy and even the two of our blogs. It became a real ego trip for Steve when she asked very pointed questions about specific posts he wrote and created a very intelligent conversation about our beliefs in measurement, connecting PR to sales and a variety of other really topical subjects. After about 25 minutes, we were smitten and sold on her. We told our management team to offer her a job. I'm happy to say that she continues to be a real star at our company today.

I'd argue that in some ways the process for conducting a good interview is very similar to having a solid new business pitch. It should be about the prospect/interviewee in both cases. In new business, that means even if the prospect says he wants to hear all about your firm, the real truth is that he's got problems and wants to see if they can be solved by you. So, you better dig deep to uncover or understand those problems (versus just talking about yourself).

Having gone through this experience three times, made me think that our colleges and universities are not doing enough to train these graduates now. I know every school has career centers that offer tips, prepping and probably training. But, I wonder (especially in this day and age), if that's enough?

Just as students have to fulfill a certain requirement of math, English and/or science classes, schools should offer mandatory classes for seniors on the art of interviewing and how to create real dialogue with prospective employers. Learning how to network to find a job would also be a spot on course in this overly competitive environment.

Some colleges/universities might already be doing this. If so, congratulations. You are offering your real world bound students something that they absolutely need. Those that aren't should get with the times and change their ways.

Comments

[Alicia Wells]

Totally agree on the need for better interviewing skills. I also think you hit on a great point at the end- schools should offer classes in networking. It wasn’t until after graduation that I realized how essential it was to network, and I really wish they had drilled that in to us more often. It’s a major advantage if your resume gets passed to a hiring manager from one of their colleagues, or if you are recommended by someone at the company. You interviewed these folks “as a favor to a few friends,” so clearly they would not have had this opportunity otherwise (it’s too bad they blew it!). Networking also provides a great opportunity to practice your interviewing skills on a smaller scale- it’s about asking the right questions, “pitching” yourself, and building relationships.

[ed]

Really good point, Alicia.

Thinking more about the specifics, these colleges would probably need to outsource or hire teachers who are actually in the workforce. Because, those are the professionals who are networking and living interviews each and every day.

The art of networking is something that everyone needs to learn...prior to a terrible economy happening.

Thx

[Greg Schmalz]

Now, let's see how many of the three are savvy enough to send a thank you note. By e-mail is immediate but by "snail mail" is taking that extra step.

[Milin Shah]

Ed -

This is great advice, I'm going to email many of my recent college grad friends with this link. Not enough students understand the importance of networking. I am where I am now through networking, both in my career and my political endeavors. I feel that many college students and recent college grads are afraid to ask for help, to ask a family friend or former employer for references or introductions to other potential employers. The sooner this fear is overcome, the sooner many college grads will find themselves in their dream jobs. Nothing is achieved through complacency.

[Leah Hardesty]

Great post Ed because it rings true not only in PR, but also many other industries. When I taught a PR class at ASU, I made it a point to go outside of the syllabus and take class time to talk about resumes, portfolios and interviewing. And it was the most interactive class! It may be tough to get universities to step up any further than having a career services center for grads, but we can rely on PRSA and IABC chapters to facilitate this type of "training" or "education." I was part of a panel with the Phoenix PRSA chapter in which 6-7 PR professionals talked about hiring new grads and the dos and don'ts of an interview. We answered questions and gave advice on their current resumes and portfolios.

[ed]

Leah, what you did is exactly what's needed.

Thx for posting.

Ed