Day 7 of the Career Champions Challenge
Welcome to Day 7 of the Career Champions Challenge! Today’s topic is on interviewing and (other employment compensation) negotiation.
After a student’s resume and application are accepted, the next step is typically an interview. While landing an interview is exciting, preparing for one can be nerve-wracking for anyone! Particularly, if this is the student’s first time doing an interview, they may come to you for help in how to best prepare for one.
What is Important to Know about Improving Interview Skills?
Practice, practice, practice. Interviewing is a skill. Common interviewing issues that our office has encountered include the following:
- Lack of preparation (e.g., no research on the organization / job)
- Providing too much unnecessary information or conversely not enough detail when answering a question
- Not asking questions of the interviewer
- Inappropriate or too casual appearance / attitude / background (if virtual interview)
Here are some suggestions you can try with your students to help improve their interviewing skills:
- Help your student figure out how to answer the “Tell me about yourself” question and create a basic outline with them. We recommend that they focus on 3 characteristics, skills, or experiences so that it won’t be too long an answer. A sample video of how to answer this question can be seen here.
- Use the Sample Interview Questions handout to show students examples of questions that may typically get asked in an interview.
- Demonstrate the best approach to answer behavioral interview questions by using the STAR Method handout.
- Encourage them to look up their interviewers’ LinkedIn profiles & organizational website to target questions.
- Ensure that they know to write a thank you note to interviewers within 24-48 hours after the interview.
- Discuss professional attire and remind them about Purple Threads at UAlbany that helps provide free professional attire.
- Introduce students to do practice interviews and learn more about interviewing skills on our virtual resource called Big Interview. You will learn more about this tool in today’s video.
- Encourage students to do a practice interview with a professional staff member at the Office of Career & Professional Development! Even if they do not have an active interview lined up, it is still great to recommend them to do a practice interview to get them prepared.
What are some best practices for (not just) salary negotiation?
After a successful interview, the next exciting and daunting step is when they actually get an offer. Salary (and other employment compensation) negotiation can be overwhelming, and some students are not even fully aware that they can advocate for themselves before they sign onto a job. Encourage your students to understand their value as they enter the workplace, and that negotiating can set them up for success and a higher earning potential. Show them how to do research on careers and salary data from reputable sources (and comparing competing offers) to gauge if employers are offering a reasonable wage. Another factor to consider is cost of living needs as well. Our second demo for today will be going over a salary finder tool from CareerOneStop, a U.S. Department of Labor sponsored resource.
Building up the student’s confidence to advocating for themselves take time and, much like interviewing, they will need to practice. It is important to remind them that in addition to salary, there are other aspects of an employment offer that can be negotiated such as sign-on / travel / moving bonuses, % of remote work or travel on the job, flexible hours, equipment, benefits, vacation / sick leave, paid training / certifications, and conference or higher education support. Even if an initial salary offer may not be able to be changed substantially, there may be the ability to negotiate on these other incentives.
Incorporating Interviewing and Salary (and Other Employment) Negotiation into your class
If you are a faculty or staff member who wants to introduce interviewing and salary negotiation as an assignment in a classroom, you have several options:
- You can include our interviewing and salary (and other employment) negotiation presentation videos as an assignment (links provided below).
- You can request a workshop for one of your classes and we will present the material in your class.
- You can include an assignment that requires your students to complete and record a virtual interview or complete an assignment within the Big Interview platform. Details for that assignment are also provided below.
- Or you can contact the Office of Career & Professional Development at career@albany.edu to discuss other ideas.
To answer today’s quiz successfully, please be sure to do the following:
- Browse Big Interview. Click on “Login” on the upper right corner and sign in with your NetID.
- Read the STAR Method handout.
You need to take all 8 quizzes to receive your certificate of completion. Thank you again for participating in the challenge. If you have any questions or comments, please contact us at career@albany.edu.
Today’s Resources
• Interview Skills Video, Office of Career & Professional Development
• How to Answer “Tell Me About Yourself” Video
• What to Say When Negotiating Salary in a Job Offer
