A few days ago I had a Shell scholarship telephone interview. However, since I was travelling, they accommodated with a Skype interview instead of the traditional telephone interview. It was a rather straightforward interview but to my dismay, I couldn’t shine or show them my strengths. I wasn’t prepared for the questions and at the spur of the moment, I was unable to come up with substantial points.
I remind myself that an interview performance boils down to practice. If I don’t pass the interview this time, at least I’ll have had a practice round for the next interviews.
An interview is like an exam. You have a set amount of time and you have to answer the questions. You will be marked and given a score. You might be the best candidate but if you can’t prove this during the 45 minutes, you are likely to fail the interview. The loophole is that if you can communicate well, you don’t have to be the best candidate. There is no right and wrong answer. There is only a poor or good or excellent answer.
After the interview, I realised a few shortcomings
– I wasn’t structure enough. Most times I was only giving one point. I should have been clear and given at least 2 or 3 points each time. – Perhaps I could focus more on non-academic experience. Talk a little too much about my academic achievements and experiences. – Was not able to steer the conversation to topics that I was more passionate about.Things that I did right
– Spoke calmly and clearly. – Sincere and was cool and collected when I struggled with questions.Ways to improve
– Do daily reflection sessions every week – Put more effort and consciously become a leader in group projects for the next academic year – Ponder upon my goals and plan to improveFor the next interview, REMEMBER
– It’s their loss if they don’t want you – Be passionate and excited (but don’t speak too fast) – Bullet points are important – Steer the conversation to your benefit. Eg they may not ask you about your project but if it comes up, talk about it. My project was on so and so. Make it interactive – Do you know what this is? I did ….. – BE MORE CONFIDENT!