Tag: Interviewing

Pronoun Abuse: An Interview Diagnosis

By Anne Guldin Lucas

Stuart Student was in the midst of a terrific interview.  He was in the zone, responding to even the most difficult questions with thoughtful, succinct responses.  Irma Interviewer was smiling and making comments that convinced Stuart he was about to clinch the job offer.  Then he was asked the question for which he had been hoping:  “What was your greatest accomplishment as a Penn student?”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Stuart responded, “During our first term at Penn, me and my friend started a program in local homeless shelters to increase the rate of high school graduations and college matriculations among homeless students.  This year, our fourth year of the program, we achieved a 95% success rate.  The Mayor presented she and I with a Philadelphia Citizenship Award.”

A shadow fell across Irma Interviewer’s face, and she muttered something about remembering that they had filled this job opening last week.  As she was showing Stuart to the door, he wondered where he had gone wrong.  Could Ms. Interviewer possibly object to educating children or did his response lack the proper humility?  He didn’t even mention that their picture was on the front page of the DP!

What do you think, reader?  Can you diagnose Stuart Student’s fatal interviewing error?

Yes, it was pronoun abuse!  Whereas Stuart’s opening sentence required that he use a first person pronoun in the subjective (“my friend and I” vs. “me and my friend,”), his last sentence called for objective pronouns (“her and me” vs. “she and I”).  If those grammatical terms are too hard to remember, simply omit Stuart’s friend from the equation, and your ear should guide you to the proper pronouns.  Surely no one would say, “During my first term at Penn, me started a program….The Mayor presented I with…”

Contrast Stuart’s interview experience with that of Stella Student.  Ricky Recruiter asked challenging questions, and Stella was prepared with all the right responses—and proper pronouns.  When asked that fateful question, “What was your greatest accomplishment as a Penn student?” Stella quickly and expertly responded, “During our first year at Penn, my friend and I launched an initiative against Pronoun Abuse.  Having cleared the Penn campus of errant pronouns, the English Department awarded him and me with Distinguished Student Awards.”

Needless to say, Ricky Recruiter’s next words were, “You’re hired!”

P.S. If you are inspired to become Sammy Syntax after reading this blog, you can learn more about pronoun usage by consulting:

http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0885483.html

Friends on the Inside

by Julie Vick

If you plan to apply for a job at a company or organization where a friend works, think carefully about how to “use” that relationship in a positive way.

It might be very helpful to ask your friend for information about the department or division as you prepare to submit an application or for an interview as you prepare for an interview. If the friend mentions to others that you’ve asked, no harm is done, because your question shows that you are trying to prepare thoroughly.

Once you’ve had your interview but haven’t heard anything, it’s difficult to know what’s really happening. If several weeks go by and you haven’t been contacted there are several possibilities: they haven’t finished interviewing; a reference said something to give the hiring manager pause; or you presented yourself well and your references are positive but you’re simply up against some very stiff competition. Even though your friend might be able to give you some insight into the process you should avoid being a pest and above all, don’t say anything negative about those who interviewed you.

Once an offer is made, however, think hard before involving the potential colleague in a salary negotiation. If it’s a very good friend in the same department, you might ask how flexible the department tends to be in negotiating offers, but leave it at that. For example, the friend may have done a poor job of negotiating, realizes it, and now finds him or herself in the awkward position of advising a new colleague about how to get paid a higher salary! If the friend is in a different department, the situation is less awkward.

Employees develop loyalty to their employer and, particularly in tough times when people want to hold on to their jobs, they don’t want to do anything that could be perceived as disloyal. As a rule of thumb, if you have to ask whether you could trust someone with information about your job search, you probably don’t know the person well enough to assume their loyalty would be to you, rather than to their employer.

Don’t Try this At Home

As a career counselor I often hear the frustrations of job seekers who send out applications, who interview, who network…. and despite all these efforts, get little response from certain employers for their invested time. Particularly heartbreaking are stories from people who get through the interview process only to feel themselves in a “black hole” as employers delay (or avoid) letting them know their status in the search for candidates. Typically in this situation, no news isn’t good news, but there are some constructive tips for handling the ambiguity that is inherent in the job search process. I will share those ideas below, but first, a humor-filled moment (if you think shows like MTV’s Jackass are funny).

I recently read a fun article from the New York Times about a man who got his revenge for all the agonizing silence we job seekers have collectively experienced. Read his story here: http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/22/complaint-box-the-e-snub/

Now, that was action packed! But… I don’t recommend it for job seekers who are more interested in landing a job than pulling off a crazy stunt. Here are some effective, and reasonable actions you could try on your own:

1) Think ahead – if you are interviewed, find time at the end to ask the question “what is your timeline for making a decision?” and to state something like “I’ll get back in contact with you if I haven’t heard anything by this time, are you the best person to call?”. It is critical to have this information before leaving an in-person interview or putting the phone down for phone interviews. Asking about “next steps” means you are indicating your genuine interest in the job and puts a bit more control into your hands regarding the communications you have with the employer.

2) Exercise patience – remind yourself that ambiguity really is part of the job seeking process. Keep putting yourself out there, get feedback from a career advisor regarding your job search strategies if that would be helpful.

3) Be proactive in a polite way – whether or not you interview, it generally is fine to follow up your application either by phone or email, to see how the employer’s search for a candidate is going, and/or to let them know you remain interested in the opportunity. (A caveat: if a job application says “no phone calls please” then you ought to follow the expressed preference of the organization.) Ultimately, if an employer is unresponsive to your effort to check in, then stay open to hearing from them, but move your job search energies into other endeavors.

4) Remember, it isn’t all about you – sometimes employers don’t get back to you because they are busy, because they have been inundated with applications, because they have many people who are involved in the decision making process, because there are formalities that prevent them from responding to your inquiries. You might be their first choice, but they haven’t had a chance to get back to you in a timely way. You might be the second choice – which means you still have a chance at the job if their initial offer is turned down. You may not be selected at this time. The point is, you do not know what is happening on the employers’ side. Give them the benefit of the doubt, but don’t take it personally.

5) Remember, it isn’t all about this one opportunity – as hard as it is to put effort out in the form of applications and interviews, the measure of success is not all-or-nothing: getting an offer of employment is not the only way to measure a successful job search. Each time you write an application, go through an interview, and meet people in the field, you are strengthening the skill sets that will serve you well in your future. Don’t forget, many people change jobs every 3-5 years. You will be using those job seeking skills again and again.

Answering the Dreaded “Why isn’t your GPA Higher?” Interview Question

By Claire Klieger

Don't be tormented by your transcript.

This is the kind of question that most of us dread because let’s face it—we probably all have at least one class or semester that just didn’t go so well. In some cases that may be a mere blip in your academic performance and for others, it can be an all out bomb. Regardless, here are some tips to help you better prepare for such a question:

1)      Don’t divulge negative information unless specifically asked. Sometimes, a GPA or grade in course that really concerns you is not a big deal for the employer. If it is an issue, you are can be sure that the recruiter will ask about it so there is no need to volunteer negative information. You may think that by broaching the subject you will have a chance to explain the circumstances, but doing so without being prompted actually just shines a bigger spotlight on the potential issue. Take that C you received in a particular course. Especially if it’s in an unrelated discipline, chances that the recruiter may not even care but bringing it up on your own just draws attention to it.

2)      Avoid the blame or comparative game. When you try to displace the fault you not only come across as someone who complains (and may even be seen as whiney), but you also never know when you may inadvertently insult someone. For example, I regularly hear students in science or math heavy majors say to me, “well, if I had an easier major, like English, my grades would be higher.” What if your interviewer (like me) majored in English? I certainly wouldn’t have described the multiple twenty-plus page papers I wrote a semester or the probably thousands of pages of reading I did as an easy course load. Pointing fingers just doesn’t create a good impression.

3)      Take responsibility for your actions. Instead of blaming a bad grade in a class on your major, the curve or the difficult professor, ask yourself what was really going on.  Employers want to hire folks who can own up to their mistakes.  In particular, if you can focus on what you’ve learned from that experience so you won’t make a similar mistake again, you can alleviate employers’ fears about any potential “skeletons” in your closet.

4)      The best answer to a difficult question is always the truth, though you should consider your approach. What is real reason you had a rough semester? Perhaps you underestimated the time commitment of rushing a sorority or pledging a fraternity?  Maybe you got in over your head by taking three upper level classes in the same subject next semester? Simply state what happened without a lot of details or over explanations and then focus on how you learned from the experience, particularly if it allows you to focus on more recent positive events.

Example: “I struggled with adjusting to college life and didn’t manage my time as well I should have freshman year. However, since then, I’ve learned to more effectively juggle my responsibilities and prioritize and as you can see from my transcript, I’ve continued to improve each semester since then.

5)      Own your own story. Remember that interviewers are people too, who have made their own mistakes in life and are usually willing to overlook your own provided you have the right approach. It’s important to be comfortable in your own skin. If you are upfront and honest when asked a question without coming across as defensive you will project a self assurance that will put recruiters at ease.

Here is my favorite true anecdote from a few years ago: A student was hitting it off with a recruiter at an on-campus info session for a very prestigious consulting firm. However, her hopes began to dash when the recruiter asked her, “What’s your GPA?”  She could see that her response of a 2.76 made the recruiter’s face fall and so she said, “I can see that you’re disappointed,” and the recruiter agreed. The student lifted up her chin and said with a smile, “Let me tell you something. I’m the first person in my family to go to college and I am so proud of the fact that I worked hard enough to end up at Penn. I’m continuing to work hard here and I’m thrilled with my GPA.” Guess what? She ended up getting an interview.

Ethics in the Job or Internship Search

Barbara Hewitt

We all know that the job and internship market is competitive, and as an applicant you want to make yourself stand out from the scores of other job seekers our there. You strive to put your best foot forward to increase the odds that an employer will select you for an interview. This competitive environment is heightened even more during on-campus recruiting, when lots of students, all in one place, are vying for the same interview slots. The pressure can be intense and it can be tempting to step over the ethical line and do things you shouldn’t to give yourself an edge.

Don’t do it! You are only as good as your reputation, and if you do things that are unethical in the job search you will come to regret it. The professional world is very small – people in the same industry often know one other (and talk to each other!), so burning bridges with one employer can ultimately have more far-reaching effects than you could ever imagine. (A couple of years ago, I spoke with a student who had a job offer withdrawn from an employer in London who found out that he was still interviewing with a different employer in New York, even though the student had indicated he had withdrawn all his applications. Even on different continents, things you might think an employer would never learn about can come back to haunt you!)

Here are just a few of the ethical issues that might arise in your job or internship search:

Honesty:

While you want to present yourself as positively as possible on your resume and in interviews, it is imperative that you are honest. Sometimes this is very clear cut. Flat out lying about your GPA, positions you’ve held, or specific accomplishments is clearly wrong. While such lies may not be caught by every employer you send your resume to, sooner or later someone will follow-up, asking for an official transcript, reference, or simply probing questions that you won’t be able to adequately answer. Keep in mind that the Career Services Office spot-checks transcripts and resumes, and if we find that a student has lied on his or her resume or altered a transcript, we immediately refer the case to the Student Conduct Office at Penn. Academic integrity is expected at Penn, and violations of it are treated very seriously. The consequences of such actions can be severe, including possible suspension or expulsion from the University.

While most students do not outright lie on their resumes, it is tempting to overstate accomplishments or your role in activities. Perhaps you were a contributing member of a team (but not really the “leader”), but state on your resume that you did indeed lead the team. Perhaps you overstated the size of a budget you handled for a student club, or the responsibilities you were given as a summer intern. As the recruiter questions you about the things listed on your resume, it will quickly become apparent that you did not, in fact, do all the things claimed. Once doubts are raised about one area of your resume, doubts will surface about all your other stated accomplishments. I once talked to a recruiter (an alum of Penn) who removed a student from consideration for a position because the student indicated that she was the president of an organization at Penn, while in fact the alum knew that the organization had co-presidents. Don’t let a similar situation occur because you have exaggerated something on your resume or in an interview.

Accepting an Offer

It is wrong to accept a job or internship offer, and then continue to interview for other opportunities in the hopes that something “better” (in your eyes) might come along. You would be outraged if you accepted an offer from an employer and then received a call a few weeks later to rescind it because the employer had “found a better candidate.” It is no different for employers. If you accept a position, you are expected to show up on the first day. Reneging on an offer seriously damages not only your personal reputation, but that of Penn as an institution. We have had employers in the past who have stopped recruiting at Penn because of students reneging on offers.

In an ideal world, you would have as much time as you need to consider an offer and finish all other interviews of interest to you. However, in the real world, things don’t always work out as smoothly as you would like. Most employers won’t wait indefinitely for you to respond to an offer and often will pressure you to respond quickly. (Please see our employer offer policy for on-campus recruiting.) Some employers may even ask if you would accept an offer before they officially extend it to you. In such circumstances, you may be tempted to accept the offer quickly due to the pressure, but you should ONLY do so if you are indeed committed to working at the organization. If not, politely ask if they could extend the deadline for you for a reasonable amount of time. If they won’t, you may be forced to make a decision before you would like….but you should not accept with the idea of reneging later if you receive another offer. Think carefully about what is at stake and whether you really want to work for such an aggressive employer. (When I received my very first job offer out of graduate school, the employer asked me to make a decision on the spot. I didn’t feel that I would want to work for such a manager and, although difficult, turned down the opportunity. Fortunately, a few days later, I received another offer from a place where I was much more enthusiastic about working.)

Holding Multiple Offers

As a job seeker, you may find yourself in a situation in which you have received offers from several employers. In this case, you should decline the offers you don’t plan to accept as soon as possible. The employers will appreciate your quick response so that they can move forward with their search and extend the offer to another candidate (perhaps even another Penn student!).

It would be unrealistic to expect all ethical dilemmas in the job search to be clear cut or easily resolved. The fact is, many situations are complex. The Career Services staff is here to discuss issues that might arise in the search with you. Come in and talk with us.