#2. Top Ten Interviewing Mistakes: Going through interviewing solo

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During the interviewing season, our friends turn into enemies, and we hide ourselves from the world so that no one knows who we’re interviewing with. We feel that everyone who is interviewing with the same company is a competitor, and if we help them with their interviewing then that means they could get the job over us. Does this sound familiar to you?

INTERVIEWING IS A TEAM SPORT!

My friends Josh and Ben studied together for about 40 hours a week for two weeks straight in order to prepare themselves for the case interview. You know what, it paid off. Josh is currently a consultant at LEK and Ben is a consultant at Bain. You must find a buddy who you can practice interviewing with who can give you honest and constructive feedback.

Buddies can see what you can’t

When you practice interviewing with your buddy, make sure she watches your body language as well as the content of your words. I have seen people who bobble their heads when they answer a question and they don’t notice that they’re doing it until I point it out to them.

When practicing with your buddy, make sure she judges you on the following criteria:

• Do you clearly and concisely tell an entertaining story with your answers
• Do you effectively use both hands to compliment your story
• Do you actively engage the interviewer with your eye contact and body language
• Do you keep “Umms” and “Likes” to a minimum

Go to Events with you Buddy

Going to career fairs and info sessions can be intimidating at times. This is where your interviewing buddy comes in handy. Going to career fairs and info sessions with a friend makes the event much more fun and you instantly have someone to fall back on if you can’t find anyone new to talk to. If you find yourself wandering by yourself, go meet up with your buddy and she can introduce you to the person that she is talking to.

Having a buddy around at the career events also lets you meet more people much easier. You can take half of the tables in the room and your friend can take the other half. Then you guys can introduce each other to the recruiters and company representatives that you met so that you instantly get past the cold introduction. Making introductions also shows that you’re a friendly person and are not selfish; it shows that you will go above and beyond to help a team member out.

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