After a Winter Orientation in University College, a new graduate student reached out to me, her career advisor, for help in preparing for an interview. We met and discussed the position she would be interviewing for, an International Compliance position at a medical device company. Going through the job description it was clear to me that she was intimately familiar with what the company was looking for and had a wealth of valuable and relevant experience. What the student needed was affirmation that her preparation was valid. We spent the entirety of a single 1-hour appointment going through practice questions, preparation techniques and common interview practices. After our appointment, I received the following email:
All went very well today thank you Andrew!
The interviewer was happy to let the conversation flow between us so when there was an appropriate opportunity to share samples of my work, I did so. And she loved it!
So it was all pretty positive but as can be expected, there are more candidates for her to see before she decides who to invite for the next round of interviews with the Paragon 28 executives.
I’ll find out by the end of next week if I’m called back again so I’ll be sure to let you know what happens.
Speak soon!
Kiran
A few days later, I received this email…
Hi Andrew
Hope you’ve had a great start to your week!
You’ll be pleased to know I made it to the second round with Paragon 28 and I’ve been invited for 2 interviews on Thursday morning -first one interview with their Director of HR and then with their CTO.
Both interviews are quite short- 30 minutes each so I’d appreciate it if you could give some pointers on the questions they may ask. If you prefer to chat I can call you either later this afternoon or any time on Wednesday.
Many thanks!
Kiran
I connected with the student again and we discussed preparing for 2nd round interviews, which involved a bit more detailed preparation. We strategized questions that she might receive, including behavioral based questions (BBIs) that require candidates to share examples and tell longer stories about their experiences. The student went into this interview feeling confident and well prepared, which led to this final email…
Great news- I was offered and accepted the International Compliance Officer position with Paragon 28!
Thank you for your advice on preparing for the interviews Andrew, it was invaluable for me because after we met, I was interviewed by 4 more people!
So could this be a record; I commenced my class with DU on 7th January and after 4 rounds of interviews I was offered a job within 3 weeks??!!
Speak soon and best regards
Kiran
While this is a great milestone success story, the overall takeaway should be that preparation for interviews is crucial. You have the advantage of career advising professionals here at DU who are dedicated to helping you achieve success, so make sure you are monitoring interviewing events in Pioneer Careers and scheduling appointments with your career advisor. An added benefit: you also have access to a virtual interviewing tool called BigInterview. Creating an account is simple and you will have access to interview preparation materials, practice questions, and response recording software so that you can record your responses and send them to a friend (or your career advisor). If you have any questions about interview preparation, practice, or support here at DU please contact Career & Professional Development.
