Tips for the Internship Search: Interviewing for BBAs

The first step in any job search is to clarify your career focus by gaining an understanding of your personal values, interests, and skills. Questions that are helpful to ask during this process are, "Who am I?" and "Where am I going?" There are several other methods of conducting a self assessment. For example, you can participate in a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Workshop, read What Color Is Your Parachute? by Richard Nelson Bolles, or evaluate your classes here at U-M, and particularly at the UMBS. Questions to ask yourself are, "Which classes do I really like?" and "What types of classes am I doing well in?" Once you gain a clear understanding of your interests and abilities, it is easier to choose a concentration and to target those internships that will be a successful match for you.

2. Create a resume and keep it updated.

A resume is your personal marketing tool. If created correctly, it positions you as a qualified candidate, differentiates you from others, and "sells" you to recruiters. It is important to remember that your resume creates a first impression for recruiters, and it is what gets you in the door for an interview. This is why it is necessary to make sure that your resume is flawless and that it contains your most current information.

3. Get organized and start early.

This point is pretty much self-explanatory, but we can't stress enough how important it is. As you may already realize, the internship search intensifies early next semester and it moves very quickly. It is much better to be organized and not to let yourself get too bogged down with classes and miss a lot of great opportunities.

4. Network, network, network.

The idea here is to create what is called a "Web of Connections". Begin to create your own web by letting as many people as you can know that you are searching for an internship. The more people you tell, the more people they can tell, and the more people they can tell, etc. (We think that you get the idea!) The best people to place in your web are family, friends, neighbors, and anyone who has worked or is working in a job, company, or industry that interests you. The "Web of Connections" facilitates your internship search by taking some of the work off of your shoulders. Wouldn't it be nice to have all of those people in your web helping you get an internship?

Other helpful tools are the informational interview and corporate presentations. Conducting informational interviews will enable you to expand your personal network, to gain information about careers in specific companies, and to sharpen your interviewing skills. Corporate presentations are held both individually by companies and in panel format. Corporate presentations and panel discussions are another great way to learn about industries and companies that interest you.

5. What to expect in an internship interview:

Typically, the interviewer will spend about five minutes giving the interviewee some background about the company and the position . The bulk of the interview (fifteen to twenty minutes) will consist of the interviewer asking the candidate a series of questions. As a first-year undergraduate, these questions will typically be of a general rather than specific nature. In other words, areas such as leadership, communication, and teamwork will be explored deeply, while the concept of trying to evaluate your marketing, finance, etc. skills will be kept to a minimum. The last five minutes of the interview will consist of a question and answer session and the ever important closing.

6. Some helpful hints:

* Use the company literature available outside of OCD and on the second floor of KBAL to gather information and develop intelligent firm-specific questions.

* Remain enthusiastic. Recruiters enjoy talking to high energy people.

* Bring additional copies of your resume to the interview (preferably in a leather folder).

* Attend the company pre-night. Many companies will host a presentation the evening before interviewing. These presentations provide valuable insight and the opportunity to meet the prospective interviewers.

* When interviewing, you never get a second chance to make a last impression. Be prepared to ask at least two to three well thought-out questions. Finally, it is a good idea to practice closing an interview (your final comments, reiterations, and follow-up inquiries). This will help ease the pain of an awkward ending.

In summary, interviewing is a skill and not a gift. With a fair amount of practice, improvement is inevitable. Stop by the Office of Career Development and sign up for a mock interview with one of the career counselors. Good luck!

Stacie Cornwell and Mike Comilla are second-year BBA students and BBA Career Counselors in OCD. Stacie is concentrating in international business and computer information systems. This summer she worked as an intern in the Information Technology Division of Ernst & Young. Most of her time was spent working with clients as part of a consulting team. Mike is concentrating in finance. He spent the summer in Corporate Finance at Abbott Laboratories. Mike has also worked in the commercial banking industry and possesses a strong knowledge of investment banking.