What makes an effective interview?
In the fall of 2023 I attended my first career fair of my college time. After completing my first year of BACC Core and math classes, I came back to school in the fall and listened to the advice of my professors. Despite my lack of construction knowledge, I set forth to the School of Civil and Construction Engineering Career Fair. Full of employment opportunities, I took my chance at talking to some construction firms that interested me to discuss internships and by chance, I left the career fair with 2 interviews set up for the next day. Oh no what am I going to wear!? When the next day rolls around, I arrive at the alumni center to meet with my two back to back interviews. The first of two was Perlo Construction, a medium sized construction firm in Tualatin, Oregon. The two interviewers were women, something that immediately made me feel welcome. The two women on the other side of the table chatted with me about my goals, my time in school, my extracurricular activities, and even my hobbies. We were talking about all things I’ve exceled in and not my lack of construction knowledge. I left the interview feeling like Perlo got a great sense of who I am as a person, my strengths, and the qualities I bring that would help me exceed in this role. The second interview, a nationwide large construction firm, Skanska. The two guys on the other side of the table from me look at my resume longer than in my eyes. They study it instead of me. Their questions remain in the box and don’t veer off of focusing on the lack of my construction knowledge. I leave the interview unsatisfied and unlikely to accept a job offer from them if it were to be offered.
In the terms of this interview for a entry level internship position, Skanska used a more reliability approach keeping all interviews with candidates under similar conditions. Perlo on the other hand used more of a validity approach to the interview by understanding my personal skills and qualities rather than my experience. Ultimately, this approach was very effective to me and I accepted a job offer with Perlo Construction that week.
