I have had a lot of experience with interviews, and practicing getting really good at them from the candidate perspective. I started practicing my interview questions and style in my senior year of high school, going in after school to work with my counselor. I had some big interviews for MECOP, which is actually an internship program for engineering majors, as well as a scholarship program. In college, I continued to practice my interviewing skills by basically interviewing with as many companies as possible for internships within the construction industry.
Something I noticed that was different from MECOP/scholarship interviews and interviews for the construction industry, was that they had a very different tone. The construction industry tends to be a little less formal as a rule, which makes sense that the interview would reflect that as well. I liked when the interviewer would start with some light conversation before transitioning into the official questions, I think that it really allows them to see if you would gel with their company and team. It was interesting to read about how removing likeability from the interview process can help with removing bias, which I do understand. However, I liked keeping that as a part of the process, but scoring the candidates like they would any other skill, as to make it more “controllable” (Knight, 2018).
Most notably, the issues I would have with interviewers is when they would ask seemingly redundant questions that could be found within my resume. To me, it showed a lack of preparedness for the interview and interest in me as a possible new hire. I also disliked interviews where I was being questioned by more than 4 people. It felt intimidating and a little excessive for something like an intern position, and puts a lot of pressure on the interviewee.
