Interview Thoughts and Notes

Today I was contacted by Portage Inc., an Environmental Engineering firm based out of Idaho Falls, but located all over the United States including Anchorage, Alaska (where our family is contemplating a move to). I thought I could use this opportunity to record some thoughts and notes that will help me do well in the interview.

My most favorable and important attribute that I can offer as a potential entry-level hire is not my technical expertize, but rather my passion for Mechanical Engineering. So the question is how do I demonstrate my extraordinary passion in the interview?

1. Show enthusiasm for the job
2. Come up with behavioral examples of situations which resulted in favorable outcomes in the form of results.
3. Show a drive for achieving excellence and a "can do" attitude.
4. Show that you can be relied upon to do what you say you will do.
5. Incorporate the actual words, "positive attitude", "striving to do my best" and "Passion for excellence" into the interview.
   

Yesterday, I went to the Internship and Career Center at the Kimball building on the BYU–I campus in order to have a mock interview. During the interview the first thing that stood out to me is that I don't have a descent answer for the "Tell me a little bit about yourself.", statement. So a 30 -Second Sound bite about who I am is the first thing that I am going to work on here. I will focus on a few different points of description of my work background.

1. It should be tailored to the job description and the culture of the company.
2. It should include such things as work experience, special skills, education, and training.
3. It should include your most positive points.
4. In as short a statement as possible tell them the measurable results you deliver, and who you deliver them to. Then shut up.
5. Don’t try to tell them EVERYTHING in one breath. Tell them something that is so powerfully grabbing that they just have to ask you for more, and even then when you respond keep it short, keep them asking for more.

Over the last couple of days I realized that the amount of information that I came up with in my excel spreadsheet that I made was way too much for a "30 Second Elevator Pitch". So, I will post a picture with my excel spreadsheet here. My pdf with answers incorporating the aspects that were spoken of above will be introduced in the next post.