Interview at the University of Minnesota

This past Friday, I interviewed at the University of Minnesota for a Technical Writer position in the Office of Information and Technology. Actually, it was in the Office of Communication and Advancement, which is within the Office of Information and Technology. God bless bureaucracy. I just wanted to take a few minutes to tell people about my experience at the interview, so, hopefully, it will help others that are looking for jobs and may be interviewing soon.

The best advice I can give people that are about to interview is bring a portfolio of your work. This is the first interview I have had that I actually brought my portfolio and I have to admit I really underestimated its power. It made the whole interview process a lot easier. I didn't have to rely on trying to describe projects to them. Any questions they asked me about my experience, I could just open my portfolio and show them the work I did. It was a lot easier to talk about the project when I had something to show.

The interview itself was formal and very structured, but it was also really relaxed. Some of the questioned they asked were very specific about my experience. They asked about my experience news writing, technical writing, editing, and web developing. Luckily for me, I have experience doing all. In our field, these are the types of questions we can expect. This is where the portfolio comes in handy. Employers care more about your experience working on projects than they do about your time spent in classes. I advise you to think about your projects before hand, think about your role in the project and the thought process that went into it. It is a good idea to tell them about the challenges you faced and how you overcame them.

It's hard to prepare for an interview because you never know what they are going to ask you, but you can prepare for what you want them to know about you. If you can take what you've prepared and shape it to fit their questions, you've got it made. They asked me some weird things like am I good listener and how to do I know? That was a tough one, but I responded by saying what? I wasn't listening. That got a laugh and gave me time to think about a response. It's good to be relaxed, and you should be relaxed because you know, it's only your career on the line. You have to realize the interviewers don't bite. Be yourself during the interview. That's who they want to hirer, not that guy that fakes it for a job. Unless you're a complete tool, your actual personality is going to be a huge selling point. I say have fun and be confident. Do not sell the work you've done short. Be proud of it, and let them know you are ready for the challenges of the job.

That's about all I have to talk about for now. I hope this helps those of you that are looking for jobs and internships. If I don't get the job at the U of M, I will write another blog telling you to ignore all I said in this one. So long for now and take care my Tech Comm Comrades.