Higher Education & Student Affairs

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Interview Placement 2017: Tips and tricks from current students

Interview Placement is about 3 weeks away, and we are so excited to meet everyone who is coming to campus! Interview Placement is just as much a time for you to get a feel for what life at Baylor could look like, as it is a time for you to interview for apprenticeships. As those of us in the first-year cohort think back to our own Baylor interviews that took place a year ago, there are a few bits of wisdom that we’d like to share with you.

Make the Most of Your Time at Baylor:

  1. Be confident and be yourself. If you have voices in your head telling you that you’re being judged the whole time you’re here, don’t listen to them. We want you at Baylor!
  2. Take full advantage of your time with current HESA students. We’ve been on the front lines taking classes and serving in our apprenticeships! We really want to share about our experiences. We were in your shoes not too long ago—feel free to talk with us and ask us questions! We’re nice people, we promise!
  3. Take care of yourself, and HAVE FUN! You need to get enough sleep and focus enough mentally to knock your interviews out of the park, but take advantage of social opportunities.
  4. Talk to other candidates. They are the people that you’ll spend the next two years with if you choose to come to Baylor, so it’s worthwhile to get to know them.

Interview Like a Pro:

  1. Spend some time thinking about potential questions that might arise during your interview. How would you answer them? What stories do you want to tell? What experiences do you want to share?
  2. Do some research on the department or area that you are interviewing with. This will help you think about how you might want to talk about your experiences and skills and how they relate to a specific department’s mission.
  3. Think about the questions you want to ask during your interview. These might be questions about the role, department, supervision style and time commitment. It’s easy to get nervous or freeze up during an interview and forget your questions. Write down questions that you’ve come up with beforehand in a notebook or a padfolio so that you can refer to them if you draw a blank.
  4. Think about how you might want to rank apprenticeships throughout the day. Nobody knows how to rank your preferences better than you do! We fully understand the “What should I do?” tendency, but only you can truly know what’s best for you. Once you’ve ranked everything, let it go! You’ve done everything that you need to do.
  5. Go to bed early the night before.
  6. Stay hydrated on interview day. You might have back-to-back interview sessions where you’re talking a lot, followed by a nice, brisk stroll across campus to get to your next interview. Bring some water with you, and if you run out or need more, just ask your host. We’re here to help!
  7. Wear comfortable, yet professional clothing and shoes! The last thing you need is to be worried about is the fit of a garment or the pain in your feet during an interview.

We are really excited that you will be coming to campus in a few weeks. Your hosts will be reaching out to you over this period of time. Please ask any questions you may have about Baylor, HESA or Interview Placement. We want to help make sure you feel prepared to succeed while you are here.

Sic’em Bears!!!

yolande_graham • February 13, 2017


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