–Original blog contribution by: Beza Baheru (’16)
Meet Sara Salam Ayanaw Muche, class of 2017. She is a Public Health major who aspires to work as a physician in the future. During this past summer, she interned at Hamlin Fistula Hospital Rehabilitation Center in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. We had the opportunity to discuss her online interview experience related to her internship.
Q: During the last 3 years at Davidson, have you been interviewed for a position be it an internship, a job or a volunteering opportunity?
Sara: For the International Grant application for summer internships, one of the requirements was to complete an online interview using InterviewStream.
Q: Were any of these interviews online? If so how did the process look like?
Sara: The process forInterviewStream was very simple. I had to create an account and I had access to the interview question. There was a pdf file that career services provided that told me how to prepare (how to dress, what the area of the room should look like, etc.).
Q: Prior to your online interview(s), how did you prepare for it? What resources did you tap into? Did you go to the Davidson Career Development website to find helpful resources?
Sara: The resources to prepare for the interview were all located on the Career Development website. I used the InterviewStream pre-recorded best practices sheet to help. This tip sheet was easily accessible on the description for the grant I was applying for.
Q: What were the most helpful features of the website you used? Were you able to review your interview and make a note to yourself?
Sara: I found the ability to record my interview multiple times to be the most helpful feature of InterviewStream. While this does not prepare me for interviews in person, it helped me determine the key aspects I should highlight during an interview. Another helpful tool is the sound feature, for someone like me that can often talk relatively softly, this feature made sure I was projecting my voice.
Q: What do you recommend for students who have online interviews in terms of preparation and the actual interview?
Sara: In terms of preparation, I would recommend that students go through the InterviewStream pre-recorded best practices sheet. I would also make sure that the individuals have a general idea of what they will be asked and prepare short responses or bullet points for possible questions. For the actual interview, the tip sheet is also very helpful. I would also recommend for students to go to a quiet area to prevent from unwanted disturbances and sounds from interfering with the interview.