Marquette University Job Search Guide

Selling Yourself in an Interview

Top Qualities and Skills Employers Seek

• Communication skills: This includes verbal: being able to communicate with others including those from different cultures; written: possessing knowledge and use of proper grammar, correct spelling, and general sentence structure; and presentation: skilled at creating and presenting information and ideas to individuals and groups. • Leadership skills: The ability to guide, direct, or influence people. • Geographic awareness: Awareness of space, where countries and cities are located, social and cultural geographic movement, and dominant physical assets of a region are critical to a company's vitality. • Global understanding: The ability to interact with people from all over the world and understand global issues. • Technical: Technical aptitude includes what is required in a position, computer literacy with major software and basic troubleshooting skills. • Analytical thinking: Being able to take time to examine something in great detail in order to understand it better or discover more about it. • Strong work ethic: Taking pride in projects and working hard in order to accomplish a task. • Time management skills: Managing projects, meetings, deadlines, and other responsibilities in a systematic and efficient way. • Flexibility/adaptability: According to the needs of an organization, being able to adjust easily to a new environment or different conditions Behavioral Interviewing-- A Common Interviewing Technique Behavioral based interviewers believe that past behavior is an accurate predictor of future behavior. They concentrate many of their questions on situations that candidates have encountered in the past. What they want to hear is an illustration of your behavior. Typical questions focus on understanding a specific situation or challenge that you have faced that will demonstrate a particular quality or skill that is relevant to the position. To maximize the effectiveness of your answers, try using the STAR system. Teamwork skills: These are effective when the skills create an effective team dynamic. Students must be self-reliant while also being able to work with others. •

S= Describe a situation. (one-two sentences) T= Talk about the task. A= Explain the action you took. (one-four sentences) R= Talk about the positive results, quantifying if possible. (one-three sentences)

An example of the STAR system:

Question:

Tell me about a time when you have shown initiative.

Answer:

I worked for a summer in a small warehouse. I found out that a large shipment was due in a couple of weeks and that there was very little space available for it (situation). The rear of the warehouse was disorganized and the inventory system was outdated (task), so I came in on a Saturday, figured out how much room was needed, cleaned up the mess in the rear and catalogued it all on new inventory forms (action). When the shipment arrived, the truck just backed in. There was even room to spare and the new inventory system saved us a good deal of time (results).

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Internship and Job Search Guide x Marquette University x Career Services Center