As part of my masters program, I’m expected to acquire some hands-on experience applying the knowledge and skills I’ve been learning. This is accomplished through a mandatory volunteer placement, and I’m grateful to have one of those set up for the summer. However, this doesn’t take up the entire summer break from classes, and since the professors at the university know that most students will have some free time over the summer, there are a lot of part time short term opportunities floating around that offer additional hands-on experience with the added benefit of monetary compensation.
Of course, to get one of these positions, one must apply. The application process tends to include submission of a résumé and cover letter, an interview, and a reference check.
You can probably see where the problem is.
Interviews are challenging under the best of circumstances. It’s a situation where the stakes are high for both parties. One wants to find the right worker to contribute towards a project’s success, based on education and experience and interest. The other, me in this case, is typically looking for compensation in exchange for labour, which could take the obvious form of currency, or could be résumé items, work experience, or professional networking. Finding the right fit can change one’s career trajectory. I spent a lot of time thinking about what I would want out of summer employment and looking at the different options being passed around the various student job groups, and I found several that I thought would be a good fit and applied. And they all wanted interviews.
The semester is almost over, and I haven’t spoken during class at all. I’ve been able to communicate effectively, as I’ve noted in previous articles, but not with my mouth. Interviewers typically expect verbal communication, and in a situation that’s even more stressful than the classroom, I had a lot of anxiety around that. Thankfully, the positions I chose to apply to noted that disabled status was either neutral or worked in the applicant’s favour, and I was able to negotiate via email that the interviews take place online where I would have access to the chat function.
One particular practice significantly lowered my anxiety and allowed me to communicate more effectively during the interview: a pre-exchange of interview questions. The interviewers had a standard set of questions they intended to ask all of the applicants, and I was able to produce questions about the position and work context and expectations to share in return. This allowed me to pre-write some of my responses, cutting down on the time during the interview spent with me typing and then them reading. It also ensured that the interview time wasn’t dominated with the topics that they wanted to focus on to the exclusion of my own information needs. They weren’t just interviewing me, after all; I was also interviewing them. If you’re conducting an interview with a non-speaking candidate, I’d highly encourage this option.
One of the positions had a single interviewer, another had six. Each lasted about an hour. Everyone was gracious about me typing instead of speaking, and several noted that my ability to communicate effectively in written form was a strength. In the end, I received three offers, and accepted two of them. When combined with the unpaid position, the three will certainly keep me occupied during the summer, will provide a variety of contexts to gain practical experience, and will hopefully position me well when I enter the workforce as an information professional next year.