On February 22, 2018, I had the pleasure of participating in Penn State Harrisburg’s mock interview sessions. Here, students were given the chance to practice their job interview skills and have their resumes critiqued while working one-on-one with alumni who have experience evaluating job candidates in the professional world.
As an English major, school events like this one have always seemed strangely off-the-mark. I spent many high school job fairs drifting from one table to the next, halfheartedly listening to John Wilsbach explain his duties at WINK 104 then nearly nodding off while a journalist from some central Pennsylvania paper told us about his hectic work schedule. Self-aggrandizing phrases like, “I get to make my own work schedule,” and heroic-sounding advice such as, “This isn’t a nine-to-five job. I go where I’m needed when I’m needed most,” were common. I was forced to shadow somebody at the Patriot News, and everyone always suggested that I apply for an internship with the Press and Journal. Nothing related to job preparedness or career choices was ever quite what I wanted; instead, I was saddled with the closest thing the school could find (i.e. journalism and radio. It was always journalism and radio).
My point is that career preparedness for an English major can be difficult. The practical side of things can often seem less than applicable, and the prospect of participating in a job interview can feel stifling to some. It’s easy to think about all the great stories you want to tell, but it’s also easy to overlook the fact that you still have to develop a resume and learn how to make a good first impression at an interview. Without professionalism and the skills to impress employers, talent alone is unlikely to pay bills.
When I arrived on the second floor of the Student Enrichment Center, I was greeted with enthusiasm. “That’s amazing; someone showed up on time,” said the staff member who greeted me. “Since you’re early, why don’t we bump you up a time slot?” I was offered a place to sit – the only student in a room full of empty chairs and milling staff members. It wasn’t until somebody told me that I could head back whenever I was ready that I realized the sitting and waiting wasn’t mandatory. There was no orientation to be delivered once all participants had arrived. Was I the only one who had come? I stood immediately. Of course I was ready; I had arrived with my nerves prepared for an interview. One of the women asked me my major, and I answered, “English.” A brief hesitation followed by a glance to her coworker indicated that my major was an anomaly yet again – a strange odd puzzle piece that didn’t seem to fit anywhere, and you could make a complete picture without it, so really why was it even in the box? “Let’s put you with Brian. He’s marketing, so that’s close enough.”
My interviewer turned out to be very likable and informal. He framed the interview process in a new way for me. “The person doing the hiring has already looked over your resume and determined that you probably have the skills they need. Just making it to the interview stage shows that they have some interest in you, so the interview itself is really to see how well you would fit in with their existing team; it’s to get a sense of your personality, really.” The process turned out to be pretty informal and rather painless. Whether or not this was because everyone involved saw the interviews as mere practice or because, in the end, we’re all just people, I can’t be sure.
At the end of the day, attending the mock interviews was a beneficial experience. It reminded me that, no matter what field you’re in, sometimes all you need to get where you want to go is confidence in yourself and respect for others. That is, of course, if your resume is good enough to land you an interview in the first place. Never let the importance of good writing skills be forgotten.