Interviewing Tips for MSIT Students

The mission of the Northwestern Engineering Career Development (ECD) office is to provide all students within the school the tools necessary for lifelong career management as well as to help forge relationships with potential employers.

One of the necessary tools students consistently ask about is interviewing. Whether the interview is one-on-one or at a career fair, in person or over the phone, there are tips that all students can benefit from.

Northwestern Engineering Assistant Dean and ECD Director Helen Oloroso shared her thoughts on how students can prepare for career fairs and interviews, as well as specific advice she recommends for students in the Northwestern Master of Science in Information Technology (MSIT) program.

Job applicants with a Northwestern MSIT degree tend to stand out. The degree itself can only take students so far, though. The rest, as Oloroso explains is up to them. As she says, the best way to stand out is by being prepared!

​How do you recommend a student prepare for a career fair?  

Become familiar with the attending companies and the roles they are recruiting for.  Look at the career fair as a networking opportunity, even if the recruiter is there to recruit for other positions. Most organizations need people with MSIT credentials, and the recruiters at the fair can be a connection to others in their organization.

What ways do you think a student can make themselves stand out at a career fair?  

One of the most impressive features of a candidate is the extent to which he/she has thoroughly researched the company and already done some networking with others who work there.  Fortune favors the prepared.

What is the biggest mistake you see students make at career fairs?  

The biggest mistake we see is when students approach a recruiter with no good questions to ask and no real idea what the organization does.  It comes across as a lack of interest, care or concern.

In what ways, if any, have career fairs evolved in the past few years?  

More employers are using the career fairs as an extension of a broader recruiting strategy, enhanced by digital tools that allow students and recruiters to use mobile devices to exchange information in real time during the fair.  To be successful at getting to a hire, both parties need to continue the engagement after the fair, usually through the creation of a candidate profile in the company’s applicant tracking system.

What specific advice or recommendations do you have for MSIT students as they prepare for a career fair?  

MSIT students need to really be able to articulate the value proposition of the degree and the program in terms of how it prepares them to enter or re-enter the workforce at the appropriate level.

How do you recommend a student prepare for a job interview, either in person or over the phone?  

Research, network, conduct informational interviews, and do more research.