It All Starts With an Interview — 6 Key Tips To Land the Job
Jennifer Openshaw spoke with the Gunjan Kedia, Head of Wealth at U.S. Bank, on how to nail your interview.
By Jody Bell
Are you among the 92% of working adults worried about some aspect of the interview process?
Imagine the anxiety GenZ men and women – your children, relatives, employees’ kids – are facing as they try to land their very first jobs in the years following a pandemic fueled recession.
Girls With Impact CEO Jennifer Openshaw led a national conversation with U.S. Bank’s Gunjan Kedia, head of Wealth Management, on how to nail that interview. Speaking directly to hundreds of girls who have graduated Girl With Impact’s live online business and leadership classes, she shared her knowledge after hiring hundreds of GenZ employees.
Here are her 6 key steps to nailing the interview.
Relax into it —As a hiring specialist herself, Kedia admits “it’s amazing how quickly you form an opinion.”
The first few minutes of an interview are key, and the best way to prepare for this is by making sure you look put together, slapping a smile on your face, and being as relaxed as possible.
Kedia recommends listening to music and purposefully trying to de-stress in the moments directly before your interview.
Laugh a little (even if it’s Penguins)—During her very first interview, Kedia was asked about The Penguins. Huh?
Not understanding that her potential boss was asking about the hockey team, she says she “kept thinking, ‘Why was he talking about these birds?’”
The result was a more than awkward interview. Looking back, Kedia wished she had tried to laugh off the misunderstanding — a tip that is useful for any inevitably awkward interview moment.
Prepare for the personal — A lot of people get flustered when asked to talk about themselves on a personal level; the inevitable “So, tell me about yourself” question is a trip-up in most interviews.
While this question may seem easy, you should spend time practicing how you would answer these personal questions. Make sure you can answer them with depth but also concisely as not to ramble.
Don’t fake your passions—GenZ is stereotypically an activist generation with passions rooted in worldly causes. BUT that doesn’t mean all of GenZ subscribes to this mentality, nor does it mean this passion will follow them into the workplace.
If you don’t truly feel passionate about philanthropic causes, that’s ok, but don’t bring it up in the interview. Kedia says it’s easy to read passion, but blatantly obvious when it’s not truly there.
Do your research — Research both your interviewer and the company you are trying to join and make that research obvious. Being unprepared for the interview will almost guarantee a bad conversation.
Any interview is nerve-racking – we know. Even with the odds stacked against them, GenZ has managed to flourish among turmoil. Hopefully, these key tips will support them as they continue to thrive during their next major life phase—the working world.
Jody Bell, 19, is Girls With Impact’s Chief Editor and a program graduate. Girls With Impact is the nation’s only online, after-school, entrepreneurship program for teen girls, turning them into tomorrow’s business leaders and innovators.