Preparing for Interviews

You will go through multiple interviews at different stages throughout the CISabroad internship placement process.

CISabroad requires an Acceptance Interview of every applicant. The purpose of the interview is for us to get a better understanding of what you are looking to do in your customized internship, and to discuss your past experience, your ideal placement, and review your career goals. This interview will be added to your professional profile along with your other application pieces when reaching out to international companies and organizations.

The interview should only take up to 30-45 minutes of your time and will be conducted via Skype with your Program Coordinator. It is mandatory to move you forward in the internship placement process. To prepare, we recommend submitting your resume to the portal if you haven’t already, and start thinking of what you want to gain from your internship experience.

In some locations, you will also have a Placement Interview with either the onsite team or the host company. During this interview, you will discuss things such as what you can offer to an international company and your previous experience in the field.  You are likely to have some questions about your internship abroad, so during the interview, feel free to ask any internship-related questions. However, once the interview is complete, contact the Program Coordinator for ALL questions. 

Here are some tips to follow, in both interviews:

 

Dress appropriately. Most interviews are done through Skype and you never know if the interviewer might want to turn on the video and see you. Make sure to wear something professional, not sweatshirts or pajamas.

Do your research! If you interview with your host organization or your program coordinator, you must do some research before the interview. If you do not adequately prepare, you will look uninterested in both the organization and the internship. This includes asking questions – have your questions written down and ready to go. 

Practice the questions that you will likely be asked. Prepare answers to typical interview questions. Remember to give concise examples of your points. Some typical interview questions are:

• Why are you interested in interning in a certain field, location, or type of company?
• What experience or skills do you hope to gain from this internship experience?
• What are three skills, qualities or experiences that would make you a good fit for your desired internship?
• What past experience do you have in your desired internship field?
• Give an example of a past difficult experience you had and what you learned from it?
• What overseas experience have you had?

**Pro Tip – Include as many concrete examples from your past experience in your responses as possible. For example, when answering a question about your skills, don’t just respond with your skills but also how you’ve demonstrated them in the past. If your detail-oriented, quantify this – “I’m very organized which was a necessity when responsible for records of over 200 patients. I made sure all files were up to date and organized them alphabetically.”

Linda Raynier is a great resource for professional advice. See below her interview series to learn some new tricks and brush up on old ones!