6B Wednesday, January 18, 2012 // The Statement Wednesday, 3B Pitching yourself Behind the interview process by Kaitlin Williams You sit down for your job inter- view. The first question arrives. "How many people are using Facebook in San Francisco at 2:30pm on a Friday?" Why would anyone ask this question during an interview? How would you begin to answer it? And, most importantly, what would your answer say about you? A Dec. 28 article on glassdoor.com placed this question, which was actually asked at Google job inter- views, among its "Top 25 Oddball Interview Questions of 2011." Lynne Sebille-White, senior assistant director of employer rela- tions at the University's Career Center, said while these "case inter- view" questions are rare for typical job interviews, students applying to jobs in certain fields like consulting can expect off-the-wall questions from companies looking to gauge critical thinking skills. "Obviously, there's not going to be an answer for the question," "Think about those times when you were a leader, when you did something innovative." -Megan Budzynski, senior consumer and market knowledge manager at Procter & Gamble Sebille-White said. "For some questions, there could be, but for a lot of things, they're Hypotheti- cal. They just want to see how that (critical thinking) process works." Sebille-White said behavioral questions - such as "What are your strengths?" and "What are your weaknesses?" - are still the most popular in job interviews. While, these are more standard questions, Sebille-White said practice is essential to performing well in everytype of interview. "Because obviously most Michigan students are articulate, they're bright, have great com- munication skills, they think the interview part is going to be the easy part," Sebille-White said. The Career Center offers half- hour appointments for mock interview sessions, which are conducted by staff members who record audio and video to review with the student later. Students can schedule one appointment a semester to prac- tice for interviews for jobs after graduation, summer internships and graduate schools. Sebille-White said students are urged to dress up for the practice interview to really get in the right mindset. "I think that with any inter- view prep, one of the key things is to get beyond prepping in your head or prepping on paper and actually getting to articulate your answers," Sebille-White said. Students can even practice working out case interview ques- tions like, "Why are manhole cov- ers round?" While Sebille-White stressed That interview questions tend to remain unchanged through- out the years, more companies are tweaking their processes to weed out candidates before an interview even takes place. She said more employers are now conducting pre-interview assess- ments online. Olivia Sitto, campus recruit- er for the satellite TV provider DISH Network and a 2010 Uni- versity alum, said DISH utilizes a pre-hire assessment online as a part of the multi-step hiring pro- cess. DISH Network accepts candi- dates from all majors, and Sitto said that the company will be at today's Winter Career Expo look- ing for students to fill summer internship positions. Sitto said that after the pre-hire assessment, a behavior-based interview is con- ducted, followed by a problem- solving assessment that covers quantitative reasoning, critical thinking, verbal ability and inter- net proficiency. "We really value your innate characteristics, like energy, intel- ligence and need for achievement a lot more than we value your actual experiences just because we feel like those are the things that can't really be taught," Sitto said. "Experience can be taught, on the other hand." As a recent University gradu- ate, Sitto advocates using the Career Center Connector, an online resource listing employers and job openings. "When I was a student, I basi- cally lived on the Career Center Connector, and really applied to everything that I felt I might be interested in," Sitto said. Megan Budzynski, senior con= sumer and market knowledge manager at Procter & Gamble and a 2005 University alum, recruits students for the company but also helps them prepare for interviews with rsume reviews and mock job interviews. Budzynski said the mock interviews are behavioral- based and can translate into any job interview situation, although they are modeled off of what can- didates can expect when they apply for a job or internship with Procter & Gamble. For interview advice, Budzyn- ski said students should under- stand the company and type of interview to expect. Sebille-White said most compa- nies who conduct case interviews will inform the candidate before- hand and provide sample ques- tions online. Coming prepared to any interview with specific anec- dotes is important, Sebille-White and Budzynski said. "Really think about those times when you were a leader, when you did work with a team, when you did something innovative," Budzynski said. To those navigating the job interview process, and some potentially strange questions, Budzynski said preparation can only help. SPIN 1038 {?spainO3 P Diddy allegedly 'threw a tantrum' over the brand of vodka served at a Golden Globes Party ... Andy Borowitz 0kro wvtz -port If you added up all the sincere words at the Golden Globes they would not fill one tweet. 15 Jan Brad Wollack ra d wla ck For the record, this is the first and last Golden Globes Stacey Keibler gets to go to. 5Jan rob delaney fIt n ' Betty White attended the first Golden Globes in 1822 and her date was painter Auguste Renoir. D ;3 11 ., I. tweets of the week a week of daily stories #GoldenGlobes Michigan Book and Supply faces possible closure as it undergoes evaluation from its recently bankrupt parent company, Nebras- ka Book Company. Contact U-M Peace Corps Representatives: Scott Burgess and Mackenzie Knowling International Opportunities Center, Room 10,603 E. Madison St. peace.corps@umich.edu, 734.647.2182, facebook.com/UMpeacecorps PEACE CORPS NEEDS APPLICANTS WITH DEGREES AND SKILLS IN: Education "English Teaching -"Agriculture Forestry. Environment.- Public Health Math - Science -French - Spanish For campus office hours & events, visit peacecorps.gov/events. Find us at the 1/17SNRE Career Fair or 1/19 Info Session! Sign up for updates at peacecorps.gov/info. Life is calling. How far will you go? 800.424.85801 peacecorps.gov with apologies to lou gehrig [status update] by for an rochelson Are you reading a good book right now? "Water For Elephants." It's about the interaction between on/mols ond humas. It's especially interesting to me how some folk have no respect for anima/s or other humans. If you could visit anywhere in the world... Germany. Lived there for ten years and have many friends throughout Deutschland. What would you do if you weren't teaching? I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth to have chosen the career I chose. I won- der if any Yankee fans will accuse me of plagiarism. If so, I apologize to, them and to Lou Gehrig. Restaurant Week, a promotional event for local eateries, began this week. Throughout the week 49 restaurants in Ann Arbor will be offering steep discounts. john rubadeau english lecturer The owners of Good Time Charley's and BTB are opening a nightclub called LIVE in downtown Ann Arbor. LIVE is set to open Feb. 3.