Q&A on interviews

Not for technical roles, but for roles like marketing, sales, management where skills are more transferable, employers might turn a blind eye to your industry experience or even your qualifications. They will look more at your attitude and willingness to contribute.

Study the company inside out and ask big picture questions to show you understand the business and where it’s heading to, e.g. What are the biggest opportunities facing the company/department right now?

Asking questions specific to the role for which you are applying is great as well, e.g. What are the major challenges of the role? / What will my day-to-day responsibilities be?

To show that you are eager, you can also check with the interviewers on the timeline, e.g. What are the next steps in the interview process?

It’s impossible to give a definitive answer to this, but usually you will just know. For example, you can understand the company culture through the recruitment talk, your research and your trip to the office for the interview.

You want to be following up with the right balance of enthusiasm and interest but without coming across as desperate. You need a mindset of “continuing the conversation” rather than “asking for a decision.”

After you’ve completed an interview, send a thank-you note. If you have not heard back after a while (based on the recruitment timeline you understood from the interview), it is completely acceptable to follow up. Emailing is recommended over calling because an email will allow the hiring manager to provide a considered, thoughtful response.

For most internships, there is usually a basic allowance. However, if the role is in a company or industry that you absolutely want to get into, then do it for free if you have to.

Don’t ask about salary or benefits just yet. Wait until you are in the final steps of the interview process or upon receiving an offer. Very naturally, the HR representatives will bring up this topic if this is the final stage.

Being strategic about where to look for jobs will boost your likelihood of being hired. Not all firms will consider your GPA as an important part of the hiring process. You just have to be able to show future employers that your GPA does not define you, and show off your other qualities and accomplishments instead.

If your major GPA is higher than your overall GPA, make sure to highlight that. You can also list relevant courseworks without revealing your actual GPA.

That said, if your major GPA isn’t much better, or is worse than your overall GPA, leave that out of your résumé and read on for other ways to overcome a low GPA.

Be prepared to talk about your low GPA if asked about it, and be honest in your explanation and highlight how you overcome it. While some employers will make a big deal about your GPA, there are employers who will care more about other aspects of your résumé, such as your work experience. Be cautious about how much you want to reveal in explaining your low GPA if there were personal issues that got in the way of your grades. In that case, you may want to avoid the topic, or spend some time thinking about how you can explain it in a way that won’t hurt your prospects.