How *not* to handle your college interview...

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
41

For the last couple of months I’ve been carpooling with another coworker. We’re all Spaniards working in Scotland. Last week we had to take a third one; I told her in an aside “keep in mind that The Hordie follows the traditional Spanish definition of ‘punctual’”. She went “uh?” “Well, yeah, what does it mean for you to have an appointment at eight?” “It means be there at… oh I see, he’s one of those to whom it means ‘set my alarm clock to 8, when it rings switch it off, get my coat on, grab my stuf…’:rolleyes:” “Yep.”

I hate that. “Meet at eight” means “meet at eight,” damnit!

Or maybe I shouldn’t be so literal?

42

I have spent the better part of my career dealing with cultural issues such as this. When reading the previous comment, I was thinking - I don’t know about Africa, but Spanish speaking countries - ah good old mañana. You filled in the blank before I could respond.

Note the correlation between the countries and regions with this habit and the relative size of their economies.

43

Hey, at least we don’t have meetings to prepare the meeting in which we’ll decide who prepares the draft of the powerpoint which will then need to be passed on to everybody so we can have another meeting to review it, and in which people will voice the opinions which they didn’t send beforehand by email, so the draft can then be changed, resent and re-reviewed (with another meeting), in order to be ready for that other meeting in which the powerpoint has to be shown.

These Scots turn “show and tell” into Baroque art. And to think I used to complain about Americans having too many meetings!

44

I just had an interview today to do a summer internship with a very high profile international aid organization (you have definitely heard of it, as it’s been in the news quite a bit lately) and I BOMBED.

So today, I’m feeling sorry for the kid.

45

I didn’t say it was good or bad.

To paraphrase an old sports cliche, you can’t change it, you can only hope to contain it :slight_smile:

46

I applied to MIT as a wannabe engineer, and had an interview across town with someone who essentially majored in crew. He got a degree, but from a cursory google, he went on scholarship and captained the team in the 60s.

Was a neat guy, and I think my interview went ok, but I decided midway through the admissions process that the NE wasn’t for me and stopped with the paperwork. (And my dad drove with me, even though I could have gone by myself, just cause of nerves.)

47

I agree. Catalin did the only thing that she could do. But it’s unfortunate that it worked out that way, since a lot of this probably is a by product of culture.

In Cameroon (and presumably Nigeria, which shares a lot culturally) the concept of “on time” was completely different. Meetings, interviews, appointments, etc. happened one to two hours (depending on the occasion- formal parties usually started four hours late) after they were scheduled. Anyone who came “on time” would end up sitting in an empty office for hours. They didn’t have the rush-rush lifestyle we have, and so nobody worried too much about how much time was passing. Things just started when people got there. Everyone knew the system, so it kind of worked. It took me months to re-adjust to American (well, Chinese) time when I left.

The suit is probably also cultural. Clothes were a VERY big deal and the quality of your clothes was a direct sign of how much you respect the person you are dealing with. The idea of an “informal interview” is as foreign as a “naked interview” would be to us. Just inconceivable. Likewise, Africa in general likes official documents, so CVs tended to list everything the writer has ever done. Since it was a very social culture, the stuff you wrote on paper was considered a meaningless formality that you’d be expected to inflate as much as possible. What really mattered was the one-on-one stuff. I’ve known people who have never held a job hand me four page CVs. And nobody would raise an eyebrow- it was expected and if you did anything less you’d never make it.

Now I don’t think these are great cultural traits, and clearly you need to learn to live in the culture you are in. But chances are the kid was doing exactly what you’d do to succeed at a Nigerian interview.

48

Great, but he’d been in the US long enough to know that’s not acceptable in the US. I imagine he must have realized at some point that if he doesn’t get to class on time - he doesn’t get the class!

49

That’s certainly not what I intended to hint at, and I agree with Calatin’s ‘way over his head’ summary.

50

Being punctual has nothing to do with US customs. It doesn’t matter where you are from, if you have an interview, you get there on time, preferably before. The OP was kind enough to include directions (I wouldn’t have, it could have been a test of his Google skills) so there is no reason to search for the place.

Also, the mistake in sending a mail to the OPs mail shows a lack of attention to detail IMO.

51

So he couldn’t have handled Windows 95, huh? Lightweight…

52

But this is not true.

If I were in Cameroon (depending on the job and location within Cameroon, of course) I would probably plan to be there forty-five minutes late. Generally when setting appointments I would ask “is that American time or Cameroonian time?” They would swear it was American time. Then I’d say “Really?” and they’d admit it was Cameroonian time, and they wouldn’t even be in the office until an hour after the “time” of the appointment.

I spent the better part of one year sitting in empty offices, conference rooms, on curbs outside of government buildings, etc. because “time is time everywhere and I need to set a good example.” Eventually I realized that not only was I wasting my time, but I was putting people out by showing up at the wrong time and bothering them by throwing their schedule off. As time went on, I learned the subtle rules and eventually started showing up at the same time as everyone else.

If all this blows your mind, think about college-style parties in America. If you show up at the time a party starts, chances are the host will still be re-arranging the couches and making last minute beer runs. People generally don’t start showing up for an hour or two (of course, now half the Dope is going to show up and say their college parties always started on the dot…)

Well, anyway, it’s kind of like that but for everything.

53

even sven, you do make a solid case and I was a bit hasty making statements like I did.

But before I throw in the towel, don’t you think it would have been prudent of an interviewee to show up at the agreed time, just on the off chance that the interviewer was punctual. Or was the one guy in Cameroon who was punctual :).

Of course as you might have guessed already I used to be the one guy who used to show up on time at parties and be coerced into helping out…

54

He might have generally adapted to the time-aspect, but I don’t think he’d have the opportunity to know the cultural differences for interviews. I was born and raised here in the US and I don’t know how many mistakes I’d make in interviews before I finally figured things out. I can see him learning to adjust to American high school things, but for interviews I can understand him not adapting yet.

55

It would have been, but this assumes the interviewee is aware that punctuality might actually be an issue - if nobody’s ever explained to the kid that this is what’s expected in America, it’s not necessarily something he’s going to have learnt.

56

Interviews aren’t exactly a common occurrance for high school students. When would have picked this information up? There’s a big difference between an interview and going to class.

57

One thing I’ve noticed about some applicants is that they really seem under-prepared. I’ve divided these kids into two categories: those who just are too nervous about the process and those who are applying due to the coercions of their parents. I knew a few of those kids when I was in high school, and I really feel sorry for them, because they feel like they have no real say in their lives, basically just trying to meet the expectations of their parents. These are the kids who answer with rehearsed “perfect” answers, but when you ask any sort of follow-up (“Well, why do you think that Princeton in particular would help you reach your goal of being a lawyer / doctor / farmer / etc.?”) Now, let me explain how I conduct these things. We meet at Starbucks, talk for an hour and a half or more, and I let them ask questions, I ask them questions, etc. Typical interview format (although I’ve been told that mine are a little longer than some others). However, I make a point to let them know that I give them a “multiple-day buffer” before I write my evaluation. Basically, my logic (and I explain this to them) is that I know when I walk out of interviews, I always wish I would have asked / told them something else. This is their chance to supplement the interview or get any info they might not have thought to ask about due to nervousness, distractions, etc. I do tell them though, if they don’t have anything to specific to ask or tell, just drop me an e-mail and say we covered everything, and that it’d be okay - it is just something for their benefit. The “nothing further” e-mail can just be a sentence, letting me know that they don’t have anything else to share. I also stress that, if they don’t have anything else to say, it is alright, and for them please not to pad an e-mail with things that have been covered or are irrelevant.

So, I interview this girl, and well… to use the word “bland” would be an understatement. Everything I asked received a sentence-long answer at best. As I stated earlier, I try to make these interviews as informal as possible - meeting at a busy Starbucks, wearing t-shirt and jeans, asking if they want to walk around the shopping complex, telling personal anecdotes about the University… When I interviewed, the entire thing was as intimidating as possible, and so I try to avoid having others experience the same.

I understand nervousness; I really do. But, we were there for two hours, and there wasn’t any point where she just came out of her shell. Every question I asked received a very generic answer. I’d ask an “open” question, and I’d receive a “closed answer.” We were about halfway into the interview when I realized that she had yet to give one answer that really applied, specifically, to Princeton. Every answer seemed to be a form answer with an “Insert University Here” blank. I’m not saying you have to make everything about Princeton, but come on… if you can’t explain why you want to go to the school you are interviewing for… I asked other places she’d applied to, and there was no rhyme or reason to it - some in TX, some in Cali, some on the East Coast, and a few in the Carolinas. Basically, I got the impression she just threw some things out there to see what would stick. Nothing wrong with that. But, when you get to an interview level, have SOMETHING specific to ask, or say, about the university. Although I do spend a portion of the interview talking about how much I enjoyed my time there, one of the main points of the interview is for the applicant to sell themselves to me.

We have the interview, and I’m underwhelmed. Multiple days go by, and I e-mail her, asking if there was anything she wanted to add, in a last-ditch attempt to give her benefit of the doubt. I receive the following:

*Mr. Calatin,

I’m so sorry I did not reply sooner (please do accept my apology). I did feel like i left something out during our interview. When you asked me to tell you about myself I didnt mention many things, but mainly I just want you to know that I am a hardworking, determined, and goal oriented individual who wants to go to Princeton to achieve my goal of becoming a doctor. I know there are many other colleges I could go to and become a doctor, but I want to go to Princeton because I believe there I will learn how to be the best me, in one of the nations best schools, and under the guidance of well respected teachers and faculty. Princeton, I believe, will help me be the best doctor I can be.

Thanks again for the interview; I am so happy they chose you to interview me. You were really cool and super funny, especially for someone who feels they’re old (even though your not). Thanks so much for everything.

Bland Veal*

Ok. First off, paragraphs 1 and 2 were not written by the same person. The same person might have typed them both, but I’m young enough to remember my parents over my shoulder after Christmas, urging me to write “thank you” notes, and then essentially dictating exactly what to say. Also, “really cool and super funny?” I’m guessing I know who wrote the latter paragraph. The only reason I might suspect she had a hand in paragraph 1 is because it was just as generic and bland as the entirety of the interview.

And, as an English major, the kicker for me was that while she wants to go to an Ivy League school, she doesn’t know the difference between “your” and “you’re.” I died a little inside when I read that. It did, however, make me feel better about writing the evaluation.

Of course, irony dictates that after typing that last paragraph, I will have made numerous errors in this post…

58

What kinds of things do these kids say about why they want specifically to go to Princeton? I guess they refer to particular faculty members or something?

-FrL-

59

See, I was that person. I was 15 and didn’t have much to say about life. I was raised by depressed people who didn’t instill in me any sense of what was possible out of life, and I didn’t have any hopes and dreams. I just hoped to survive. I was isolated from other people so it’s not like I could see other college students and develop an idea of what college would do for me. I believed in just answering the question and not selling myself, because I didn’t know that was an option. What kinds of comments do you get from people who actually do know what Princeton would do for them, or why they want to go there?

They would have been right to not take me because I’m not one of the overachieving bright people who go to Princeton, and I haven’t made much of my life. And maybe that could be determined from how I acted in interviews, but maybe not. I could have become something else in the meantime. I did get in I assume because I was a legacy.

60

No, while I’ve had some applicants ask if I had specific professors while there, I don’t expect them, as a whole, to be able to name department heads or the sort. I’m just saying that knowing the state where you allegedly want to spend the next four years of your life tends to be a plus. :slight_smile: After interviewing some talented kids who show genuine excitement at the thought of matriculating at Princeton, it just makes it hard to write a glowing evaluation for a kid for whom it was just another application they had to complete.

Honestly, since it is halfway across the country, I don’t expect kids to have been able to visit campus or anything like that, but I’m shocked at how many kids just show up without knowing anything about Princeton. That being said, this past “season”, I interviewed one girl who knew more about the university than some alumni.