As we have discussed elsewhere on the blog, the interview can be a particularly challenging part of the college admissions process. Unlike getting good grades or acing a standardized test, an interview requires people skills. Even the most spectacular students, with the most impressive accomplishments, can underperform in an interview if they struggle to connect with their interviewers. 

To help you excel in this part of the college admissions process, we have some simple tips to help you present yourself better in your interview. While these points might be simple, they are also fundamental. So, while a lot of other things are required for a truly excellent performance in an interview, the material covered below is worth reviewing whether you feel like an expert or a total beginner in interviews.

Pace Yourself During Your Interview

In an interview, especially if you have more than one interviewer, it can feel like questions are flying at you very fast. You might feel pressured and attempt to respond to them quickly. This can be a mistake. Often, in an interview, a student will start to respond to a question before they really know what they are trying to say. This can make the student look unprepared and disorganized.

This problem can be avoided by taking a few seconds before beginning your response to collect your thoughts. You do not need to respond immediately. You will not look unprofessional or flustered if you take a moment to reflect silently. If anything, taking a moment to think before responding to a question can make you look more thoughtful and intellectual to your interviewer(s).

Communicate In Your Interview Through Stories

An interview can be a great opportunity to share more about yourself. One particularly effective way to do this is through telling stories. You do not, however, have an infinite amount of time in an interview to talk about yourself. So, while telling a story can be an effective way to communicate a lot in a short amount of time, you still need to make best use of that time.

Before your actual interview, think about a few stories you might want to tell. In particular, try to think of stories that reveal a side of yourself that might not have come across in your application materials. Think not just about what the content of the story would communicate about you but how you might share something about yourself in the way you tell the story.

For example, maybe you want to tell a story about winning a big chess competition. How are you going to present that information? Are you going to act humble? Proud of yourself? Funny? Because a story is an opportunity to talk uninterrupted, it can give an interviewer a much richer sense of who you are than just a brief response to an interview question.

It is important, however, to keep track of time. It can be tempting to start telling a story and go on much longer than you initially intended. This is why it is important to practice these stories beforehand. Before your actual interview, you should do a few practice interviews with a friend, family member or your Upgrade Mentor.

In these practice interviews, try telling a few stories you think might be interesting to an interviewer. I usually recommend to students that, in these practice interviews, they experiment with telling the same story in different ways. Try to tell one story quickly. Try to tell another story unemotionally. Try to tell a third story with a lot of passion. Practicing the same story in a short, medium and long format can also be helpful for timing and figuring out what elements of the story are most essential.

Ideally, after you have practiced some stories, you will have a toolbox of interesting anecdotes to share in response to different kinds of questions. You probably will not use all the stories you have prepared during your actual interview, but one or two interesting stories can be enough to help you really stand out in an interview.

Don’t Just React In Your Interview

In an interview, it can feel easy to just respond to the questions the interviewers pose to you. Especially if you have more than one interviewer, you might begin to feel as though you are only reacting to what is going on in your interview. This can leave a bad impression. You do not want to seem as if you are just robotically responding to what your interviewer(s) are asking.

There are several strategies you can use to seem more in control during your interview. If you are in an interview with more than one interviewer (like some Oxbridge-style interviews) you can seem more in control by dividing your attention among your interviewers. If one interviewer has just asked you a question, try not to just talk towards them but instead make eye contact with and engage with the other interviewers. If you do this well, you will seem more in control of what is going on in the room.

Another way to take control in an interview is to link your interviewer’s questions together. Perhaps a question they ask later on in the interview reminds you of a theme or topic that you had discussed earlier. Bring it back up. When you connect their questions in this way, you are helping define the overall shape of the interview even if they are the one asking the questions.

Finally, try to use emotion and expression where appropriate. You do not want to be smiling ear-to-ear the entire interview. You also do not want to come off as cold. You definitely do not want to seem like you are trying to rely entirely on charm. A good middle ground is to express yourself emotionally in a calculated way to punctuate a point. 

Perhaps you have just finished telling a story about a time you were able to help someone. A well placed smile in this context can really help you connect with your interviewer. If you can make your interviewers feel something, you will come across as a more interesting candidate for admissions.

End Your Interview On A High Note

Your interview has now ended. Your interviewer might ask if you have any questions or they might not. For this reason, it is always good to have a question ready. What you ask depends on you but it should definitely be something genuine and thoughtful. A question that touches on the big picture of your interview can be especially effective.

Maybe you are applying to study Physics. Maybe your interviewers are two Professors in Physics. If they ask if you have any questions, you might want to ask what advice they would have for someone your age trying to pursue a career in that field. You can also ask something more specific, perhaps about a particular program, but a last question is an opportunity to talk about more important things. Use that opportunity to leave a lasting impression.

Your interviewer might not ask if you have any questions. In which case, your interview is now over. Having a few parting words to share with your interviewers is a good idea. This need not be anything rehearsed or complicated. A simple goodbye saying how much you appreciated the opportunity to be interviewed should be enough.

If you have been interviewed by several people, do not forget to acknowledge each of them individually. If you are being interviewed in person, this can be shaking the hand of each interviewer. If you are being interviewed online, saying goodbye to them by name is another way to accomplish this.

No Perfect Interview

Finally, the simplest but also the most important tip: you do not need to be perfect. You do not need to rehearse for every question you can get in an interview. In fact, you shouldn’t. You do not want to seem like you are an actor reading from a script. You should let yourself be a (little) imperfect. You will seem more likable and your reactions to questions will seem more genuine. If you can use your preparation as a springboard for your interview, without letting your preparation control how you act on the day, while you might not have a perfect interview—you are definitely setting yourself up for a great one.