Interview Tips

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Like most people I at some point was completely lost when it came to interviews. I still feel kind of lost but I have picked up some tips along the way, especially during our search for internships in New York City. This post are hopefully helpful to someone who like me feels a little uneasy with the whole thing.

First off, if you’re traveling a distance or staying out a day for several interviews; then there are things you should have in your bag. This is from my point of view as a women but I’m sure there are many things you could add/remove from your point of view!

Pack in your bag:

  • Resumes: ALWAYS have printed copies of your resume with you, if they ask for it and you don’t – terrible for your standing. This tip I got from my advisors and teachers here at IIB who all emphasised how important it was.
  • Notes: Don’t underestimate doing your research. It makes a better impression if you know your stuff!
  • Deodorant/perfume: Running around can get sweaty and using one of these or both could improve any possible smell but also make you feel more confident.
  • Wet wipes: This actually became useful to me when I was in New York for two interviews. I had time for lunch in between and managed to get an unfortunate stain on my white shirt. Luckily a wet wipe did the trick!
  • Water: If you don’t have a lot of time, water can be important because you don’t want to get dehydrated.
  • Change of shirt: Not necessary but if you’re away for an entire day and something happens – it can save your day.

These followings are tips for preparation, the day of the interview and some other things I’ve thought of:

  • Do your research!
  • Prepare your answers for the classic questions such as strengths, weaknesses, a conflicting situation you overcame, a problem you solved, a deadline you had to hit, your interest in the position – make sure it all is relevant to the position.
  • Dress well but be YOU! It’s not always worth it to be uncomfortable just to be well dressed. Make sure you feel good about your outfit – it shines through!
  • Be early! I’m a time optimist and always stressing out so getting to a location ridiculously early really helps me. Especially if you haven’t been there before, get there early and sit down at a café or something. Check out nearby coffee shops or restaurants on Google Maps before hand if you feel unsure! Take the time to revise notes and calm down.
  • Smile at everyone! I was told to both smile and say hi if acknowledged as anyone might be a potential coworker and having a good impression of you is therefore an advantage.
  • Freshen up!  Before you head to the office, freshen up and check your appearance quickly in a mirror.

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First Interview – NoHo

Time Square

Time Square

Time Square

Time Square

So this Friday I went to New York to do my first Interview for The Orchard that is owned by SONY music entertainment. I was nervous and excited for the interview, and I was also going to the city by myself, which was kind of scary. When I got there I went straight away to NoHo where I was having my interview. Since I got there early I went for breakfast at this cute restaurant, Lafayette, and the breakfast was amazing. The area was really calm, not that much traffic, and I really enjoyed the atmosphere. After my interview I took a stroll down the 633 Broadway, glanced at the architecture and went shopping a little. I had such a great time, and I really felt a different experience to be there by myself, taking in every minute of it. Before I went back in to Manhattan I grabbed some dinner at frech&co, which was really good. On my way to the busstation I went through Time Square, which was different from the last time we where there. I was by myself, looking at all the skyscrape and realized that I am actually moving in to the city in just a couple of weeks, which is insane, and I can’t wait. I really recommend going by yourself, the experience is really different and so much fun, cause you are really take in everything that you see and it is amazing. Can’t wait for us to move there.

Well that’s all for me this time, see ya later!

Two Interviews and an Exciting Lunchbreak

I was invited to 2 interviews in NYC.

img_20160912_064629I caught an early bus from New Paltz to the city; even though my first interview was not until 11am. The decision to leave early paid off. The bus arrived at New Paltz Park and Ride on time but with the announcement that it has a defect and a replacement vehicle will arrive soon. The replacement arrived half an hour later and traffic city bound is on Monday morning guaranteed. We arrived one hour later than expected at Port Authority.

My first interview was on Madison Ave. I took the subway uptown and tried to find the correct building. As I still had one hour left, I decided to sit down at a close by café, go trough my notes again and get set for the interview. At 11:10 am I walked back to the office building and called my contact at the company as she had asked me to do so when we set up the interview. I expected her to give me further directions where to go to. Against my expectations, she told me to stay in the lobby; she and her team will come downstairs. After introducing themselves they told me we would have the interview at a coffee shop close by as their office is currently under construction. This situation was a flashback to an interview I had a few years ago where the exact same thing happened. As that previous interview went really well, this unexpected change of plans made me even more confident instead of unsettling me. Retrospectively I can say that this interview went really well too.

After this interview, I intended to head down to Soho where my next interview was going to take place. Finding my way to the right subway station to catch the train I had planned to take was not as easy as I had expected. My wander took me past MoMA, where I could hardly resist going inside, I spotted Top of the Rock and went past St. Patrick’s Cathedral until I found my way to the subway station at 51st and Lexington Ave.

 

14311270_10209405582723858_828780760604635929_oWhen I arrived in Soho, I sat down in a café to have some lunch, sent my thank you note and regained some energy for my interview in the afternoon. I texted a friend of mine, who happened to be an IIB Alumni from last fall and was staying for the week in New York City, what her plans for the day were. As she happened to be in Soho, she came to the café and we shared our experiences from the program so far.

 

After our lunch, I had not much time left to prepare for the interview. Therefore, I left the café later than planned but not in a hurry as Google maps notified me that the way would take only 6 minutes. However, I should have learned from my experience from the morning. I went a few times into the completely wrong direction but found the office at last and was still early.

The second interview with a brand strategy agency was more traditional compared to my interview in the morning but still very interesting. I really liked the people and the office location.

img_20160912_175804After this exhausting day with so many exciting meetings, I decided to stroll around Soho and walked up to Washington Square Park to enjoy the sun for a while before taking the subway back to Port Authority.img_20160912_175641

One interesting day in NYC

 

8.24 am – Now, Fanny and I are on our way to New York City to have a whole day in the city with interviews. We woke up at 6.00, got ready, and then took the 7.40am bus. We both are very nervous but it is so nice to at least have each other. We are going to arrive at Port Authority at 9.10 and then we have time to explore the city for couple of hours before we need to get ready for the first interview. See you soon!

 

 

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10.32 am – We made it to the City! We arrived to Port Authority and then we took the subway to 6th avenue, not far from the first meeting of the day. This meeting is with a PR-agency that is my first choice on my internship list. I got the internship last Wednesday but they wanted to meet me in person. We found a coffee on 6 avenue and here we are with a caffe latte and a cream cheese bagel, very american! And if we are going to talk about american, Gerard Butler just came in to the coffee. FIRST CELEBRITY SEEN!

 

 

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4.35 pm – And now I can finally take a break. Now I have had one meeting and one interview, plus some shopping in between. Now, I am waiting for Fanny who is at an interview. It has been a really long day with lots of impressions, walking and excitement. Now we have some decisions to make and we thanking New York City for this time. Next, head back to New Paltz and have an amazing weekend with kayaking!

Over and out!

Positive vibes: First interview in NYC.

And yes, after a lot of preparation ahead I finally went down to NYC for an interview at Tod’s. I can tell that I was more than excited. Even waking up at 5.30 am didn’t matter to me after all. First coffee of the day (until the interview I already had 3) in my hand, I went to the bus station to get to NYC. Once arriving in this crazy city, I just had a really good feeling. It was the first day of Fashion Week 01_tods-hogan-showroomso people were getting crazy, also with their outfits of course.

As I was really in advance, I went to a nice coffee place close to the Tod’s office in Meatpacking district. And then I started to review my notes and my résumé when my neighbor started talking to me – He asked me if I was preparing for an interview and that he was amazed by all the notes that I took and that he rarely sees people being so well prepared for interviews. As it turned out, he was looking for interns at his Design Agency so before going to the ‘real’ interview, I already had another job offer. Which was pretty amazing and made me even more comfortable.

So, I was almost running a little bit late and hurried then to the Tod’s office – and then a photographer stopped me and asked me if he was allowed to take a photo of me for a magazine because he liked my outfit so much. I felt like in a movie. Of course I felt flattered and agreed. And finally took the elevator to this amazing office. Yes, the picture you see is not taken from ‘Suits’ but this is reality. I was so amazed by it! And now I can tell that this is my future office. 4 hours after the interview I got the internship!

One application, one interview, one offer. I think I did a pretty good job. Definitely some good vibes down there in the city ! To be continued …

I just had my two first interviews!

It has been a strange week with snow, sun and monsoon-type rain here in New Paltz. I really liked the snow but I was chocked when I woke up the next day with a 25 degree difference in temperature (from -13c to +12c in 24 hours!!). For Gaby’s birthday we had around -20 and windy. Was literally too cold to function!!

So today was the big day when I finally got to go to NYC for some interviews. I had my first interview at 2 pm and I think it went pretty good. It was very casual and the prospective supervisor seemed really nice. It is a position in HR and I think that it could be a great way to learn the “ground work” of HR.

After training for our interviews with Martha and Jeff I am a bit surprised that both interviews today were so casual. The first interview took about 50 minutes and it was more of a conversation than anything else. I like it and it makes me feel more comfortable but I think I was expecting an interrogation…? The second interview was also very casual, we talked for about 25-30 minutes and I think I had the same amount of questions as he did. I really liked the position and he was great but the competition feels sky high. Well well, I guess I will know if I went through to round 2 next week 🙂

That was all from me for this time! 🙂ny-winter-snow-usa-800x1280

Picture taken from https://www.nymetroweather.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/ny-winter-snow-usa-800×1280.jpg

My internship experience

IMG_7856Picture yourself in a dream — one that’s realistic and can become true in the future. Now picture how you can reach your dream. One year ago I had a dream – to study abroad for one semester and combine my studies and internship at a PR agency in the city of dreams, New York. As I was picturing it, I found a two-part program with academics and an internship in New York. I applied for the program and got accepted in February. When I saw that I was accepted I realized that it was going to happen, I was going to live my dream in the fall. My name is Agnes Nilsson, I’m 23 years old, I’m from Sweden, and right now I am living my dream in New York City.

I started my internship at Krupp Kommunications on October 19th and I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t nervous – actually I was terrified – but that feeling soon disappeared as I entered the office at 19th Street and 6th Avenue and received a warm welcome. I was introduced to everyone, shown to my desk, and given my first project – to media monitor the New York Times. It was fun to be thrown directly into a project and I learned that day the importance of media monitoring, and now, I finally understand what the saying “being a news junkie” means.

During the past four weeks I’ve learned a lot more than the importance of media monitoring, I’ve also learned that research is the key to success. Besides doing media monitoring, I’ve done several different research projects for clients such as One World Academy, Kim Perell and Nerium: One World Academy is a wisdom school in India, Kim Perell is an entrepreneur who wants to help others build their business, and Nerium is a business that offers not only skin care products, but also opportunities for entrepreneurship.

As you see, I have had the opportunity to work with a wide range of clients, which I think is one of the best things working within the PR industry. I’ve done research about their competitors and potential influencers, which allowed me to develop my research skills. I’ve learned the importance of doing excellent research to make sure that you have all your bases covered. Also, I learned the importance of finding the correct media contact to reach out to when sending out a new issue of a magazine or press release to make sure it gets into the right hands.

I also got the opportunity to participate in a brainstorm meeting and I can tell you it’s even more fun than it seems! If I could, I would love to be in a brainstorm meeting all day every day!

FUN is the word that best describes my experience so far and I know that the next week is going to be even better. Since working in the PR industry means that you will never have a day that looks the same I don’t know which assignments will be given to me, but I do have one occasion planned – I’m going to be backstage at the Today Show with reality stars Les and Seth Gold from “Hardcore Pawn” on December 14th. I’m so excited and I know it will be fun!

I’m happy that I’m finally living my dream and I encourage you all to try and live yours as well, it’s an incredible feeling. Pick one of your dreams, map out how to reach it, and just do it!

 

New Challenges

My internship has been a great adventure. Lavazza is a huge company in the coffee industry, and my passion for it is making me learn a lot every day. It is a pretty busy office, especially in the logistics department, as shipments are made tens of times each day. It is really fast paced, and sometimes overwhelming, but no one is ever tired because there is an almost unlimited supply of quality coffee. The office itself is incredible. There is an amazing view, as it is located on the 27th floor, and the design and layout are very appealing. I’ve been enjoying my time at the company, and I’m relishing the new, bigger, tougher challenges that might come in the next weeks.

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Business casual in New York City!!! The Jingle ;-)

What a great day it was today!

Even though it was rainy, there were no clouds in my sky.

Even though it was cold, I felt so warm inside.

Even though I had no more than a few hours sleep, I sensed the energy running through my body, right down into my feet.

Even though I missed my parents and family so badly, their voices never seemed so close and loudly.

 

Who knew this time would have come for me? How could I have ever expected it, when only a few weeks ago I was struggling with troubles and praying for an opportunity to knock at my door?

 

The truth is that, one day you’re up. The next day you’re down.

It is the balance of life that you can’t live without.

 

Yesterday I was a student in New Paltz University.

Today I’m a New Yorker facing hugeness, and diversity.

I live on my own in a beautiful apartment.

I have a wonderful job in a HR department.

I give people a chance to prove their value, and despite the difficulties, it is never a failure.

Every day is different in this incredible city and I can’t wait longer for new adventures and activities.

 

Sometimes you get the feeling that all is going well;

Luck is right there, ringing at your bell.

 

The world is smiling to you.
Your time has come to shine and all your dreams are on their way to come true.

 

When these days arrive, you better ride the wave! Push yourself to the limit and don’t go far away.

This jingle is a way to show you the truth.

You can always be serious but also funny and cool. 😉

 

Hugs and Kisses,

Gaia.

 

 

Wall street

We have already worked almost two weeks at our internships and I have started to feel like I actually can get myself around quite good in this neighborhood of Wall street. I work down at financial district very close to Wall street and the tempo here is high. Just how I like it. I am going to tell you about how my days look like here at Wall street.

First, I start at 8.30 and I always arrive at 8.15. If you take the 1 train from upper west side you get to sit. Yes, I know, the 2 and 3 line are express trains and go a lot faster, but that is what everybody thinks, so then I have to stand up for 25 minutes instead of sitting down 32 minutes. Hello?!

Everyone goes together in a fast pace from the train station in our suits and business casuals. Before entering our work, we go to a close coffee shop. I go a bit further to get Starbucks, but that’s fine for me. Every morning I ask for a tall black roasted coffee with some room for milk. I get my coffee all right, but never any room for milk. I guess they just have a few drops of milk in their coffee over here? But that’s fine, nothing can stop me from enjoying this city. After this, I walk really fast together with other excited “Wall street’ers” down to Broadway 39 where I enter the building. And up I go. 36 floor
s up in the sky there is this Investment/asset management company called Divine Capital Markets. For lunch, me and my Swedish colleague and friend Einar goes to this restaurantutsikt 2 we love called Flavors. Then I work all day, well at least until 4.30 p.m. before heading home.

This is the view from my window office.

So, I spend my days at Divine looking at the Statue of Liberty and I AM LOVING IT!