I remember my interviewing days well. I had successfully weathered my education, ticking off each item on the graduate school "to-do" list along the way. Advanced classes? Check. Teaching experience? Check. Awards, papers, presentations? Check, check, and check. I knew the ins and outs of academia—well, at least those that are obvious to graduate students—but I hadn't a clue about what I was qualified to do in industry. What I did know was that the better I interviewed, the more options I would have—whatever those options might be. In an interesting turnabout, it wasn't too long after I began my industrial career that I was asked to participate in recruiting. This article offers some insight on interviewing while I can still remember the days when I didn't think in terms of fiscal quarters.

Do Your Homework

Use the Internet to your advantage. Find out as much about the available position and the company as you can. Consult the company's Web page, especially if there is a section devoted to careers. What traits does this company value in its employees? Some will be universal—leadership, integrity, communication—but there may be others. Think of ways in which you have used these traits, and be prepared to give examples during your interview. What has the company's financial performance been like? Has the company acquired an interesting subsidiary? Laid off thousands? You may find items of interest or concern, and you'll make a good impression by having done a little research.

Use Your Resources

There's absolutely no substitute for interviewing well, so prepare! The placement office at your educational institution probably has workshops on interviewing or resume writing. If you are an ACS member, I highly recommend participating in ACS Career Services' activities. Career Services offers a Career Consultant Program, mock interviews, resume and career assistance at national, regional, and even some local section meetings, and telephone assistance. Receiving constructive criticism is not everyone's favorite activity, but would you rather hear it from an ACS volunteer or receive a "no thanks" letter?

Don't Count Yourself Out

Be careful about making any statements—written or oral—that might remove you from consideration as a candidate. If you feel you need to have an objective on your resume, make sure that it's appropriate for each position you seek. An objective that's specific to the pharmaceutical industry isn't going to garner a lot of interest at a plastics company. Personally, I think it's best to omit the objective altogether.

Is an objective on your resume necessary?

Candidates may inadvertently exclude themselves from consideration on the basis of geography. Geographical preferences really fall into two categories. Are there areas of the country that you just wouldn't consider at all? If you wouldn't move north of the Ohio River, there's nothing wrong with letting the recruiter know that you wouldn't accept a job in Alaska—it saves time and energy. Be careful about making statements about preferred locations if you would actually accept a job that is elsewhere. In the process of screening candidates and trying to narrow down the list, what a recruiter might assume is that you're not interested in the location. Even if there are jobs open in two different locations, mentioning a preference may put you out of the running for your second choice. The safest bet is not to differentiate unless you're offered the job of your choice.

What Are They Looking For?

Interviewing for an industrial position as a recent graduate or postdoc is a journey into the great unknown. You don't know what the job will be like, you're not quite sure what the company is looking for, and you're not sure at all how you would fit into the organization. If you knew what the recruiters were looking for, and you're not sure at all how you would fit into the organization. If you knew what the recruiters were looking for, you could come to the interview prepped with examples of how you fit their needs.

Unfortunately, there is no simple answer to the question of what companies want. Some companies try to fill positions based entirely on technical fit. Other companies look for people with leadership potential and experience, figuring that they can come up to speed on the technical aspects. A good strategy would be to ask the recruiters what qualities they're looking for, then pepper them with examples of how you fit the bill. The recruiter may also ask questions to try to clarify your intellectual contributions—what ideas you created versus what your advisor told you to do. Active verbs help here: "I determined...I decided...I figured out...I did...." The recruiter wants to know what your contribution to the project was; don't dilute it by prefacing your comments with "In the Einstein group, we...."

What Will They Ask?

You're pretty sure that someone will ask you why you're interested in this job that you know nothing about. And you're right. "Because you're hiring" is probably not the answer that's going to impress the recruiter (even though it may be accurate). If you've done your homework in researching the company, you may have come across some items that were particularly interesting. The job description may fit you to a tee. The company may have a reputation that intrigues you. There's also nothing wrong with turning the question around: "Well, I honestly don't know much about it. What are the main responsibilities of this position?"

Another question that people sometimes seem unprepared for is, "What are the practical applications of your work?" Of course, academic research is not always motivated by practical applications, but be able to put your research in perspective—what questions it answers and why it's important. Ideally, you should be able to summarize your research in a way that a diverse audience can understand.

Don't Take It Personally

This, of course, is so hard to do. Landing an industrial job results from a mixture of talent, luck, and timing. It's frustrating on all sides when a great candidate is identified and the timing doesn't work out. Don't let it get you down. You never know how graciously accepting a "No" could lead to another interview at a later date. While you can always learn from an unsuccessful interview, I hope these tips can help you make your interview experience a little less "practice" and a little more "perfect"!

Kathy Glasgow is a member of the ACS Younger Chemists Committee and a process chemist at GE Plastics in Mt. Vernon, IN. A version of this article also appeared in the Fall 2002 YCC Newsletter.

Related Resources

There are plenty of Web sites to learn about a company you're interested in working for. Here are some ideas:

• Savvy corporate Web sites will have lots of career information on their sites, besides job openings, to give prospective candidates a real sense of what it's like to work for them and who they look for.
• Companies that are publicly traded will include an investor information section on their Web sites that include stock prices, stock history, company reports (including annual reports), and other information about the company for potential investors that can also help you get a picture of a company's financial well-being and direction.
• Hoover's Online is another good source for company information. (Premium services require a subscription.)
• MSN Money can also provide research and financial information on a company.