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Forbes
16-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
How To Handle Your First Job Jitters
Five tips for preparing for your first job or internship. As another academic year comes to a close, current college students and brand-new college graduates are gearing up for what comes next. And for many, the summer of 2025 signals the start of a new professional chapter in their lives. Whether you're preparing for your first internship or your first full-time job, here are five quick tips to overcome any first-job jitters and successfully navigate this new experience: Before your start date, dedicate the time to developing a deep understanding of your company, the industry it occupies and the trends and challenges it faces. By researching in advance — this is one of my four steps to finding your first job after college — you'll be able to figure out how you can contribute to the organization right away. Organize your calendar and identify days you have appointments or will be out of town. Communicate those dates to your hiring manager as soon as possible. Consider adopting habits that set you up for success. That might mean setting a more regular bedtime, scheduling your workouts, and setting a monthly budget and sticking to it. Ask lots of questions. Don't be shy about inquiring about the meaning of industry acronyms and company jargon or why your team does things a certain way. You're new on the job, so you're not expected to know everything yet. This goes double for interns, who should be using this experience as a tremendous learning opportunity. Don't shy away from connecting with coworkers across your organization. Interns and new hires should not only introduce themselves to their team members, but also employees in other departments and divisions. Grabbing a coffee or taking a short walk with a coworker affords the chance to learn more about what they do, how their work intersects with yours and about the company's goals and operations. Take advantage of any companywide programs or events. Use these opportunities to connect with colleagues and learn more about the business. The only constant in business is change, which means you're likely to encounter situations where demands and expectations shift, often with little warning. These changes could require you to have to adopt new skills and priorities and possibly take on new tasks. The good news for the Class of 2025: You know what it takes to pivot. The pandemic impacted your experiences in both high school and college, and a turbulent job market required you to reset your skills and career expectations time and time again. By being flexible, you'll be able to adapt to whatever comes your way. Learn your company's communication culture. Do employees typically communicate internally by email? Or do they use Slack, Google Chat or something similar? And do your colleagues prefer to meet by video conference or in person? Work closely with your hiring manager to understand communication norms and preferences. In many workplaces, a Slack message demands an immediate response, while email replies can be a little more delayed. Effective online communication, such as sending a professional email with the proper tone, information and subject line, is a critical skill that must be learned quickly. Also make sure to communicate your professional needs. Let your hiring manager know about your areas of interest, skills you'd like to improve and your goals for this job and your next one. Be sure to ask your hiring manager to clarify any requests or information that are unclear or confusing. Many employers offer a wide variety of benefits to their employees. These can include medical and dental insurance, paid time off, and 401(k) contributions toward retirement. Some are offered at no cost to the employee, while some are paid through a paycheck deduction. Leverage your company's human resources department to help you understand how you can best use these benefits. Additionally, some companies offer benefits that can help recent graduates with top-of-mind responsibilities. This includes student loan repayment offerings and learning and development programs where companies cover the cost of training opportunities so their employees can learn new skills or improve their current ones. Beyond this, some companies even offer tuition reimbursement programs so employees can earn another credential or degree. It's completely normal to have some jitters when you start an internship or your first full-time job. But you won't be the new person for long. By being prepared, flexible, communicative and curious about your new workplace and the benefits it offers, you'll become a confident and seasoned professional in no time.
Forbes
15-05-2025
- Forbes
How To Do A Mock Interview Using ChatGPT
By Leslie King, Dominique A. Harroch, and Richard D. Harroch Job interviews are often one of the most nerve-wracking aspects of the hiring process. Preparing for an interview is key to making a great impression on a potential employer, and practicing your responses can help you refine your answers, boost your confidence, and reduce anxiety. However, many job seekers struggle to find someone who can offer constructive feedback and simulate a real interview environment. This is where mock interviews come in handy. Practicing with mock interviews allows you to simulate the interview experience, providing an opportunity to refine your responses and feel more prepared when the real interview day arrives. Using ChatGPT to conduct a mock interview can be a highly effective and accessible way to practice for your upcoming job interviews. ChatGPT can simulate a wide variety of interview scenarios, ask you a range of questions, and even provide valuable feedback on your responses. Whether you are preparing for a technical interview or a general job interview, ChatGPT can help you rehearse your answers and sharpen your interview skills. In this article, we'll show you how to conduct a mock interview using ChatGPT and how to get the most out of the experience. We have used ChatGPT for research assistance and insights for this article. To begin your mock interview, it's important to understand how to set up the conversation and interact with ChatGPT. You can initiate a mock interview by asking ChatGPT to act as the interviewer. Based on the job you're targeting, you can specify the type of questions you want to practice—whether they are general, situational, behavioral, or technical. Here's how you can get started: 1. Start with the job posting. When you initiate your mock interview with ChatGPT, start by introducing yourself and letting it know what role you are interviewing for. This helps ChatGPT tailor its questions to your specific industry and the kind of position you're aiming prompt: 'I'm preparing for an interview for a marketing manager position at Google. Here is the job posting. Can you ask me interview questions related to this role?' 2. Upload your resume. Copy and paste your entire resume into ChatGPT so it can have the necessary background information to begin the mock interview. 3. Ask ChatGPT for some highlights. ChatGPT can quickly summarize important information, like the names of the CEO, what the organization does, and its mission statement. Be sure to also do your research on their website, social media accounts, and even YouTube videos to ensure you have a deep understanding of the organization you are interviewing for. It's always good to have information in your back pocket that you can pull out during an 'When I was watching the CEO (insert name)'s talk on climate change at last year's leadership conference, I was moved by her mission and vision of the company and that was one of the things that made me most interested in wanting to work here.' 4. Specify the interview type. You can then specify the type of interview you would like to practice. This allows ChatGPT to generate questions that match the job's requirements and better mimic the interview prompt: 'I'd like to practice interview questions about being a manager. Could you ask me questions about leadership and team building?' 5. Answer the questions. After ChatGPT asks each question, respond as you would in a real interview. Take time to think about your answers, and try to give thoughtful, concise responses that highlight your skills and experience. It's important to simulate the real interview scenario as closely as possible, so avoid rushing your question from ChatGPT: 'Tell me about a time when you had to handle a challenging project with tight deadlines. How did you manage it?'Your response: 'In my previous role, I was tasked with launching a new product within a six-week timeframe. The project required coordination with multiple teams, including marketing, product development, and sales. To meet the deadline, I created a detailed project plan, broke it into smaller milestones, and delegated tasks to the appropriate team members. By staying organized and maintaining open communication, we successfully launched the product on time, resulting in a 15% increase in sales within the first quarter.' 6. Let ChatGPT ask follow-up questions. After you respond, ChatGPT can ask follow-up questions to dig deeper into your answers. This simulates the dynamic nature of a real interview, where interviewers often want to explore certain points in more question: 'That's a great response! Can you elaborate on how you handled any conflicts within the team during this project?'Example response: 'During the project, there were a few disagreements regarding the timeline. To resolve the conflict, I facilitated a meeting where each team member could voice their concerns. We discussed potential solutions, and I worked with the team to adjust the timeline slightly, ensuring that everyone felt comfortable with the plan. The key was fostering open communication and maintaining a collaborative atmosphere.' 7. What you should never say. It's important to learn what some of the biggest things you should never say in an interview are, as these are often what hold us back even when we are qualified in other prompt: For this job, what are some things I should be sure not to say in this interview?Example response from ChatGPT: Some of the most important areas to avoid in a job interview are the following: One of the unique advantages of using ChatGPT for mock interviews is that it can provide you with feedback on your answers. After you've responded to a question, you can ask ChatGPT to evaluate your response and suggest areas for improvement. This feedback can help you refine your answers, ensure you're hitting the right points, and avoid common interview pitfalls. Example prompt for feedback: 'ChatGPT, can you give me feedback on my answer to the leadership question? What could I improve?' Sample ChatGPT feedback: 'I liked the way you connected your answer from the beginning to the end and it was clear and concise. However, your response would have made a bigger impact if you had told me a little context on what the project you were launching was, and what were some of your specific roles in bringing it across the finish line. That would have helped me connect more to your story.' You can continue the process of refining your responses by asking for feedback on other answers. ChatGPT can help you identify areas where you can provide more detail, clarify any vague points, or present a more compelling case for your qualifications. You can also ask ChatGPT for examples of the types of stories you want to tell in your answers. To get the most out of your mock interview, it's important to be prepared for a range of questions that you're likely to encounter in a real job interview. It's important to practice many example stories of specific instances from past jobs to incorporate those into your answers. It is helpful to mention which job name you are referring to in the story, and what your role was before diving into your example. Below are 15 common interview questions that you should be ready to answer. These are questions that many interviewers use to gauge your qualifications, problem-solving skills, and ability to fit into the company's culture. Being able to answer them confidently will help you perform well in most job interviews. Give your answers to ChatGPT and get feedback on the quality of your answers One of the most important parts of an interview is having questions prepared for when they give you time to ask questions. This is your opportunity to find out if this is a company you want to work for and if it aligns with your values. It's important to have questions prepared that are specific to who is interviewing you. As soon as you have their names, look them up on LinkedIn and try to understand what their role is and how you might work together. The types of questions you ask a recruiter, hiring manager, and head of a different department are going to be different. For a recruiter: Hiring manager: Other key team members: Mock interviews are an essential part of job preparation, and with ChatGPT, you can simulate a wide variety of interview scenarios without the need for a partner or formal coaching. By practicing answers to common interview questions, getting feedback on your responses, and refining your approach, you can enter your real interview with confidence and poise. Using ChatGPT for mock interviews allows you to familiarize yourself with the interview process, helping you develop strong communication skills, handle pressure, and deliver polished answers to any questions that come your way. In today's competitive job market, it's more important than ever to stand out from the crowd and demonstrate your qualifications effectively. By practicing with ChatGPT, you'll have the opportunity to improve your interview performance and be better prepared to land the job of your dreams. Related Articles: Copyright (c) by Richard D. Harroch. All Rights Reserved.
