Interview Reflection

Over the course of the semester in COMS 2040, I have learned a lot about interviewing and how it will play a role in my future as a professional. Personally, interviewing has been something that has come naturally to me. I have always felt comfortable talking to others one-on-one or in group settings. I think that the interviews in this class helped me understand the importance of conducting interviews in ways that fits for different situations. Not all questions and interviews topics are the same and I was able to learn that through this course and the mock interviews that we conducted over the semester.
Conducting a successful interview can be easy for both the interviewee and interviewer when all participants understand the reason and goal

If I was not informed of the goal and importance of an interview I feel as if there was no way for the interview to be successful. I needed to be educated on what type of interview was being held and what types of questions needed to be asked so that there was something to get out of the interview. For almost all of the interviews we conducted we had to present our findings to the class, if I was uninformed on what type of information was necessary for those presentations, I did not hold a successful interview. Preparing an interview schedule with a question sequence helped me conduct successful interviews. If I was not fully prepared for an interview then I risked not gathering enough information for the following steps after the interview. For instance, for the alumni interviewed someone that I knew which I think affected the way that the interview was conducted. I believe that the answers I got from my interviewee were a bit skewed to what I wanted to hear, I made the mistake of not interviewing a stranger to learn more about the industry I am longing to work in. The alumni interview was successful based of the circumstances, it could have been a lot more informational if I followed more of an interview schedule and plan. During this course, we were on both sides of the interviewing process and I learned a lot about my role in the success of being the interviewee and