5 Tips To Help Ace Your Internship Interviews (Approved by Managers!)

‘So, tell us about yourself.’

Ah yes. The dreaded question that makes you immediately forget every single thing about yourself. Are you even human? Hobbies? Did you ever have any? What are you good at anyways? Should you mention your age or is that weird?

Internships can be huge stepping stones for people. They allow you to work closely with the people in positions you want to eventually be in, which is a great learning experience. 

But first, you need to land one. As a company that exists for and works with hundreds of college students, we’ve put together this list of proven tips to help you nail an internship interview.

If you’re earlier in the stage of applying for internships, learn how to prepare your resume for internship applications here.

Let’s jump right into it. Here are 5 interview tips Fresh Prints Managers approve and recommend.

Know the company, the interviewer, and the position requirements

Do you want to be confident and self–assured throughout the interview? Make sure you’ve done your homework. 

Research the company: Nearly 47% of applicants fail their interviews because they don’t have enough information on the company they applied to. Avoid making this mistake. Take some time to go through the company’s website and its social media platforms. You should know the answer to: 

What are their goals? 

What are some of their major ongoing projects? 

What are their core values?

Research the person interviewing you: this will not only ease your nerves but also help you make a natural conversation. You can find things you have in common or find out what they are passionate about. Is that creepy? Not if you don’t make it! As a rule of thumb, if you bring up something you found out while researching them, just start with:  ‘I was doing research for this interview and..’

Research the position requirements: read the job description and any other info about the role online multiple times. 

Prepare for the questions they will definitely ask

Questions like these are highly likely to come up:

• Why do you want to join our company?
• What do you expect to learn from this internship?
• Tell us about a time when you took initiative and led a team.
• Tell us about a time you overcame a challenge.
• Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Many helpful websites list common questions asked in internships. Check out this list from The Muse and this one from us. You should also look up industry-specific interview question lists. 

Make sure you’ve prepared answers for all of them. 

In general, you should remember the following:

• Phrase your answers so that you highlight your key strengths, achievements, and how they will be beneficial to the team and/or organization. 
• If you’re struggling to answer a question, don’t pretend you understood the question. Be honest and ask for clarification. Here are a few examples:
• ‘I’m having a difficult time coming up with a specific answer to that question. Do you mind unpacking that a little more?’
• ‘I’ve actually wanted to learn more about this topic and I plan on..’

Flip the script on the interviewer and let them speak for a bit too. The interviewer has probably interviewed a few candidates before you and is going to interview a few more after you. You’ll stand out if you turn it into more of a conversation. 

Prepare that ‘Tell me about yourself speech’

As annoying as it can be, your opening sentences are a good way for recruiters to see how prepared you are, your speaking skills, your confidence levels, and more!

Ideally, keep it short and sweet. State your name, major, school, relevant interests, and skills. End on something related to the company you’re applying to.

For example: Hi! I’m Alex, I’m 20. I’m a business major at WashU. I love content creation and videography. I’ve worked on many local advertising projects as a creative outlet for that passion, and I’m so excited to talk to you guys about what I’ll be bringing to this agency!

Come as the person you want to be

The only way we become the people we want to be is by becoming the people we want to be - Abraham Lincoln. Yeah, he didn't say that. But we are.

Is the person you want to be punctual? Well-dressed? Sits up straight? Show up as that person.

It’s helpful to remember that although you cannot directly control feelings like confidence and excitement, you can control them indirectly by controlling your actions. Use that to your advantage! 

Ask questions and follow up

Well-thought-out questions to your interviewer about the company, the role, or themselves. It is a strong way to make yourself memorable throughout the interview process.

After the interview, send a personalized thank you note to the interviewer and/or the HR professional who coordinated the interview.

If they did not specify when they’d get back to you and it has been a while, you should absolutely follow up about that as well.