I just finished interviewing nine students for our graduate counseling program, and had an epiphany: many students do not know how to prepare for these interviews. In this post, I will give some suggestions that will help you ace your interview.
- Be on time. Most of you know this, but it bears repeating. Show up on time to your interview. If you’ve never been there before, take a practice run so you’ll know where to park and how much time to allow. If that’s not feasible, then be sure to leave early to allow plenty of time to arrive and relax at least a few minutes so you do not enter your interview more tense and anxious then you already are.
- Dress professionally. At a minimum your dress should be business casual. This means no jeans, no ball caps, no sneakers and no T-shirts. Treat this interview the same as a job interview and you’ll get the idea.
- We know you’re nervous. Don’t forget that we were once hopeful undergrads applying to graduate school. We understand the pressure you are under to perform and how badly you want to be accepted. So if you studder a bit, trip over furniture or laugh inappropriately we are not going to hold that against you. We are looking for patterns of behavior that indicate your suitability for the program, not temporary glitches.
- Think about why you want to be a counselor. Really think about it. “I took a psychology course and liked it” is not a great answer. “I have always been a good listener” is better. “I volunteered at the crisis center and found great satisfaction helping those in crisis” is much better. Be sure to elaborate; both about what the sense of satisfaction means to you as well as the specific activities that led to that sense of satisfaction.
- Speaking of detail. Avoid telling us long stories that aren’t relevant to the question. We have limited time to interview you, and if you use your time unwisely we won’t have enough data to properly evaluate you. Try to keep your answers to 3 or 4 sentences (maybe 5), maximum. If we need more detail we will ask you for it.
- Ask appropriate questions. We expect you to have questions about the program, and we expect you to ask them. We also expect that you will have questions about the university or college where our program is based. However, we expect that you will ask the appropriate office, not us. For example, if you have questions about enrollment, call the Registrar’s office. Not being mindful about where you are directing your question is a sign of impulsivity and immaturity. We don’t like that.
- Do your research. We expect you to read our website and/or catalog. We expect you to understand licensure or certification requirements. We expect your questions to be of a clarifying nature; not an informational nature. Not having done your research tells us you aren’t really interested in our program.
- Low GRE scores. If you have a low GRE score, do not panic. We understand some students are great students and will make awesome counselors but have poor test-taking skills. However, you need to show you made an effort. If you flunk the GRE because you didn’t prepare for it…well, let’s just say color us unimpressed.
Tune in next week for more tips!
Yours in the Joy of Knowledge,
Dr. Barbara LoFrisco
