April 06, 2011
It’s almost impossible these days to land a job without first
completing a successful interview. Our Sport Management students
had the opportunity to get their feet wet in this nerve-wracking
process at the Alumni
Insider’s View… Mock Interview program. Hosted by the Office of
Alumni Relations and the Career Center, this event featured four
St. John’s University alumni who came back to interview students,
giving them feedback on how to make the best possible first
impression during real interviews.
Photo Gallery
“I’ve been a part of search committees, so
I’ve seen how different people handle themselves throughout the
interview process,” said Vincent Accardi ’05CPS, one of the alumni
interviewers. “Employers need to get a good sense of what a person
is like personality-wise, what their skill sets are, how the
interviewees articulate themselves and how well they can talk about
their past experience.”
The students engaged in brief personal
interviews with each of the alumni, pretending as if it were an
actual job interview. Afterwards, the graduates gave valuable
pointers to the students, such as how to properly talk about
college experience, how to discuss references and how to clearly
articulate long-term goals.
The students appreciated the information.
“I received great feedback in terms of my body
language, eye contact, posture and confidence,” said Yusuke
Miyasaka ’12MPS. “They also stressed to me that attire is one of
the key elements to the interview, so that’s something I will keep
in mind for the future.”
Mike Valdes ’12MPS learned to be more specific
when talking about his prior work experience.
“Instead of just highlighting my internships
and jobs, and running through them quickly, the alumni suggested I
stress all the particular tasks I had. That way, I’ll show that I
can handle multiple responsibilities at once and stand out as a
more appealing candidate.”