Tips for Your Upcoming Summer Youth Internship Interview

So you finally did it. You went through the painstaking process of creating and filling out your resume and submitting it for review. Then you get the equally exciting and terrifying call that you made to the interview stage for your summer youth internship position. Woohoo! Now what?

It's no secret interviews are nerve wracking situations, but there are some ways you can help curb your stress going in to help you stay calm and grounded so you can present your best self.

Do some research and find out about the programs you're applying to support. A good place to start is to find our mission statement and About Us page that speaks to our core values on our website www.yoursynergy.ca.

Explore our programs, events, and initiatives to familiarize yourself enough so you

are comfortable summarizing this information in a couple of sentences. This will be very handy when you're asked what you know about Synergy and/or how you prepared for the interview. (Trust us, we'll ask!)

Having an answer for these questions ready to go will help alleviate some of those interview nerves going in, so this is a great place to start in your interview prep!

In an interview, you are the product you're looking to sell. You need to let us know why we should pick you, and how you will uniquely benefit our programs.

Once you research what you can about the organization, take time to reflect on yourself and identify your qualities that are compatible with Synergy's needs.

If you're stepping into your first hired role and do not have direct work experience to pull from, make sure you highlight your personality/character qualities, general skills/talents and personal work ethic at school for instance to make up for work experience knowledge you may not yet have.

For example, if you were to be asked what experience you have with event organization and you don't have any yet, you could say something like:

"I don't have any direct event experience yet, but I am a real people person and I have really strong organization skills. For example, I once was working on a group school project and took the lead in making sure everyone was doing their part."

Two of the questions you can pretty much bet on being asked are what are your strengths and what are your weaknesses? To answer these questions the most effectively, be as honest as possible, but know how to spin everything into a positive light. For example, if one of your weaknesses is that you're not a morning person, explain proactive steps you are currently taking to over come this:

"I am not a morning person, but I've invested in about five different alarm clocks to make sure I get myself out of bed on time."

All in all, it's best to be completely honest and run the risk of saying something that won't sound perfect than not being able to come up with an answer at all. Trust that who you are as you are will shine through and is enough for the job. Once you present the above, it's up to the employer to identify the most fitting candidate for the position.

Before walking in, trying focusing on your deep breathing for a bit. Count 10 seconds for each inhale, and let it go for 5 seconds. This will help get you into a present state to help keep your mind clear and calm. (You can even do this during the interview! Just make sure you're still paying attention to what they're asking you.)

Interview jitters are almost inevitable, but when you take the time to prepare the best you can, let it go! Every interview process is a two way street with both you and the employer presenting their best selves.

Be yourself and come with a couple of good answers to keep in your pocket for the general questions, and a solid mental checklist of what the organization is about. With this, you've already set yourself up for a successful experience.

Our goal at Synergy is not to grill you about the fine details, but to learn about who you are and how you can get the most out of working with us this summer.

And of course if you have ANY questions at all, or simply want to come in and touch base before the big day to get some in person interview prep, you can always get in touch with Alicea at alicea@yoursynergy.ca or over the phone at 403-212-0242.

Best of luck, we know you're going to nail it!