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Best Response

Are the first rounds usually phone screens? If so, maybe you don't sound enthusiastic enough? Other reasons:

  1. Your story or "tell me about yourself" answer is too long. I would keep it under 1 min. Yes, 1 min. Interviewers zone out very quickly and and can get annoyed at you for speaking too long. They care 5% on what you say and 95% on how you say it.

  2. You don't speak to your experiences intelligently. Know everything that you did, why you did it, what the results were. Don't leave any room for the interviewer to grill you.

  3. Your answers to the questions are also too long. Don't bore the interviewer.

  4. You don't sound confident and/or convey that you want the position enough.

  5. You don't ask meaningful questions.

The tone of your voice is everything. Maybe you come off too aggressive, laid-back, or too formal or informal? Do some mock interviews with OCR or alumni and ask them to be brutally honest with you.

 
newyorkstateofmind

Are the first rounds usually phone screens? If so, maybe you don't sound enthusiastic enough? Other reasons:

1. Your story or "tell me about yourself" answer is too long. I would keep it under 1 min. Yes, 1 min. Interviewers zone out very quickly and and can get annoyed at you for speaking too long. They care 5% on what you say and 95% on how you say it.

2. You don't speak to your experiences intelligently. Know everything that you did, why you did it, what the results were. Don't leave any room for the interviewer to grill you.

3. Your answers to the questions are also too long. Don't bore the interviewer.

4. You don't sound confident and/or convey that you want the position enough.

5. You don't ask meaningful questions.

The tone of your voice is everything. Maybe you come off too aggressive, laid-back, or too formal or informal? Do some mock interviews with OCR or alumni and ask them to be brutally honest with you.

My whole background that I walk through is around 3 min. but I've heard of kids going longer even..maybe this is an issue...I'll take all that into consideration..thanks!

 

I would also advice you to do mock interviews. It's impossible to say what you're doing wrong, because we have no idea. The reality is that the majority of people who interview do not proceed to 2nd rounds, and even fewer get offers. It could be a multitude of things: you seem overly nervous, you do not seem interested enough, you do not ask good questions, you do not know how to speak well about how your experience makes you suited for the role etc.

I will give you this advice though: after every interview, write down what you thought went well and what didn't. Learn from your mistakes and repeat the good things. The only way to get better at interviewing is practice. Keep your head up and grind through, it's a marathon not a sprint.

 

Its cause you go to a target school and are not passionate enough..

Kidding, but no really.. Try to be more passionate, hungry, and determined in your interviews. Come off as a confident, yet aggressive (not too aggressive) person who is willing to put in 200% effort 100% of the time. Sound passionate, smile, and have a great attitude. Its all about delivery my friend. You go to a target, so you are obviously smart. The rest is personality, which is arguably more important. Be personable, likeable, and fucking smile.

Worked for me.

 

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