"Why did you even apply for this job?" ...An Interview Shocker - by Allison Bruns (Part 1)

In the first interview, they told me I was unqualified. Two weeks later, they offered me a job.

My name is Allison Bruns. I study Public Relations at Indiana University, and I specialize in international-facing communications. I am going into the final year of my undergraduate studies, and I just recently landed my last summer internship. My job hunt was in no way straight forward, but in the process, I learned a thing or two about interviewing. To kick off this mini-series of interviewing tips, I want to share the 100% true story of how I went from being told I was unqualified to getting the job.

About a month or so ago, a major US company emailed me, requesting a first-round interview.  As I previously mentioned, I am in PR, and my resume has a particular emphasis on international communications. This job was a marketing internship for a company that is huge in the US, but they aren’t necessarily a global company. The first-round interview was a 90-minute long panel interview, which essentially means that there are several interviewers I face at the same time. To say I was intimidated would be an understatement.

When the interview started, I felt mostly confident about the progress. I made the interviewers laugh a few times and gave some excellent answers to the first couple of questions. A man on the panel asked the third question, and I wish I were exaggerating what he said. Word for word, his question was: “So, this is a marketing internship. You don’t have one piece of marketing experience on your resume. Your degree isn’t even in marketing. Your degree is in PR, so I would assume that’s where you want to take your career. Why did you even apply for this job?” I was stunned at his question. However, I knew what he was doing. He was trying to see if I would crack under pressure. If he genuinely thought I was unqualified, he wouldn’t have wanted to interview me. As I started to move past my shock, I spoke with intention to make it clear why I deserved to be there.

My response was, “that’s a good question. I started my undergraduate studies in marketing. I was granted direct admittance to the Kelley School of Business, which is one of the best undergraduate business programs in the country. The coursework was overwhelmingly focused on finance, accounting, and economics, so I decided to leave the program and go to the Media School so I could study more communications. Additionally, I don’t think PR and marketing are mutually exclusive. Yes, my last job was at an international PR firm, but we did some marketing campaigns as a part of our work. At the end of the day, PR, marketing, and advertising are all tools of communications, and in my opinion, there can be quite a bit of overlap.”

I’m convinced it was this answer that landed me the job. In formulating my response, I was intentionally speaking to the gifts God has given me. One of my convictions on interviewing is that in preparing to interview, it is equally important to know the company as it is to know yourself. When he asked me about my qualifications, I responded in confidence because I know who I am as it relates to my career. My qualifications for that job aren’t traditional, sure, but I am good at PR, and I am passionate about it. When you know yourself, you won’t let yourself be walked over in an interview. This confidence and a strong sense of self is what makes interviewees attractive. When you speak knowing who you are, your passion and drive come out. You are the potential employee who knows what they want. You are the potential employee who has a conviction about their resume and who knows what they can do. Hear me clearly: I am not saying to be arrogant. I am speaking to understand who you are, identify your strengths and weaknesses, and be confident in your God-given talents, and you will be the type of interviewee that employers remember.