Leavey Ambassadors Program Blogs

As a junior in my fall quarter, I began to see a shift in conversations with my friends. Day by day, our discussions began to stray away from menial chatter of weekend outings and brunch ideas to internship plans for the following summer. One by one, they began to land their dream jobs: Google, Amazon, Workday, Roku. I knew that it was only a matter of time until I joined them on the grueling application and interview process.

I decided to procrastinate on my International Business homework one day and gathered the strength to edit my resume and apply to every marketing job I could find. I had learned last summer that the more darts thrown out the better, as a very rare few tend to stick. As I combed through the descriptions and requirements, my head began to spin. Was I capable of fulfilling all of these tasks? I applied anyway. 

After a few weeks of routinely scanning my email inbox, I began to receive responses. To my absolute delight and surprise, I discovered that I had interview requests from two major companies: NVIDIA and Unity Technologies. Both companies I had applied for the previous summer, to no avail. After the initial excitement wore off, my euphoria faded into panic: I had to interview with these tech giants. 

I scheduled my calls, and prepared myself each time to the best of my ability by reviewing my resume, work experiences, and the company itself. Days turned into weeks, and somehow I kept progressing. To make a long story short, I endured multiple rounds of interviews from each of the firms, and ended up making it to the final round for both. In the end, I wholeheartedly accepted an offer as a Content Marketing Intern from Unity. 

Despite being quite stressful, I learned a great deal from this experience, particularly in regards to interviewing. Due to COVID, all of my interviews were conducted virtually, providing me with a slightly different perspective than students in pre-pandemic years. I was still able to gather a few key takeaways that I will carry with me for years to come. 

Katie’s Tips for Interviewing

Be Yourself!

One of the most important things that I learned through my experience interviewing for a summer internship was to be yourself. I discovered that recruiters were seeking to get to know you as a person above all else in the twenty to thirty minutes spent on Zoom, as well as your credentials and experience. Trying to pretend to be someone you’re not, whether that be changing your personality or untruthfully responding to questions, will not be to your advantage. At the end of the day, interviewers are people too, and connecting with them on a personal level can definitely give you a leg up.

Prepare ahead of time.

Preparation for interviews is absolutely critical in doing well. Before any call, I would be sure to spend enough time researching the company, learning about what the position entailed, and even the person who was going to be speaking with me. I made sure to go through my resume and solidify a few points for each that I could describe if asked. I also prepared sample questions and answers that I could go off of in case they arose. I always felt more comfortable and confident going into the interview if I had done sufficient research ahead of time. 

Don’t be afraid to toot your own horn!

I quickly realized that interviews were no place to be humble. The whole point of them was for recruiters and potential employers to get an idea of your capabilities and strengths. When asked about my accomplishments, I always made sure to describe the ones I was the most proud of, or pertained closely to the position I was applying for. I had to tell myself that I was more than qualified for the position, and that my work reflected that. 

While the process itself felt long and tiring, I am ultimately proud of my hard work and how I handled the situations. I learned an infinite amount not only about interviewing, but also myself, and I am extremely excited to be joining the revolutionary force that is Unity in their San Francisco office this summer. I couldn’t have picked a better company to end up at!