{"id":1217,"date":"2016-02-05T13:51:45","date_gmt":"2016-02-05T13:51:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.nd.edu\/patentlaw\/?p=1217"},"modified":"2016-02-05T13:51:45","modified_gmt":"2016-02-05T13:51:45","slug":"leggo-my-eggo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/patentlaw\/2016\/02\/05\/leggo-my-eggo\/","title":{"rendered":"Leggo my eggo"},"content":{"rendered":"

A post from student blogger Josh<\/em><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re anything like most decent Americans, you probably have three things you absolutely cannot stand; these would be your taxes, the New England Patriots, and first dates. Unfortunately, a first face to face interview greatly resembles a first date. You have to talk to someone you\u2019ve never met, make entertaining conversation, answer a series of \u201cget to know you\u201d questions, and not screw up doing so on a level that a second date is also out of the question. However, most people seem to forget the most important bit here, which is to accurately represent yourself. Remember, if the relationship ends up blossoming into something long term, you want to make sure that both parties are being honest. There is still a certain level of necessary censorship that occurs here (for instance, it\u2019s probably a terrible idea to mention that time you ate all the Eggo waffles on an intercontinental flight), but overall you\u2019re looking to present a version of you that is reflective of how you would act in the workplace (so if you\u2019re interviewing to be a pilot for cargo planes delivering Eggo waffles, you might be able to sneak something in there provided you\u2019re not talking directly to HR).<\/p>\n

Most of us are not actually able to keep up a fa\u00e7ade of flawless professionalism forever. We have facial expressions and moments of inappropriate laughter that will often give away our more human sides. If you\u2019re like me, it\u2019s absolute torture to go for two hours of talking to people without making a single joke. So tell the jokes, get the laughs, and be yourself. Remember, the person sitting across from you is human too, and she\/he likely isn\u2019t looking forward to a potentially awkward encounter either.\u00a0 A good interview feels like a conversation rather than a game show; it\u2019s not really something that you can win, and it shouldn\u2019t just be you answering questions. The experience is just as much about discovering if the firm is a good fit for you as it is about your qualifications. Once people have read your resume and have an idea of your background, what they really want to know is \u201cdo I want to see this guy at the water cooler? Am I going to want to punch this person in the face every time I walk by their desk? \u00a0Are they going to generally improve my work environment?\u201d So just smile, relax, and don\u2019t be that guy.<\/p>\n

Want more tips? Let\u2019s start with the basics. Do your homework. Actually look at the firm\u2019s website. If you get a schedule of people who you\u2019ll be talking to, read their bios. Know a bit about the city where the firm is located. Have a consistent, truthful, interesting, and somewhat concise story ready of how you came across the idea of being a patent agent or attorney. Prepare for the interview exactly as you would a day at work (if you don\u2019t drink coffee, it\u2019s not a good time to start). Dress like the person you want to be, and above all, have a realistic understanding of your abilities and your value to the firm. This last point is often emphasized for salary negotiations, but in many cases this won\u2019t be a component of a first serious interview. We young people tend to suffer from a belief that our degrees and time in school mean that we actually know things, and that we\u2019re going to be good at our jobs the moment we begin them. While you can and should be confident, do not let this border on arrogance. Emphasize that you are teachable, intelligent, ready to work, and an excellent investment in the future of the firm (if you\u2019re not any of those things, you probably won\u2019t see much success in this field). So please, don\u2019t stress too much about interviews. I understand the nerves, I\u2019ve had plenty lately. But if you\u2019re reading this, I have full faith in your abilities, so just be yourself and kick some ass.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A post from student blogger Josh If you\u2019re anything like most decent Americans, you probably have three things you absolutely cannot stand; these would be your taxes, the New England Patriots, and first dates. Unfortunately, a first face to face … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":649,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29602],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-student-blog-posts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/patentlaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/patentlaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/patentlaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/patentlaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/649"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/patentlaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1217"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/patentlaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1217\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1218,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/patentlaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1217\/revisions\/1218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/patentlaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/patentlaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/patentlaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}