During my internship as a social media manager I had numerous great experiences. Most of my experiences and the information that I learned focused on creating content, increasing followers, growing my channel, and adapting because of COVID. However, one completely different experience was when I was a part of the interviewing process for the next semester’s social media team. Towards the end of my Spring internship, the current team was responsible for helping recruit, interview, and choose the social media managers for the Fall semester. It was an eye-opening experience being able to switch perspectives and see things from the interviewer's side. Our team along with our supervisor only had a small number of applicants to review and interview but it was an experience that I found beneficial.
Being able to switch perspectives to the interviewer’s side opened my eyes. I realized that a lot more goes into choosing applicants and conducting interviewers than I originally considered. When the first few applications were received I began reviewing resumes and cover letters. I was reading through them looking at people’s experiences, personal social media accounts, and deciding if they would be a great fit for the position. Then I began contacting the applicants to set up interviews. Our team and supervisor then began prepping for the interviews. We had to figure out who to interview, when, and what questions to ask. Because of COVID all of our interviews were virtual which was a new situation for everyone. But we adjusted quite well. Afterward, we went over our notes and took some time to discuss who would be best for the positions. Then we had to contact everyone again and either let them know they had been chosen for the position or deliver the news that we had gone another route.
Another thing that I realized is that conducting interviews isn’t as easy and stress-free as I once thought it was. When I have been on interviews I was nervous but I didn’t realize that I would also be nervous when conducting the interviews. When I’m being interviewed for a job or internship I want to do my best, present myself in the best way that I can, I want to appear professional, and answer all questions to the best of my ability. I wasn’t expecting that when I was the interviewer I would experience similar nerves. I wanted to do my best once again, I wanted to present myself in the best way that I could, I wanted to appear professional, ask the correct questions, and make sure that I gave each applicant a fair and equal shot. It made me realize that during any interviews I have had the interviewers were probably a little nervous or stressed as well.
Other than the nerves that came with being the interviewer the other thing that surprised me was how many qualified applicants we had to choose from. So many of our applicants were completely qualified for the position and were excellent in the interviews so choosing was an insanely difficult task. This also opened my eyes to how when you do get rejected from a position it might not be because you aren’t qualified and it isn’t anything personal. We just had more amazing applicants than we had available internships. So sadly we had to turn away some pretty amazing applicants.
This made me feel better about the times that I was rejected after applying or being interviewed. Some of my job rejections were probably similar. It wasn’t personal, it was just that there were too many applicants for only a handful of positions. I’m trying to remember this as I continue to apply for jobs and internships. Not being chosen for a position isn't personal, it’s just that there are tough decisions that have to be made because for every position there are many qualified applications that interviewers have to pick from.
I wasn’t expecting that interviewing the next semester interns would be such an eye-opening experience but I’m so grateful that it was. We only interviewed a small number of applicants so at the moment I can only imagine the amount of work that would go into interviewing many applicants. Nonetheless, I gleaned a lot of information from this experience and I am grateful that I can see things from the interviewer's perspective. I now keep this information in mind when I am applying to a job and when I’m being interviewed. I am grateful that I was able to switch perspectives and learn that being the interviewer isn't as simple as it seems.
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