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Palms sweating. Swallowing in nervousness. Dressing up. Smiling endearingly. Three to five minutes to impress someone. Being asked what you know on venture capital. Letting out a sigh of relief. Or panicking. It all depends on how much you prepared. Knowing that you’re not hunting for your life partner, but a potential future employer. 

Welcome to the wonderful world of speed interviewing. Having been recently subjected to a speed interview for an internship program, the experience can be both daunting and exhilarating. After the whirlwind of questions and answers, I sat down to contemplate the pros and cons of the growing trend for employers and universities to collaborate in utilising the speed interview.

 

Pros

Fast and efficient for both the interviewer and interviewee. No more having to clear up an afternoon to conduct individual interviews and no more racing around the city from building to building.

Employers are made more aware of the potential to hire from different specialisations/academic fields. At university organised speed interviewees, it’s common practice for a diversity of students to be selected. So in the one room there are the best and brightest from medicine, engineering, the arts and law and so on!

Students get a feel for the inherent differences in companies and firms. This has the potential to change a students perspective on different industries. It challenges them to ask whether they would like to work for ‘traditional businesses’ or more innovative enterprises.

If the interviewer or interviewee realises early on that what the other is offering is not for them, it’s okay! There’s only a few minutes left and that can be filled with polite questions or conversation. (This also means if you slip up and feel embarrassed, it’ll only be temporary, because there’s another chance to impress coming right up!)

Cons

The pressure to sell yourself makes you feel like a commodity. Trying to essentialise all your best characteristics and assets into less than 2 to 3 minutes is a personal challenge!

The time restriction makes in-depth conversation nearly impossible. There may be more questions on either side, more information on the business or just more to say in general!

By not visiting the office or firm location, it is often hard to get a ‘feel’ for what you are trying to achieve. Sometimes the energy of a building, or the friendly faces you meet in a hallway and the feeling of ‘I belong here,’ gives you more of an incentive to try and impress in the interview.

There’s no way to guarantee consistency in your delivery all the way through. Unless you’re an energizer bunny, it might be difficult to give your all in each interview, especially when you’ve been answering similar questions for more than half an hour. However, rather than thinking to yourself that you sound like a parrot, approach each interview with a genuine curiosity and interest in what the employer is looking for and hopefully that’ll help you focus!