I bombed the interview round for a four-year college scholarship to Virginia Tech. Turns out, a quick Google search on the scholarship as my only prep for the interview wasn’t enough. But hey, it was a lesson learned.
After sending in my college application to Virginia Tech, I was invited to interview for admission into their Calhoun Honors Discovery Program. From what I recall, it was a new (ish) program where they were testing interdisciplinary curricula and collaboration across different majors, and it came with a four-year scholarship to the school.
My interview experience was… less than ideal. Let’s just say, after the 15-minute Zoom call ended, all I wanted to do was curl up into a small dark hole and die.
I remember being excited and anxious for the interview. Mostly anxious. Actually, I was entirely anxious. It was my first interview ever, and I let my nerves get the better of me.
When I logged onto the Zoom call, there was a panel of at least four adults. Half of them didn’t have their cameras on, and the other half looked like they were absolutely beat after interviewing a ton of kids back to back.
Honestly, at that point, from the frown on one lady’s face before I had even opened my mouth to speak to the tired voice that introduced everyone on the call, I knew the interview was not going to go well.
“Can you tell us a bit about why you’re interested in this program?” “Can you talk about a time you handled a conflict while working with a team?” Sounds straightforward, but in those moments, my mind went completely blank. I stuttered through my answers, mumbled something that was half-incoherent, and then literally just stopped talking. They awkwardly moved onto the next few questions.
During the interview, I remember actively thinking What if I tell them that my pet just died or something and that’s why my thoughts are so scattered right now. I didn’t actually do this, but when I replay the memory in my head, that’s what I like to imagine.
By the time I hit ‘Leave call,’ the whole thing felt like a major personal failure.
I used to be incredibly embarrassed to even think about this memory let alone write about it. But now that it’s been a few years, I think it’s a story worth sharing and learning from. Here’s what went wrong:
I was too overconfident in the weeks leading up to the interview, so I didn’t prepare. The most I did was a quick Google search on the program. I know, not my best plan of action.
I was too underconfident in the moments right before and during the interview, so I displayed really poor communication. I rambled, used filler words, and gave vague answers.
It’s as simple as that. The reason I completely floundered was because I wasn’t prepared. It was a lesson learned.
FYI, there is no magic secret to acing interviews. Effectively talking about oneself in an interview requires thoughtful preparation and practice. Every interview is a learning experience. Show up, give it your all, be yourself, reflect, and keep improving.
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tl;dr - I made the worst interview mistake of not preparing for the interview, and it cost me a full-ride college scholarship to Virginia Tech.
