An Interview with a Marketing Student

By Zachary Milligan

There’s a good chance that in most of our lives we have been nervous for an interview for one reason or another. Whether it was our first after post-secondary, a position that would put you in a new pay bracket, or you just really needed a job there are always good reasons to be concerned about how an interview goes. However, for the students in the Business Administration Marketing program at SLC  under the guidance of program coordinator Pam Bovey Armstrong there is help to make this eventuality a little less scary. Welcome to the annual interview competition for marketing students.

The annual interview competition brings together students, their faculty, and members of the community, some of whom being alumni of the program. The primary aim may be to strengthen the skills of the second-year students taking part however if that was all the value you thought there was to it you would be sorely mistaken. As with many facets of the marketing program the competition creates networking. I can remember, years ago, when it was my turn as a student to receive the list of possible questions, study the company I’d be conducting a mock interview for, and to represent myself professionally for what felt like the first time.

It is a matter of fact that my participation in this event greatly shaped my educational career. I can remember striding into the room, perhaps more confident than I should have. I immediately forgot to hand my resume to my interviewer. I answered the questions in a very direct manner, and threw in an Abraham Lincoln quote for good measure, “I do not think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday.” The man interviewing me after suggesting that perhaps I should hand him my resume and be a little less blunt said that he was impressed. It was not long after the interview that I had his number in my phone. Then I was sitting down discussing the possibility placement over a beer. Then I was doing my placement at the company my interviewer worked at under his direct supervision. Flash forward another year and I am back again completing my hours for my final placement and earning my diploma. More than once I would reach out to him for advice and it was in a dim coffee shop in the middle of a cold dark morning where he provided the advice that got me to apply for my BBA.

I feel the burden of my professors, you cannot put outcomes like those on a rubric and grade to them who like my, however the value that can be gained by participating in good faith is worth more than grades could ever amount to. There may be a small ceremony where the winners of each group get their name on a trophy however I have the sneaking suspicion the faculty who plan the event know that the real winners get determined months if not years later. These are the people, who earned a valuable connection and used it to smooth their way on their academic journey perhaps even the first steps of their career.

I love the Interview competition, it gives students skills that are invaluable in the workplace, it creates connections and possibilities for growth that would not be available otherwise, and of course, I owe a great deal of my own personal success directly to it. It is also no small addition to my pride to be able to work in a space that actively supports this event and events like it all year around. The fostering of relationships between students and the community, the possibilities for learning and personal betterment, this is what the Innovation Hub is for. Going to work knowing that you are going to be taking part in so many other people’s journeys and seeing them as they get help along their way, it is never hard to get out of bed in the morning.