Each time has gone a little different. But, I've typically had the following talking points:
If asked, I give a little about my background. I state that I'm a recent graduate and list some of the (non-professional) design projects I've worked on.
I state that I'm much more curious than the average person. Most engineering students only want to be told the answer. I like to go beyond that. I like to know why. This has given me a deeper understanding of concepts and principles than the majority of students have.
If I'm asked why I want this job or what my career goals are, I explain this: "I'm looking for a job that challenges me. There are many jobs that would be very challenging, but I'm not qualified for them. I'm interested in this one because it looks like a good match for my skills and abilities. It would be challenging enough to be satisfying, but not so challenging that I could not do it with integrity."
For every position I've interviewed for, there have always been at least one or two job requirements that I've not met, or not been totally comfortable on. When it comes up, I do mention that in the interview. I'll say, "That's something I don't have much experience with, but I would look forward to learning more about it on the job." Sure, I could lie about having experience with that thing, but I don't want to do that. I'm trying to build credibility here, and I don't want to get myself into a job because I lied about skills that I don't have.
Now here's the killer, I think. In most of my interviews, I've been asked if I currently have a job, if I've ever had a job, or if I've ever had an internship. And the answer to all these questions is no. Besides being shy, this is really my biggest weakness.
It's weird. I've been told my resume is really good, even though there is no work experience listed on it. Instead, I've just listed projects. And, I've noticed, even though I've never written any work experience on an application, interviewers always seem to assume I have experience until I state otherwise. Then there's a disappointed "oh" that I hear come out of their mouth when they learn the truth. If the interview goes there, I lose a lot of confidence and struggle to answer remaining questions.
The last interview with Tesla was the only one I had a chance to explain myself, and I did that by saying:
[quote]I didn't study engineering because I thought I would end up wealthy. I don't want to work for Tesla because it would look good on my resume. Those are two things that don't interest me at all. I studied engineering because I wanted to learn about how things worked. I enjoyed solving problems--and so much so, that I didn't bother with anything else.
I know Tesla has a high turnover rate, and I understand why. Many of my fellow engineering students don't have the same natural curiosity that I have. They're in it for the money. I know this isn't supposed to be a technical interview, but if it was, that's where I would stand out among other applicants. My resume is good, but it's not great. I didn't care about making it great. I haven't had any fancy titles or worked at any prestigious companies. I didn't even go to career mixers. Internships and professional networking were things that I just never considered to be a priority. Instead, I spent my time learning, studying, and developing a deep understanding of technical subjects. That's what I've cared about, and that's what I've always been interested in. And, I think that would become apparent if my technical knowledge is put to the test.[/quote]
In truth, there are numerous reasons why I haven't worked. I didn't need to; my tuition was fully paid for. I didn't have any desire to; I preferred having free time outside of engineering school. And, if I had wanted a job just for the fun of it, I'd still have all the same problems I'm having now, because getting a job is no easy task even when I'm dedicating my life to it.
I had tried getting internships, but I never took it seriously enough. For what it's worth, I didn't even have professional clothes to wear to an interview until my senior year. I procrastinated on all that, as it was something I had wanted, but something I had set very far down on my priority list. I had no idea it would be a gatekeeper, else I would have done so many things differently.
But I can't do anything about that now.
Anyway, I have a few ideas already for how I can improve. I was thinking of starting off the interviews by asking why the person decided to reach out to me. This could help me by doing two things. It would give me confidence in knowing that something I wrote on my resume impressed them, and it would give me a bit of an idea on what part of my background I should talk about.
Another idea: I should ask the person what problems someone in the position could solve. More than likely, they're an HR person that can't answer anything detailed in any sort of way. But if they can, that would give me the opportunity to either describe how I could help, describe something similar that I did, or at least say, "that sounds interesting."