Ben Anderson: U of Wales, Swansea

I have had many interviewers comment on my study abroad experience.   However, one interviewing experience really sticks in my mind. 

The week before Thanksgiving break (last semester, Fall 2004) I was interviewing in Houston, TX for a job with Dow chemical.  My first interview of the day was with a man that I had briefly met the day before.  We had met at a career fair like expo and had discussed parts of my resume including studying abroad.  He knew nothing more about me than what was on my resume and what we had briefly spoken about, but he still selected me for an interview.

The interview started off with a few questions pertaining to my interests in the field.  I explained my chemical plant background and also that I really enjoyed studying and traveling abroad.  We talked about the specific position that I was interviewing for and then he mentioned that he worked and lived in Germany for about 8 years.  So, we talked about international experiences for the remainder of the interview.

The interview lasted about 45 minutes.  I would say more than half of the interview was devoted to talking about studying abroad and how I conducted myself in certain situations that I encountered while on my adventures.  He also talked about his experiences and how they shaped him into the engineer he is today.  I was very interested and asked many questions.  Actually, I felt like the interviewer had turned into the interviewee.

I was really excited after the interview and I am guessing I left a good impression on him because less then a week later he called me to offer a full-time position in San Francisco, CA.  I really believe the offer was based on our discussion about living and working in a foreign country.  He understood that if I could adjust and succeed in a different culture, then I could adjust and succeed at his company.