Tabor Venitsky
2020 — Norwalk, CA/US
Open Interviewing
Event Description:
Interviewing: this event is designed to give students the opportunity to sharpen their job interviewing and resume writing skills. Students will assume they are applying for an appropriate position (e.g., an internship, entry-level job, etc.) in a field they want to work in. Prior to the tournament, students should prepare a resume they would use in applying for their desired position, and they should print sufficient copies to provide to their judges each round (three copies for prelims and three copies for finals). Students should omit references to the school they compete for from their resume. During each round, the judge will ask students 5 questions provided by the tournament. Because all competitors in each section will be asked the same questions, other competitors should wait outside the room until it is their turn to interview. Each interview will last for no more than 10 minutes, with time beginning as the judge starts to read the first question. Interviews may not exceed 10 minutes even if the student has not responded to all the questions. Judges will score and rank students based on a rubric provided by the tournament.
Prior to beginning each interview, the judge will request the competitor’s resume and quickly review and score it. Judges should score students based on the quality of the resume, not their actual qualifications for the job. Students should present a truthful resume that reflects their actual life experience, and they should be prepared to elaborate on portions of their resume during the interview. Although we encourage students to be creative and use resume-writing techniques that will catch attention, they should refrain from brightly-colored inks, excessively-ornate fonts, the inclusion of pictures or headshots, or anything else that would draw excessive attention to style rather than content.