The main goal for a college student is to graduate and find a nice paying job that helps them afford whatever his or her heart desires.

Clara Ross-Jones, a career counselor at Cerritos College, helped students prepare for what may be the most intimidating and heart pounding experience: job interviews.

Over 30 students filled the room to hear Ross-Jones inform them on all the key tips on how to be successful during a job interview.

The workshop took place on Thursday Oct. 29, in the Business Education Building in room 105.

She emphasized that preparation is key to being successful during an interview and encouraged students to research the company that they are applying for and is also very crucial that the individual knows his or her own qualifications.

She said the most common struggle students have is overcoming nervousness because it is natural to become nervous especially right before an interview that could determine an individual’s future.

The question that stumps individuals the most is the “tell me about yourself” portion of the interview and is usually the first question asked at an interview so it will set the tone for the rest of the interview.

To help students with this aspect of the interview she handed out a worksheet which students filled out.

The worksheet asked for the degree the student has or is working on, a characteristic that distinguishes the student and basically anything that may help the student look good during an interview.

Students were also informed of the different types of interviews which the two most popular are the screening interview also known as the phone interview and the in-person interview.

The main advice given for the phone interview is for the individual not to sound like they just woke up or make sure there is no loud noise in the background.

Wendy Mendoza, who is part of the nursing program at Cerritos College, said she heard about the workshop from a flyer on campus.

“I applied for an internship and I have three interviews coming up and from this workshop I got ideas on what to do and what not to do during interviews.”

As for the in-person interview it is very important to dress appropriately and to have a nice firm handshake when meeting a future employer, because first impressions are important.