For a little practice...

Last Friday, I had an interview for a summer internship. I did well enough during the one-on-one interview the week before to secure a second. A group one this time, with many official-sounding people.

Interviews are not my forte. I rarely wow potential employers with my personality. I get nervous. I stutter. I hestitate. Usually, my only solace is a solid writing sample and an error-free resume (both have gotten me further than you'd think).

Everyone tells you that you'll do fine in an interview if you just "be yourself." My dad gave me the same advice the day before. As much as I respect him, I went into this group interview with the exact opposite mentality: pretend. Pretend I was confident, that I could string a sentence together without uttering long "umm"s, and that I had an impressive answer to every question waiting inside.

I related to a Forbes article on how finding an internship is work in itself. I even found a list of 25 difficult interview questions. I rehearsed my responses to the trickiest ones, took a brief look at the company Web site, and I was on my way, expecting the "pretend" mentality and the rehearsed responses to suffice.

When I arrived, I was in for a surprise.

I nailed the typical, canned interview questions:

"what attracted you to our company?"
"what are your strengths?"
"what can you offer us that another applicant can't?"

However, I was not prepared for the seemingly easy, personal questions:

"what do you do in your free time?"
"what do you read?" and the follow-up, "why do you like those?"

It seemed that I was so caught-up in pretending to be a confident, ideal candidate that I stumbled over the questions that should have been easy for my "real self" to answer.

So, here's my advice: being prepared for an interview is not only about knowing the job you're applying for, it's also about knowing yourself. So, in an effort to be better prepared for future interviews, I offer responses from the real me - the nervous, hestitant, sometimes bumbling me.

I rarely have free time, but when I'm lucky enough to have a few hours of leisure, I prefer to engage in activities that take me away from the rush of the routine and allow me to return to it at my discretion. I've been known to spend hours filtering through online music in search of hidden gems, trek through a forest with my dog without a destination and enjoying getting lost on purpose, and eavesdrop on Sunday afternoon conversations at a neighborhood cafe while jotting down what my secret power would be if I were a superhero. I think I've got it: instant teleportation.

Because I rarely have free time, I rarely read for pleasure. Usually, my daily reading consists of journalism text books and thesis prospecti. Sometimes I escape this reality with a crossword reverie or a National Geographic dream. These are escapes for me. Brief escapes into the world free from time, commitment or demand.

Most likely, these aren't the perfect answers employers want to hear either. I don't know if there are perfect answers to the "getting to know you" questions, but hey, at least I'm honest. At least I'm being myself.