Proven Tips for a Successful Interview for the Ruth Titilayo Educational Foundation (RTEF) Scholarship

I have had the opportunity to speak to a great number of scholars about interviews and their experiences. One form of response I get more often than not is majorly: ‘Omo scholarship interview is luck. You can tell them everything and they will not select you’. Some even go as far as saying that the scholarship committee are biased and refused to ‘give them’ the scholarship because they are not from a particular ethnic group.

Personally, I find the second statement usually funny because if a scholarship body were to be ethnically biased, they would not even shortlist you to be at the interview or even make it possible for you to apply by stating it clearly in their eligibility criteria.

Now, the Ruth Titilayo Educational Foundation scholarship is a conventional scholarship meaning that they welcome all and sundry regardless of tribe, religion and background so if you are shortlisted to take the interview, I say CONGRATULATIONS to you because you are already about 80% in.

The hard part in this scholarship as is true with many other scholarships in Nigeria is scaling through the entire screening process up until the interview stage so the rest 20% is dependent on how well you perform during the interview.

Before I go proper into the tips for a successful interview for the RTEF scholarship, I have to note that the experiences and tips I will be sharing are borne out of personal experiences and do not in any way form a law as your experience may be different from mine. However, as someone who has been interviewed alot for scholarships, I do believe you could gain quite a number of things from this article.

So let us get down to it:

Tips for a Successful Interview:

1. Aim to be Likeable:

I honestly believe that for every interview, the major contributing factor that will determine whether or not you would be selected for a scholarship is if you are liked by the interviewing panel. This may sound superficial, but it is true. Your scholarship panel would first have to assess you as a person before going down to assess your skills, your goals and whether or not your vision aligns with that of the organization; in this case, the foundation (RTEF). You may want to ask; ‘Okay, how do I get them to like me?’. For you to increase your chances of being liked by the committee, make sure to do the following things;

• Smile: As simple as smiling is, it can make a whole lot of difference. In my experience as an interviewer, the countenance of an interviewee once they step into the interview room or join the virtual interview plays a large part in the version of myself they will see or even how the conversation will start out. So, if a candidate comes in looking all serious, no smiles and with a straight face, in my head I go ‘Okay this is someone who wants to get down to business straight away’ and I do that, I put my strict self out there and ask question after question to drill the applicant because of the notion I got from him or her that they are probably not a jovial person. On the other hand, if a candidate comes in and his or her first response is with a smile, the first thing it does is to put me and the other interviewers at ease. Secondly, it sets a great tone wherewith we could first ask little questions like ‘How are you today?’ ‘I heard it is hot in Nigeria at this time, we hope you are comfortable enough’ and other questions like that. Trust me, that start of the interview already builds such good connection, that already the interviewer will start to feel good about the candidate.
  Let me be clear. Interviewers are also human beings like you. They feel, have emotions and also have biases no matter how much they try to reduce it. This means that they may forget most of what you said during the interview but will never forget how you made them feel. Never forget that.

• Be Complimentary: One helpful tip I will always suggest to anyone taking the RTEF interview is to offer compliments. Now, I will clarify. Do not go into an interview and start offering personal compliments like ‘You are so beautiful, ma’ or ‘You are a very handsome man sir’ or ‘I like the colour of your dress, it is my favourite colour as well’. Trust me, if you make the mistake of offering those kind of compliments, your interview is already over before it even started. The kind of compliments you should offer include the following:
  • ‘Thank you so much for the opportunity to be here. I have to say, reading on the foundation, I was really impressed with the vision and operation of the foundation so far’.
  • “Thank you for having me. I find it a honour to make it to this stage and I believe I can be part of the legacy you are building here at RTEF as one of your scholars”
  • “Hello, Good morning/afternoon. I am excited to be here today. I hope your day is progressing well as well?” (Use this when you have been asked about your day. It is only courteous that you return the favour by asking about theirs too)

2. Dress Professionally: Despite it being a virtual interview, aim to dress professionally. Though you may not score extra points for dressing, dressing shabbily or appearing unkempt will put you in a bad light before the interviewers and as I mentioned earlier, being likeable plays a very huge chance in your scholarship success.

3. Never Interrupt: One of the things you should never do during your scholarship interview is to cut your interviewer short while he or she is still speaking. Now, I know you may be tensed or even better you may have practiced a whole lot of questions before coming for the interview and when a question you have practiced is being asked, overexcitement may get the better of you to not let the interviewer finish. Please get rid of that attitude before the interview as it will cost you valuable points. Note that the interview is graded and the panel takes note of all your actions, strengths and weaknesses during the interview. So mistakes like that could work against you when your profile is being reviewed for a final decision on whether or not you should be awarded the scholarship.

4. Know about the Foundation: If a stranger were to walk up to you on the street and offer to give you free money, a good number of you would be wary of accepting that gift because you feel you do not know the person and do not know if the person has ulterior motives. That it how it feels to go into a scholarship interview without knowing anything about the people who are potentially offering you the scholarship. It is a huge red flag and leaves a bad precedent. So before your interview, read more about RTEF, its founder, the works of the founder, their goals, mission and vision and also how you fit into this vision. After reading on all these, the next thing you should do is to know how to structure your response to fit yourself into the vision of the scholarship.

So when you are asked the question; ‘What do you know about RTEF?’, instead of just talking solely about the foundation and its history, structure your answer like this:

Reading on the RTEF website, I could see an organization committed to community and service. From its inception by the founder, it is clear that the RTEF is built on a legacy to make an impact in the lives of young Nigerians all over the country. This is something I find inspiring as it resonates strongly in all what I believe in and in my work as well. As the founder of Icanstudent, the platform I have built is one that truly values reaching out into the lives of Nigerian youths and leaving a positive mark.

See what I did there? Not only did I mention what I know about the foundation, I found a way to tie my purpose into theirs, making it obvious that I align with their vision and mission as a foundation. This makes it easy for them to see as someone who could be part of them .THAT is strategy and that is how you absolutely position yourself in the mind of the selection panel to be unforgettable.

5. When given the floor to ask questions, ask intelligently: In my experience as an interviewer, I naturally do not award any additional points for asking questions neither do I take out points for not asking question. This is the same with other interviewers I have worked with. However, there is a caveat. Asking questions leaves a good impression on your interviewers. Do I recommend asking questions then? Absolutely, yes , please ask questions. In asking questions, I would suggest though that you keep it simple and smart. Here are the kind of questions you should avoid asking:

• ‘So how much is the scholarship?’
• ‘Hope the stipends is plenty?’
• ‘How much is the stipends?’
• ‘When should we expecting disbursement?’

Never ask those questions however true or honest they may seem. You do not not want it to seem as all you are concerned about is the money. Here are better questions you could ask:

• ‘If given this scholarship? what would be expected of me as a scholar’
• ‘Seeing the commitment of the foundation, I would love to ask if there are areas I could volunteer in at the foundation?’

Asking these questions show curiosity which is a nice thing to show to the interview panel.

6. Stay Organized and Prepared: In your preparation, plan for contingencies, risks and eventualities. Make sure where you are taking the interview is in a quiet space, have backup connections on standby, make sure you test your audio, video and lighting to make sure that you both look and sound professional during the course of your interview. Also, in your preparation, keep your answers concise and articulate. When asked a question, endeavour to reply directly to the question asked. Beating about the bush would not help you and one great red flag in any interview is hearing remarks like ‘Oh that’s okay, let us move to the next question…’ ‘I don’t think you understand the question…’

7. Be Authentic: Endeavour to be true to your story. Talk freely on what makes you unique. Play to your strengths. When asked questions like ‘Why do you think you should be offered this scholarship?’, speak from your heart and let the panel feel your enthusiasm, your need as well as your commitment.

With these tips, you are well on your way to being the next recipient of the Ruth Titilayo Educational Foundation (RTEF) Scholarship and I really cannot wait to congratulate you. Good luck. Don’t forget to follow the Icanstudent website for more information and guidelines on how to be a great applicant for your upcoming scholarship applications.

If you have any questions, leave them in the comment section below and I will be sure to respond. Cheers!