Mock Interview Day with Alums
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
9:00am-4:00pm
If your interview confidence and skills need a boost, register for Mock Interview Day!
Practice interviewing one-on-one and gain pointers from alums and other interviewers about your interviewing strengths and areas needing improvement. Read Mock Interviewer biographies below.
To register for Mock Interview Day, log in to E-Access
- Preference will be given to seniors
- Questions? Contact Patty Woods at pwoods@smith.edu.
All students interested in Mock Interview Day MUST attend an Impress the Interviewer workshop on either Tuesday, 1/8 or Friday 1/18 for an orientation and further details.
Student Preparation Tips
NOTE: Space is limited for Mock Interview Day; early registration is encouraged!
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Mock Interviewer Biographies
Wanda Ramos ‘97
Human Resources manager at United Technologies
Wanda is a Human Resources Manager for United Technologies Corporation (UTC)
in Hartford, CT. She is a client manager for UTC’s IT function and IT Leadership
Development Program. Wanda joined UTC’s Office of Workforce Diversity in
2010 as a Diversity Specialist responsible for supporting global diversity and
inclusion initiatives. Wanda previously held HR roles at The Phoenix Insurance
Company in Hartford, CT and Starbucks Corporate in Seattle, Washington. Wanda
is serving her second term as Treasurer of the Connecticut Society of Human Resources
Management State Council. She was previously on the board of the Connecticut
Chapter of the National Society of Hispanic MBAs. After a 10 year career in finance,
Wanda transitioned to human resources in 2006. Wanda holds a certificate in Human
Resources Management from the University of Washington and a BA in Economics
from Smith College.
Kristen Van Damm ‘03
Senior Specialist at Bain & Company
Kristen has played a variety of Human Capital roles during her 9 year tenure
at Bain. After earning her BA in Anthropology (Economics minor) from Smith
College, she joined Bain as a junior level administrative assistant, then quickly
moved into a Human Capital role for the San Francisco office. In that role,
she focused on supporting the professional development and staffing teams.
In 2007, she transferred to the Boston office, where she took a role in the
Global Human Capital team, playing an HR Generalist role for Bain’s growing
Global Services population. Today, Kristen provides comprehensive Human Capital
support, guidance, and program management to Bain’s Practice Area teams.
When not focusing on her Human Capital work, Kristen can often be found cooking
for friends, exploring new restaurants, or just poring over cookbooks, looking
for inspiration.
Beth Likely ‘81
Owner, Kovak-likly Communications LLC
Beth is co-principal and owner of Kovak-Likly Communications LLC, a leading
health care public relations and marketing communications firm, based in Fairfield
County CT. Incorporated in 1985, Kovak-Likly Communications has grown
to become one of the largest independent health care public relations agencies
in the country, serving pharmaceutical, medical device and related industry
companies. Prior to branching out on her own, Beth was Vice President
of Marketing for Fisons Pharmaceuticals (now Sanofi Aventis), and was responsible
for all aspects of U.S. corporate and product marketing. Beth has developed
and managed advertising and public relations campaigns for new product launches,
as well as in support of established products. She has overseen major sales
meetings, spoken at industry conferences and spearheaded numerous co-promotions
and strategic alliances. In addition to a master’s degree in Public
Health from Tufts University, Beth holds an A.B. degree in Biology from Smith
College.
Jim Meck
Engineer at MITRE
Jim has worked for 26 years in systems engineering. His work includes cyber
security, systems integration, command operations, program management, and
research & development experience gained with DHS, IC, DoD, federal, commercial,
and international teams at General Dynamics, Allied Signal, Booz Allen & Hamilton,
NASDAQ, BAE Systems, and the MITRE Corporation. Jim is living here locally
having accompanied his wife Susan to Northampton last fall. Susan is a music
major and an Ada Comstock Scholar, Class of 2014. Jim is a new member of the
Smith College Jazz ensemble. Jim and Susan have three children, Benjamin, a
member of the screen actors guild, living in Los Angeles, Patrick, a diving
and gymnastics coach living in Olney, Maryland, and Kassidy, a sophomore at
Barnard College, living in New York. Jim holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree, with
computer science and psychology majors from Ohio Wesleyan University. Jim
participated in last year’s Mock Interview Day (January 2012) and is
back this year by popular demand!
Kitty Jerome ‘93
Public Health Policy Consultant
Kitty Jerome has been working in public health policy since 1995. Currently
self-employed, she worked in tobacco control policy for 16 years for city and
state governments and private foundations. Kitty’s experiences with municipal,
state and national approaches to policy change guide her work with those developing
policy and system changes to improve community health. She has provided training
and assistance in strategic planning, community organizing and policy advocacy.
Kitty is a trainer of the Shaping Policy for Health curriculum courses
in policy analysis and advocacy. Other recent clients have included Health
Resources in Action and the American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation. Kitty’s
current work with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and the University
of Wisconsin Population Health Institute focuses on two aspects of the County
Health Rankings and Roadmaps initiative, the Community Prize and the Action
Center. Previously, Kitty consulted for the RWJF’s national tobacco policy
programs, the SmokeLess States Initiative and Tobacco Policy Change: A Collaborative
for Healthier Communities and States.
Kitty has an MA in Urban and Environmental Policy from Tufts University and
a BA in Women’s Studies from Smith College, where she was an Ada Comstock
Scholar.
Zoe Feldman '06
Consultant, Accenture
Zoe Feldman '06 lived in Sessions and was a double major in Philosophy and Psychology with a minor in English. After graduation, she moved to NYC to attend Columbia University's Joseph R. Mailman School of Public Health, from which she received her MPH in Sociomedical Sciences and Nutritional Epidemiology in 2008. After Columbia, Zoe accepted a position with the nascent Global Health Policy group at PepsiCo, where she spent just about four years under the tutelage of Dr. Derek Yach, attempting to create sweeping change to affect global public health in a multinational food and beverage corporation. During her last two years at PepsiCo, Zoe attended evening classes at the New York University Leonard N. Stern School of Business, from which she received her MBA in Strategy, Finance and Operations in May 2012. Zoe left PepsiCo after graduating from NYU-Stern and began a position with the management consulting arm of Accenture, where she specializes in corporate strategy and operations design for Consumer Packaged Goods and Retail companies. She is active on the Smith College Club of NYC Board of Directors, and also serves as Treasurer for the Class of 2006. She spends most of her spare time in northern Vermont, on a bike, on a trail or on a boat on Lake Champlain.
Student Preparation Tips
- Impress the Interviewer workshop on either Tuesday, 1/8 or Friday 1/18 from 2pm-3pm (REQUIRED)
- Read the Lazarus Center's Interview Guide
- Review the Mock Interview Feedback form to see criteria you might be critiqued on
- Don’t forget to fill out an evaluation form after your mock interview.
Updated 12/17/12
