With summer in full swing, job interviews are a weekly charade that always seems to be stressful, no matter how many you've done. Some interviews may last for 5 minutes, the employer being lax with their questions and quick to hire lazy employees, while other interviews last for what seems like hours and make your palms sweat. One specific type of interview that has many prospective employees running to the hills is group interviews.

Group interviews seem to be created for the laziest of employers who don't want to spend the time it would take to complete one-on-one interviews. This may be a subject of debate for many, but in my experience group interviews are a game of who can lie the quickest and the most cunningly. You stare down your "opponents" until the next question is put to you, then you quickly but brilliantly concoct a false story more impressive than the rest of the candidates and talk about the time when you "helped" someone when you didn't need to, making yourself sound god sent.

Now I know some of you are shaking your heads and telling yourselves that you would never lie to a possible employer but let's be honest, everyone has. These lies seem to take somewhat of a frightful turn when you're sat down next to another candidate and the company is only looking to fill a single position. Even if you haven't lied outright, you've at least embellished.

When in a one-on-one interview with an employer, things seem to be so much more personal. Words flow out much easier and conversation sparks between two possible future co-workers or friends. Group interviews are different in this respect as well. Fighting to speak is a common problem as it looks horrible to an employer if one candidate is shouting words across the table and the other is sitting and twiddling their thumbs. Then, when you try to squeeze a sentence in, you are cut off by your temporary nemesis that seems to think their past work drama is the most important conversation to be having.

The worst past about group interviews, however, is when you are sitting in that uncomfortable food court chair and you know who your possible employer likes more...and it's not you. This small predicament seems to make it even more impossible to chime into the conversation. There is an inner struggle between not wanting to say the wrong thing, or saying something that isn't true and receiving follow-up questions from it.

Despite all of these seemingly horrible struggles that arise with every group interview, there are a few things you can do to make yourself stand out. First, introduce yourself to all of the other candidates in front of your interviewer. This will make you look professional, friendly, and outgoing. Second, during the interview, whenever another candidate is talking, look interested in what they are saying (this means nod your head and smile). Don't look at the ground or the interviewer and DO NOT pull out your phone.

Third, don't worry about how much the interviewer writes down on your sheet versus anyone else's. Just because you only filled the question box halfway doesn't mean what you said didn't leave an impact. In fact, being long winded and saying things not relevant to the question asked will make you seem distracted and will show that you easily get off topic (not good for selling merchandise or talking to customers). Remember, being an easy talker is a great quality to have, being annoying is not.

Lastly, remember to smile and ask questions at the end. You want to seem interested in the inner workings of whatever place you are interviewing for. Ask about the manager-employee relationships, ask about the training process or how busy the place gets. Ask about flexibility and how you will be treated as an employee. The best way to walk into every interview is with the intention of getting the job, and the best way to walk out is with the confidence that you did.

For those of you who have never had the pleasure of being a part of a group interview, just know that someday you will. Never get discouraged if you were unaware beforehand either. A surprise group interview may be the best kind because it doesn't give you the chance to be nervous about it. Just be your regular, kind, and fun-loving self and all will be well.