Have you ever been the interviewer for an alumni interview? What was it like? Where was the interview conducted? Can you tell more about the experience?
I have interviewed hundreds of people professionally, and if you have been selected to participate, please learn to do it correctly. Don’t be the interviewer that stumbles and bumbles through it! Your username implies that you are an engineer - and all the engineers I know like to be prepared - so please sign up for a How To Interview course at a local school or through your HR Dept. Good luck, have fun, and congratulations in advance for trying to do it right!
Alumni interviewers are volunteers who donate their time to provide more information to prospective applicants, and feedback to the university. For the most part, they are more informative than evaluative, and serve as goodwill ambassadors in both directions. Most interviewers (and yes, I am one) have very busy lives, including work and children, and colleges do have trouble getting enough volunteer interviewers to cover all prospective applicants. The quality of interviewers, just like the quality of applicants, may be uneven, but both parties are well-advised to approach the experience with patience and understanding, and even appreciation. Just as I am sure some parents have valid complaints about some interviews, I can assure you that interviewers, too, have some hair-raising stories to tell (if confidentiality didn’t forbid it).
Your college will likely provide guidelines. In my case, interviews are conducted in a coffeeshop or similar location, and should try to last no more than 30 minutes. We do not have access to the applicant’s file, and are not supposed to ask for transcripts or resumes. The interview is often a very pleasant, and sometimes inspiring experience-I’ve had the chance to meet some remarkable young people, ages 15-19 and some of their achievements and dreams are fascinating. The experience has also changed the way I prepare my own children for interviewing, which I think is an important life skill. For whatever reason ( texting technology? lack of job experience? parenting style?), I have noticed interview skills have really declined among high school seniors in the last 10 years, a view shared anecdotally by other interviewers at similar colleges.