Mastering Interview Questions Lecture 17 Interviews What are

Mastering Interview Questions Lecture 17

Interviews What are interviewers looking for? How to prepare How to act during ▪ Verbal ▪ Non Verbal How to finish and follow up

Interviews More interview strategies More qualities interviewers are looking for Typical questions and good answers

Interviews �A typical interview question is open ended �This means that the response is entirely up to you �This means there are no right and wrong answers, only good and bad ones

Interviews �When choosing your response, be sure to target it for the specific job/school �To be able to tell a good answer from a bad one, we must look at some qualities that interviewers are looking for

Interviews �We will talk about the qualities, what question the interviewer is asking, and some examples we could use to show these qualities

Interviews �Leadership �How good of a leader is this person? �Examples: During a school project During an out of school activity During family problems

Interviews �Teamwork �Can this person be a good team member? �Examples During a school project On a sports team On a out of school project

Interviews �Adaptability �Can this person handle new situations? �Examples Moving to a new town Starting a new job Starting school

Interviews �Learning �How fast can this person learn new skills? �Examples New computer skill at school New instrument/sport New language

Interviews �Risk taking �Is this person willing to try something new? �Examples: Try a new activity Move to a new place Learn a new language

Interviews �Creativity �Does this person have original ideas? �Examples: School projects Movies/websites/music you made

Interviews �Strengths �What is this person’s best quality? �Examples: Team work Leadership Language, etc.

Interviews �Weaknesses �Where can this person improve? �Examples Teamwork Organization Focus

Interviews �Morals �Does this person make good and moral choices? �Example Difficult decision at school Difficult decision with family

Interviews �Ambition �What are this person’s dreams/goals? �Examples: Goals you set and reached Goals you set and have not reached yet

Interviews �Education �Did this person receive a strong education? �Examples Class work Teachers Class Projects

Interviews �Communication Skills �How well can this person communicate? �Examples Class discussions Class work

Interviews �Prepare for the interview by thinking of times and situations, where you showed each of these qualities �Be ready to tell these stories to your interviewer

Interviews �Remember to be specific and remember to try and do the following things with your answer

Interviews A specific situation The tasks that needed to be done The action you took The results i. e. what happened

Interviews �Also, remember the difference between targeted and general answers �Target your answers for the specific job/school/scholarship

Interviews �We will now look at some typical interview questions and some good answers �These answers are not to be copied, they are merely examples

Interviews �“Tell me a little bit about yourself” �Talk about your current school or work situation. �Mention one or two strengths and/or activities

Interviews �“I am a sophomore business student at Huang Huai University, in the central Henan province. I have been studying English for 10 years and feel better about my language now than I ever have. I am very happy at school and in my free time I enjoy playing basketball and designing websites. ”

Interviews �“What has been your greatest accomplishment at school? ” �Use this question to show: Leadership Teamwork Creativity Risk taking

Interviews �“In my business communications class, we had to give oral presentations in English. I was very nervous about speaking in public in English. I think I practiced my speech 100 times. I finally did it and my teacher loved it. Now I have no trouble speaking in public. ”

Interviews �“What is your greatest strength? ” �Don’t pick just one. best qualities. Mention 3 or four of your �Try to include ones from the list mentioned before

Interviews �“I’m a good leader and I’m also great at being a member of a team. I’m also a risk taker and I would say that my greatest strength is my ability to adapt to new situations. ”

Interviews �“What is your greatest weakness? ” �Don’t lie! �Say a weakness you have or had, and say how you worked to fix it

Interviews �“I used to have problems being organized, but to fix this, I bought myself a daily planner. I now make todo lists every day and write all my plans in this planner. This has helped me to keep track of all of my responsibilities. ”

Interviews �“How was the transition from High School to University? What troubles did you face? ” �Use this question to show: Adaptability Risk taking Learning

Interviews �“I had a difficult time adapting to living with roommates. We had some different personalities, and sometimes it was hard for me to concentrate. By talking to my roommates about what problems I had with them, we were able to learn to adapt to each other’s schedules and lifestyle. ”

Interviews �“How do you handle difficult situations? ” �Use this question to show: Communication skills Adaptability Learning

Interviews �“When I started learning from an English teacher, I was having lots of trouble understanding. I was not receiving good grades, so I met with my teacher several times for extra help. This taught me the benefits of handling situations in this way and the importance of getting to know my teachers. ”

Interviews �“If I were to ask your professors to describe you, what would they say? ” �To answer this question, it will be useful to talk to a professor before your interview �Be honest! Say what they would say.

Interviews �“My professors would say that I`m a very hard worker and a natural leader. They would probably also say something about my sense of humor and my ability to work in any kind of situation. ”

Interviews �“Give me an example of a time you had to make an important decision. How did you make the decision? How does it affect you today? “ �Use this question to show: Adaptability Risk taking

Interviews �“One of the most difficult decisions I had to make was going to school far from home. My parents wanted me to stay near them, but I am glad that I left because I now feel more independent and prepared for life after university. ”

Interviews �“Why do you want this job/scholarship? ” �Use this question to show: Goals Education

Interviews �“I want to study at your school because I feel I need to spend time in an English speaking country to achieve my goal of becoming completely fluent and being able to work a job in English. Your program is one that interests me for many reasons. . . ”

Interviews �“Why are you the best person for this job/scholarship? ” �Use this question to show Leadership Strengths Goals Adaptability Education

Interviews �“I am the best person because I can handle new situations. My education has prepared me well for the UK school system, and I think I will be a positive addition to the students at your school. ”

Interviews �Remember, a good answer will have: A specific situation The tasks that needed to be done The action you took The results i. e. what happened

Interviews �These are just examples. The interviewer will ask many similar questions. �Be prepared for anything!

Interviews �Knowing what questions to expect is necessary to be well prepared �Being able to adapt your stories to whatever question is being asked is the most important thing!

Interviews �http: //www. quintcareers. com/interview _question_database/college_student_b ehavioral_questions. html �http: //www. collegegrad. com/jobsearch/ Mastering-the-Interview/Fifty-Standard. Interview-Questions/

Interviews �More interview questions: �http: //www. quintcareers. com/interview _question_database/college_student_b ehavioral_questions. html �http: //www. aie. org/College/Jobs/Intervi ews/interviewquestions. cfm