JOB INTERVIEW- CLASS 1

Listening the audio.

1-Look at the typical interview questions below. Listen to the dialogue and check
the ones that you hear.

How would you describe yourself? ( )

Could you tell me who you work for at the moment? ( )

How long have you been working for ....? ( )

Why do you want to work for this company? ( )

Why are you leaving your job? ( )

What can you offer our company? ( )

You know this job requires a lot of travel. Is that a problem for you? ( )

Do you have any experience in ...? ( )

What are your goals for the future? ( )

What is your greatest weakness? ( )

How do you cope with pressure? ( )

What are your salary requirements? ( )

2- Checking understanding

Listen again and choose the best answer for each question below:

1. How long has Kate been working for KP Lewis?

a. 3 years b. 4 years c. 8 years

2. How long has she been working in the accounting department?

a. 3 months b. 4 months c. 8 months

3. Why is she leaving her job?

a. She is not well-paid. b. She can’t use all her skills. c. Her boss is horrible.

4. Is traveling a problem for her?

a. yes b. no c. maybe
5. Why was she successful as a sales representative for a language school?

a. The school increased its profit. b. The school sold more books. c. The school
increased registrations.

6. What are her short-term goals for the future?

a. She wants to buy a house. b. She wants to develop her sales skills. c. She wants to
become a manager.

7. What are her long-term goals?

a. She wants to obtain a high position in a company. b. She wants to start her own
business. c. She wants to work for a school.

8. What is her greatest weakness?

a. She works too hard. b. She’s a perfectionist. c. She makes appointments at the last
minute.

9. What motivates her to focus on her work?

a. teamwork b. pressure c. a good salary

______________________________________________________________________
DIALOG
Interviewer: Good morning Ms Badura, please have a seat.

Kate: Good morning, it's a pleasure to meet you.

Interviewer: Could you tell me who you work for at the moment?

Kate: Yes. I'm working for KP Lewis.

Interviewer: How long have you been working for them?

Kate: (uhh...) I've been working for KP Lewis for the past (um) three years.

Interviewer: And how long have you been working in the accounting department?

Kate: I've been working in accounts for the past (uhm) eight months.

Interviewer: And why are you leaving your job?

Kate: Well, to be honest, I feel that I cannot use all my skills in my current job, and the
position that you offer looked like an excellent match for me.

Interviewer: You know this job requires a lot of travel. Is that a problem for you?

Kate: No, no, that's not a problem. In fact, I really enjoy travelling and I don't have a
family to look after, so it's fine.
Interviewer: Have you had any experience in sales?

Kate: Yes. As you can see from my CV, I worked part-time as a representative for a
language school. They were offering summer language courses and I had to visit
different agencies.

Interviewer: That's interesting. How successful were you?

Kate: Well, the school I worked for managed to increase registrations as a result of my
collaboration

Interviewer: Very interesting...so what are your goals for the future?

Kate: Well, in the short-term I want to develop my sales skills and gain more
experience in selling. In the long-term, I would like to obtain a high position in a
growing company...like yours.

Interviewer: And tell me...what is your greatest weakness?

Kate: Well, I admit, I tend to wait until the last minute to make appointments. But I'm
getting better at this and I've recently realized that scheduling in advance makes more
sense.

Interviewer: How do you cope with pressure?

Kate: Actually, I work quite well under pressure. I find it very motivating and it helps
my focus on what I have to do.

______________________________________________________________________
Interview:
1. Hey I’m Andy your interviewer, tell me about yourself.
2. How do you view yourself? Whom do you compare yourself to?
3. Why are you leaving your job?
4. How does this job fit in with your career aspirations?
5. How interested you are about this job?
6. Do you think you are a good match for us?
7. How do you perceive this position in our company?
8. How would you contribute to the company?
9. Do have any idea about our competitors?
10. What are its competitive advantages?
11. How are you different from the competition?
12. Do you think you are the best candidate for the position?
13. Have you ever been on this position before?
14. How it was to have worked for another company?
15. If you get the position here, are you prepared to persuade an entire group to
finish the schedule?
16. How do you handle stress and pressure?
17. Could you describe to me your work style?
 18. What problems have you encountered at work?
19. Describe a difficult work situation or project and how you overcame it.
20. Describe a time when your workload was heavy and how you handled it.
21. What motivates you?
22. What is your greatest weakness?
23. What’s your greatest strength?
24. How will your greatest strength help you perform?
25. What makes you unique?
26. Tell me about something that isn’t in your resume.
27. How do you handle failure?
28. Describe for me a typical work week.
29. Do you have any doubts or questions to ask about the position and the company?
30. What did you like least about the previous job?
31. Have you made some unpopular decisions? How it was?
32. Are you willing to relocate?
33. Do you work well with other people?
34. Do you take your work home with you?
35. Describe your work ethic.
36. What part of the job will be least challenging for you?
37. Which parts of the job are the most challenging for you?
38. What do you find are the most difficult decisions to make?
39. Why should we take a risk on you?
40. What are your salary requirements?
______________________________________________________________________
TIPS
1. Make a research about the company.
2. Anticipate the interviewer's concerns and reservations. There are always
more candidates for positions than there are openings. So interviewers look for
ways to screen people out. Put yourself in their shoes and ask yourself why they
might not want to hire you (“I don't have this,” “I'm not that,” etc.). Then
prepare your defense: “I know you may be thinking that I might not be the
best fit for this position because [their reservation]. But you should know
that [reason the interviewer shouldn't be overly concerned]."
3. Line up your questions for the interviewer. Come to the interview with some
intelligent questions for the interviewer that demonstrate your knowledge of the
company as well as your serious intent. Interviewers always ask if you have any
questions, and no matter what, you should have one or two ready. If you say,
"No, not really," he or she may conclude that you're not all that interested in the
job or the company. A good all-purpose question is, "If you could design the
ideal candidate for this position from the ground up, what would he or she be
like?"
4. Score a success in the first five minutes. Some studies indicate that
interviewers make up their minds about candidates in the first five minutes of
the interview – and then spend the rest of the interview looking for things to
 confirm that decision! So what can you do in those five minutes to get through
the gate? Come in with energy and enthusiasm, and express your appreciation
for the interviewer's time. (Remember: She may be seeing a lot of other
candidates that day and may be tired from the flight in. So bring in that energy!)
5. Get on the same side as the interviewer. Many interviewers view job
interviews as adversarial: Candidates are going to try to pry an offer out of the
interviewer, and the interviewer's job is to hold onto it. Your job is to transform
this "tug of war" into a relationship in which you're both on the same side. You
could say something as simple as, "I'm happy to have the chance to learn more
about your company and to let you learn more about me, so we can see if this is
going to be a good match or not. I always think that the worst thing that can
happen is to be hired into a job that's wrong for you – then nobody's happy!"
6. Be assertive and take responsibility for the interview. Perhaps out of the
effort to be polite, some usually assertive candidates become overly passive
during job interviews. But politeness doesn't equal passivity. An interview is like
any other conversation – it’s a dance in which you and a partner move together,
both responding to the other. Don't make the mistake of just sitting there waiting
for the interviewer to ask you about that Nobel Prize you won. It's your
responsibility to make sure he walks away knowing your key selling points
7. Be ready to handle illegal and inappropriate questions. Interview questions
about your race, age, gender, religion, marital status, and sexual orientation are
inappropriate and in many areas illegal. Nevertheless, you may get one or more
of them. If you do, you have a couple of options. You can simply answer with a
question ("I'm not sure how that's relevant to my application"), or you can try to
answer "the question behind the question": "I don't know whether I'll decide to
have children in the near future, but if you're wondering if I'll be leaving my job
for an extended period of time, I can say that I'm very committed to my career
and frankly can't imagine giving it up."
8. Think positive. No one likes a complainer, so don't dwell on negative
experiences during an interview. Even if the interviewer asks you point blank,
"What courses have you liked least?" or "What did you like least about that
previous job?" don't answer the question. Or more specifically, don't answer it as
it's been asked. Instead, say something like, "Well, actually I've found something
about all of my classes that I've liked. For example, although I found [class] to
be very tough, I liked the fact that [positive point about the class]" or "I liked [a
previous job] quite a bit, although now I know that I really want to [new job]."
9. Bring a copy of your resume to every interview. Have a copy of your resume
with you when you go to every interview. If the interviewer has misplaced his or
her copy, you'll save a lot of time (and embarrassment on the interviewer's part)
if you can just pull your extra copy out and hand it over.
10. Make the most of the "Tell me about yourself" question. Many interviewers
begin interviews with this question. So how should you respond? You can go
into a story about where you were born, what your parents do, how many
brothers and sisters and dogs and cats you have, and that's okay. But would you
rather have the interviewer writing down what kind of dog you have – or why
the company should hire you? Consider responding to this question with
something like: "Well, obviously I could tell you about lots of things, and if I'm
missing what you want, please let me know. But the three things I think are most
important for you to know about me are [your selling points]. I can expand on
those a little if you'd like." Interviewers will always say, "Sure, go ahead." Then
you say, "Well, regarding the first point, [give your example]. And when I was
working for [company], I [example of another selling point]." Etc. This strategy
enables you to focus the first 10-15 minutes of the interview on all of your key
selling points. The "Tell me about yourself" question is a golden opportunity.
Don't miss it!