Job Interview

BY : AJIT SINGH
ENGLISH TRAINER
 Job Interview

u Introduction
u The function of interview
u Preparation
u Dress smartly
u Body language
u Important tips
u Interviewed by a foreign enterprise
 Job Interview

u Get yourselves prepared for these

questions
u Questions for you to ask
u How to impress the company ?
u Follow-ups
u What kind of company is right for you ?
 Introduction

u 95% of the jobs require an interview.

u Don’t think the employers only evaluate you

by the answer you give to their questions. If
they do, reading your CV is good enough to
make that decision.

u Most of the supervisors believe that they can

know a lot more about job applicants through
an interview.
 The Function of Interview

u To evaluate your future potentials, possible

advancement.

u To know if the job applicants can work well

with their co-workers.

u To observe job applicants’ non-verbal

communication skills.
 The Function of Interview

u Remember, no matter what questions are asked in an

interview, the purpose of these questions is for the
interviewer to evaluate -

Ø if you have the skill, experience, training and interest

necessary to fulfill the requirements of the position.

Ø if you fit the job and their corporate culture (company

personality)

Ø if you are hired, are you going to remain with the

employer for at least several years ?
 Preparation

u After you have made contact with an employer

and scheduled an interview, you will need to
do some preparation.

u Interview is not only a conversation, the

purpose of questions asked by interviewer are
for employers to judge if you’re the best
candidate for the position.
 Preparation

u To prepare your answers to the questions most likely

to be asked, you will need to know more about the
company before the interview

u Surf the internet to find and go through the website

of the company. (company history, products,
market…)

u Read the recruitment advertisement again to find out

what qualifications are the most wanted for this
position.
 Preparation

u An interview may include:

IQ Test
Aptitude test
Written examination
Oral examination
 Preparation

u First, purchase a presentation folder (twin-pocket

portfolio folder).

u Place in the folder a copy of your resume,

autobiography, certificates, reference, samples of your
work.

u Be prepared to leave the folder with the employer.

u By preparing this folder, you demonstrate outstanding

planning, organizing, and presentation skills.
 Preparation

u You should also purchase a small notebook to take

notes during the interview.

u You should take notes when interviewer -

1. mentions about the responsibilities of the position
2. tells you about the company’s background
3. asks you to provide some additional information.
(ex. University transcript…)

u When you make a note of above mentioned matters, it

again emphasizes your organizational ability.
 Preparation

u “Would you please tell me about yourself?” – is one

of the most feared questions asked in an interview.

u Prepare a “three-minute” self-introduction

including your
- working experience
- skills
- educational background.

u Next slide will help you prepare for the

introduction.
 Preparation

u Do you really understand yourself ?

Do you have an answer for the following questions ?

ü What are the strengths in my working experience,

educational background and skills directly related to
this job ?

ü What qualification and skills I have will impress the

interviewer ?

ü What qualification and skills I have can demonstrate

my future potentials ?
 Preparation

u To simulate an interview

ü Prepare and memorize the answer for possible

questions asked in an interview.
ü Record your answer with a recording device.
(audio recorder / digital camera / camcorder)
ü Ask opinion from a friend.
ü practice, practice and practice.
ü Attend all the interviews you can.
 Dress smartly

u A growing number of firms realize that their

employees’ appearance is important.
Therefore, many companies are introducing
dress codes for their staff.

u Your potential employer gets the first

impression by the way you dress, so don’t
overlook the importance of it.

u Your dress also tells the company if you know

how to dress properly in a business situation.
 Dress smartly

u Appropriate clothing need not be expensive.

u Often the person interviewing you will be older and

more conservative than you. It is usually best to
dress a bit more conservative.

u Some of the dress or jewelry items that your friends

think are cool may not be viewed the same way by
the interviewer.

u The rule of appropriate dress in an interview is to

dress as you would if you were employed in the
position for which you are applying
 Dress smartly

u For a female interview applicant -

• Business dress – modest in length, color and style.

Business suit or a skirt and a blouse are suggested.

• Stockings should complement your outfit – if the

interviewer’s attention is drawn to them, they are not
appropriate.

• Shoes should be clean, polished, and in good repair –

usually a low heel is appropriate. Do not wear
slippers*.
 Dress smartly

u For a female interview applicant -

• Nails should be modest in length and natural in color.

• Tattoos on the arms should be covered by wearing long

sleeves.

• Minimal jewelry such as a watch, ring, plain necklace,

or pin are in good taste. Do not wear more than two
earrings per ear, nor should earrings be too large or
long. Avoid noisy jewelry, such as clanging bracelets.
 Dress smartly

u For a female interview applicant -

• Undergarments should never be seen through or

below one’s outer clothing.

• Clothing that is normally worn to parties, weddings is

not appropriate for an interview.

• Perfume / cologne that has a slight scent and cannot

be noticed more than three feet away is appropriate.
 Dress smartly

u For a female interview applicant -

• Makeup should be modestly applied.

• Hair should be styled conservatively, and long,

straight hair should be styled in such a way that is not
constantly being brushed back from the applicant’s
face.

• If you have bad breath or an armpit odor, consider

using deodorant.
 Dress smartly

u For a male interview applicant -

• Clean, pressed pants in a conservative color are

appropriate.

• A shirt with a collar, pressed, tucked in, and in a

color that matches or coordinates with the pants is
in good taste.

• More formal business dress is required if those on

the job wear coats or suits and ties.
 Dress smartly

u For a male interview applicant -

• Any tattoos on the arms should be covered by

wearing long-sleeved shirts.

• Socks that are nearly the same color as the pants

should be worn. (not white athletic socks)

• Casual shoes, leather, low-top, clean and shines are

appropriate.
 Dress smartly

u For a male interview applicant –

• Nails should be cleaned and trimmed.

• You should be freshly shaven with hair, beard, and / or

facial hair styles similar to those worn by the majority
of workers in the department of the company where
you are applying.

• Use a deodorant, and if you wish, a mildly scented

aftershave lotion (no strong colognes).
 Dress smartly

u For a male interview applicant –

• Wear minimal jewelry – a watch and one ring

are OK – and modest earrings only if
commonly worn on the job by other employees.

• It’s OK to wear a colorful / patterned tie.

 Body Language

u Your potential employer will observe

your personality, your communication
skills and if you are a responsible person
in this interview.

u Your body language is the answer to

above question.
 Body Language

u Knock before opening interviewer’s door.

u Close the door with caution w/o banging the door.

u Wear a smile when you walk in.

u Handshaking is a very important manner in business.

1. the “bone crusher” handshake
2. the “dead fish” handshake
3. the “upper hand” handshake
4. the “two-handed” handshake
5. the firm handshake
 Body Language

u Handshaking is a very important manner in

business.

1. Women should offer to shake hands only if

the interviewer extends his/ her hand.
2. Men should extend a firm handshake to
another man.
3. Men should wait to have a hand extended by
a woman interviewer.
 Body Language

u Wait to be asked to be seated.

u Don’t look down.

u Look straight. Maintain eye contact with the

interviewer. (very important)

u Don’t fold your arms.

u Don’t cross your legs.

 Body Language

u Sit up straight in the chair. Lean forward in your chair.

u Don’t lean back in your chair.

u Keep your hands still.

u Don’t open your mouth until you’re ready to say

something.

u Smile frequently during the interview.

 Body Language

u Be positive in your comments, outlook, and

attitude.

u Avoid chewing gum or eat candies.

u Don’t smoke or even smell of smoke during

the interview – the majority of employers don’t
smoke.
 Body Language

u Six things you don’t suppose to do in an interview -

ü Don’t put your bag on the desk.

ü Don’t start a topic. Normally interviewers will
decide what topics to talk about.
ü Don’t interrupt or argue with interviewer.
ü Don’t complain or criticize previous employers.
ü Don’t make suggestions unless you’re asked to.
 Important Tips

1. Plan on arriving 10 minutes before it is

scheduled.

2. Be sure you know the exact location (building

and office) where the interview is to be held.

3. Consider traffic conditions at the time the

interview is planned.
 Important Tips

4. Be careful, you may take the same route your co-

workers, the interviewer, even your future boss take.
Watch your manner.

5. Go to the restroom and make yourself presentable –

Male – Comb your hair if you ride a motorcycle to an
interview,.
Female – Check your makeup. Don’t look at yourself
during an interview.
 Important Tips

6. When you arrive for the interview, give the receptionist

your name and tell him/her the name of the person who
is expecting you (which you have memorized) and the
scheduled time for your interview.

7. Anticipate a wait longer than 10 minutes. Interviews

that go well often last longer than originally expected,
and so the interviewer runs past the appointed time.

8. While waiting in the reception area before being

interviewed, review your answer against anticipated
questions.
 Important Tips

9. If you don’t understand a question, ask the

interviewer to say it again or ask a question to clarify
your doubts. Don’t pretend you understand it.

10. Answer questions at a proper speed – not too fast or

too slow. Your voice should be loud enough for
interviewer to hear it.

11. Answer questions with clear, concise and logical

sentences (listing, cause and effects, time sequence).
 Interviewed by Foreign Enterprise
u First impressions are important. Make sure your
telephone message is professional in its entirety.

u The message you leave on your answering device /

voice mail should be concise, contain correct
grammar, be easily understood.

u Here is an example for your reference -

“Hello, you have reached (telephone number). I’m
not available to take your call right now. Please leave
your name, number, and the time you call. I’ll return
your call as soon as possible.”
 Interviewed by Foreign Enterprise

u A way to check is to have someone you respect

and who is familiar with good business
practices – perhaps a family member or
neighbor who is in business – call your
number and see if they think your message is
appropriate.

u When you’re called into the office to be

interviewed, address the interviewer by name
using Ms. / Mr. and smile.
 Interviewed by Foreign Enterprise

u To start an interview

Hi ! My name is Barbara Chen.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity
to be interviewed.

* Optional:
Do you mind if I ask your English name ?
Get yourselves prepared for these questions

u I’m going to introduce some frequently

asked questions and suggested answer for
you to prepare for your interviews.

u However your responses should be

personalized to you and your
qualifications.
Get yourselves prepared for these questions

u “Warm-up” type of questions

ü How do you do ?
ü How do you get to our company ?
ü Where were you born ?
ü Where are you from ?
ü Where do you live ?
ü Could you tell me a bit about your family ?
Get yourselves prepared for these questions

u “Warm-up” type of questions

ü So, tell me about your family ?

ü How many people are there in your family ?
ü Please tell me about yourself.
ü Please give me a brief introduction
about yourself in 3 minutes.
Get yourselves prepared for these questions

u
Regarding your qualifications:

ü What are your strongest skills ?

Possible answer: I believe my strongest skills are…

ü Why should we hire you ?

Possible answer: By hiring me you will be getting…

ü Will you please tell me about any training that relates

to this job ?
Get yourselves prepared for these questions

u Regarding your qualifications

ü Please describe your work experience.

ü Tell me about your previous jobs ?
ü What sort of companies did you work for ?
ü What was your position ?
ü Are you interested in your job ?
ü How do you like your job ?
Get yourselves prepared for these questions

u Regarding your previous jobs

ü How long have you been with that company ?

ü Why did you quit ?
ü What made you decide to change jobs ?
ü Have you applied for a similar post to
any other companies ? *
ü Why do you want to join us ?
Get yourselves prepared for these questions

u Regarding your previous jobs:

ü Describe your best and worst bosses ?

Suggested response: I’ve not had any really

bad bosses. The best bosses give clear
instructions, let me use my initiative, are always
available for questions. I think I would like to be
a supervisor some day.
 Get yourselves prepared for these
questions
u Have you down any research about this job ?

ü What do you know about this job ?

suggested response:
I downloaded …. from the internet…

ü Why do you want to work for this company ?

suggested response:
I found that you are one of the fastest growing xxx firm
according to the xxxx, I see long-term
opportunities and possible promotions in this job……)
Get yourselves prepared for these questions

u Regarding your educational background

ü To a candidate with several years working experience:

1. What was your major in college ?
2. What did you study in college ?

ü To a newly graduate:
1. Were you a member of any student club in school ?
2. Were you ever involved in any student organization ?
3. Did you ever do any part-time job ?
4. What was your favorite part-time job ?
Get yourselves prepared for these questions

u Regarding your career objectives:

ü What do you want to be doing in 15 years ?

ü What kind of work interest you the most ?
ü What are your salary expectations for the
future, say 5 years ?
ü What motivates you ?
ü Do you consider yourself a leader or a
follower ?
ü Do you plan to continue your education ? *
Get yourselves prepared for these questions

u Regarding your character:

ü What kind of personality do you have ?

ü What types of things irritate you about co-workers ?
ü If you had to choose one word to describe your
personality, what would it be ?
ü What’s most important to you ?
ü Are you OK working for a younger supervisor ?
ü Can you work under pressure ?
ü What have you learned from your mistakes ?
ü What type of things do friends or family criticize you
about ?
Get yourselves prepared for these questions

u Regarding your character

ü What do you think your strengths and weaknesses ?

suggested response:
My strengths are to work as a team member, take
instruction, learn, quickly and constantly look for better
ways to complete assignments. Perhaps a weakness
might by that I sometimes work on a project until it’s
perfect. I’m beginning to realize that this is not always
practical from a time management point of view and it
may give my co-workers too much pressure.
Get yourselves prepared for these questions

u Regarding your outlook

ü What do you think influenced you the

most when you were growing up ?
ü Did you have any role models ?
ü What do you think is the most important
thing for you to be happy ?
ü What attitude do you take towards life ?
Get yourselves prepared for these questions

u Regarding your interests

ü What are your interests ?

ü Do you have any special interests ?
ü What are your hobbies ?
ü What do you do with your free time ?
Get yourselves prepared for these questions

u Regarding your expectation about salary

ü What salary would you expect ?

ü How much do you hope to get a month ?
ü What starting salary would you expect here ?
Get yourselves prepared for these questions

u Difficult questions

ü If another employee asked you to sign him

in/out, how would you handle this ?

ü If your boss asks you to do some birthday

shopping for his son on your lunch hour,
what would your response be ?
Get yourselves prepared for these questions

u Difficult questions

ü What are your greatest weaknesses ?

suggested response:
Sometimes I become impatient with coworkers when
they are late on schedule, but usually I try to find out
what’s going on ….

My writing skills are not quite as good as they should

be….
Get yourselves prepared for these questions

Start a sentence –

As you can see from my CV, I …

After I obtained my diploma in 200-
As a sales assistant, I was responsible for the ….
Recently I …
The results of my ….. Have been excellent.
…..
 Questions for You to Ask

u You should ask some questions during the

interview and at the end. (The best time to ask
questions formally is at the end of the
interview.)

u Don’t ask more than three questions.

u You can gain some valuable information about

the job, company and supervisor from the
answer to the questions.
 Questions for You to Ask

u Doing this will let the interviewer know that

you are sincerely interested in the position.

u This will assist you in deciding whether you

want to work for this company when a job
offer is made.
 Questions for You to Ask

u Ask questions politely

ü Could you tell me -

- this is a new position or did someone leave ?
- what skills are most critical in this job ?
- what type of person would be most successful
in this position ?
ü Could you describe in more detail the

responsibilities of the job ?

 Questions for You to Ask

u The appropriate questions

ü How is someone evaluated on their

performance in this position.
ü I would like to know whether you think I am
suitable to this job ?
ü What is the future prospects of this job ?
ü When might I expect to learn of your decision
about filling this position ?
 How to impress the company ?

1. Thank the interviewer again when the

interview is concluded.
2. Express an interest in the position.
3. Ask when you might learn of the decision
about filling it.
4. Shake hands, if appropriate and leave.
5. Smile and say goodbye to the receptionist on
the way out.
 Follow-ups

u Write a thank-you e-mail/ express letter to the

interviewer within 24 hours.

u Most applicants don’t follow up the interview.

This thank-you note will make you stand out.

u The principles of the letter are stated in next

slide.
 Follow-ups

u The principles of the letter are –

1. to demonstrate courtesy
2. to express continued interest in the position
3. to provide additional information regarding
your qualifications that you might have
forgotten to state during the interview.
4. to make up any mistakes you made in the
interview.
 Follow-ups
u example of the follow-up e-mail / letter
(with correct format*)

I enjoyed the opportunity to meet with you regarding the

xxx position.

One of the things that I failed to mention to you during

the interview is that … In addition…

It is exciting to be considered for the position at xxx.

I do hope that you will call me if you have any additional
questions.
To: Ms Julia Roberts / Position / ABC Company
From: Jennifer Hsiang

Re: follow-up on my interview dated Mar. 1st

Dear Ms Roberts,
(CONTENTS)

Sincerely yours,
Jennifer H. Hsiang
Home: (02)25551212
Cellphone: 0912-345678
Date: Mar. 2nd
Click to edit Master text styles
Second level
● Third level

● Fourth level

● Fifth level
 Follow-ups

J A second interview and/ or a third interview

J The higher position you apply, the more interviews

you may need to attend in order to get the job.

J Normally the first interview is down by HR people.

The second interview may be down by your
supervisor. If you apply for a very important or
managerial position, the owner of the company will
do the final interview.
What kind of company is right for you ?

ü The future prospect of this industry

ü The company’s current situation
ü Salary
ü Position
ü Possible promotion /Future advancement
ü Working hours
ü Company location
 Reference

Handshake
by Peter Viney & Karen Viney

Market leader
by David Cotton

International Express
Liz Taylor

Resumes, cover letters & Interviewing

by Clifford W. Eischen & Lynn A. Eischen
HERE BEGINGS A NEW
JOURNEY

AJIT SINGH
ENGLISH TRAINER