Page 86 - DENG401_Advance Communication Skills

Successful Interviewees
Unsuccessful Interviewees
Behaviour
Statements about
the position
wanted to do; changed “ideal job”
position they wanted; were able to
up to six times during the
tell why they wanted the position.
interview.
Rarely used the company name.
Use of company
Referred to the company by name
name
four times as often as unsuccessful
interviewees.
Knowledge about
Made it clear that they were using
Made it clear that they had
researched the company; referred
the interview to learn about the
company and
position Had only gauge ideas of what they Specific and consistent about the
company and what it offered.
to specific brochures, journals or
people who had given them
information.
Level of interest, Responded, neutrally, to Expressed approval of information
enthusiasm Interviewer’s statements: “OK”, “I provided by the interviewer non-
see”. Indicated reservations about verbally and verbally: “That's
company or location. great” Explicitly indicated desire to Unit 3: Interview Skills
work for this particular company.
Non-verbal Made little eye contract; smiled Made eye contact after smiled.
behaviour infrequently.
Notes
Picking up on Give vague or negative answers Answered positively and
interviewer’s cues even when a positive answer was confidently and backed up the
clearly desired (“How are your claim with a specific example of
math skills?”). “problem solving” or “toughness”.
Response to topic Resisted topic shift. Accepted topic shift.
shift by interviewer
Use of industry Used almost too technical jargon. Used technical jargon: “point of
terms and technical purchase display”, “NCR charge”,
jargon “two-column approaches”, “and
direct mail”.
Use of specifics in Gave short answers – words or Supported claims with specific
answer less, sometimes only one word; did personal experiences, comparisons,
not elaborate. Gave general statistics, statements of teachers
responses: “fairly well”. and employers.
Questions asked by Asked a small number of general Asked specific questions based on
interviewee questions. knowledge of the industry and the
company. Personalized questions:
"What would my duties be?"
Control of time and Interviewee talked 37% of the Interviewee talked 55% of the total
topics interview time; initiated 36% of the time, initiated subjects 56% of the
comments. time.
Expected Questions and answer commonly used in an interview
1. Tell me about yourself: The most often asked question in interviews. You need to have a
short statement prepared in your mind. Be careful that it does not sound rehearsed. Limit
it to work-related items unless instructed otherwise. Talk about things you have done and
jobs you have held that relate to the position you are interviewing for. Start with the item
farthest back and work up to the present.
2. Why did you leave your last job?: Stay positive regardless of the circumstances. Never
refer to a major problem with management and never speak ill of supervisors, co-workers
or the organization. If you do, you will be the one looking bad. Keep smiling and talk
about leaving for a positive reason such as an opportunity, a chance to do something
special or other forward-looking reasons.
3. What experience do you have in this field?: Speak about specifics that relate to the position
you are applying for. If you do not have specific experience, get as close as you can.
4. Do you consider yourself successful?: You should always answer yes and briefly explain
why. A good explanation is that you have set goals, and you have met some and are on
track to achieve the others.
5. What do co-workers say about you?: Be prepared with a quote or two from co-workers.
Either a specific statement or a paraphrase will work. Jill Clark, a co-worker at Smith
Company, always said I was the hardest workers she had ever known. It is as powerful as
Jill having said it at the interview herself.

6. What do you know about this organization?: This question is one reason to do some
research on the organization before the interview. Find out where they have been and
where they are going. What are the current issues and who are the major players?
7. What have you done to improve your knowledge in the last year?: Try to include
improvement activities that relate to the job. A wide variety of activities can be mentioned
as positive self-improvement. Have some good ones handy to mention.

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