Interview Role Play

Welcome to the final lesson in this module.

The interview role play.

This is your chance to impress for success.

In this lesson we’ll look at the most common job interview questions and how to answer them appropriately.

At the end, you’ll have the opportunity to post an interview role play for your classmates to get feedback on.

I will be introducing a typically North American interview style and questions.

However, keep in mind that depending on the culture of the people in the interview, the questions may vary.

So while you prepare, be ready with answers for all kinds of questions.

If you will be the one interviewing someone, pay close attention to the types of questions for each part.

As always, preparation is the key to success.

So, how do you prepare for an interview?

Most interviews feature three categories or types of questions about, your ability, your willingness, which means how much you want to work with the company, and how well you’ll fit in with the new job and organization

Let’s start with ability.

Let’s look at some examples of questions in this category.

What is your greatest strength?

What are your best skills?

What qualifications do you have that would make you successful here?

To answer these questions, you must learn as much as you can about the organization that you are applying to.

It may be an international company with offices all over the world or a small local business.

It could be a technology startup or a nonprofit which is a company that works to help people.

You will feel more comfortable and interviewers will see that you are really interested and can talk easily about the organization.

And show how your strengths and skills are good for their organization.

You also want to know about the actual job that you’re applying for.

You may even be ask to solve problems similar to the problems on the job.

When you know what the job requires you can talk more easily about how you can do the job Next, let’s look at willingness.

Here are some examples about questions in this category.

What kind of student were you?

Describe a very successful project you completed in your current job.

How do you handle problems and setbacks?

For these types of questions, your personal experience is key.

You want to be ready to show the interviewer that you work hard and you don’t give up easily.

You want to be prepared with actual examples that show your initiative and desire to be successful and your willingness to overcome problems

These will help you stand out among others applying for the same job.

Finally, employers want to know if you’ll be a good fit for their organization.

Do you belong there?

Here are some questions they might ask.

What’s important to you in a work situation?

Do you think you’re a natural leader?

How do you adjust to new situations?

Again, knowing about the organization and the job will help you answer these questions in the most positive way.

You want every answer you give to support your chance at getting the job, and even if you have to give a negative answer, think of ways to turn it into a positive.

Now let’s look at some answers for the questions we looked at.

What’s your greatest strength?

I’m very organized and that’s important in every job.

But for this position, I think my greatest strength is communication.

I know I’ll be working with new customers.

Why is that a good response?

It gives a direct answer and it refers to the actual job the employer is trying to fill.

How about this one?

How do you handle setbacks?

I’d like to answer that question with a story.

I worked on a project before.

This answer works, because telling a story is a key way to catch someone’s attention, and it gives you a chance to share a personal experience that says a lot about you.

Let’s try one more.

Do you think you’re a natural leader?

I’m a leader, but I don’t think I’m a natural at it.

I have learned to be a leader, however.

For example, last year.

Sometimes in order to be honest, we have to give a negative answer.

This is a good answer because it shows how a negative can become a positive.

What stands out in all of these?

Preparation.

You must be ready to answer the question and to match your answer to the job and the organization.

At the end of an interview, employers often ask for your questions.

For this situation also, you must be ready.

Prepare a question or two to show both your interests in the company and that you want to learn more.

Here are a few examples.

I read on your website about your upcoming new product.

Could you tell me a little more about it?

What are some characteristics of your most successful employees?

What can I do next to get this position?

In the resources materials you’ll find more suggestions for how to answer and ask interview

Use them to prepare and practice your own questions and answers.

You’ll also want to review and practice the body language and word ending skills we discussed in lessons one and two.

You’ll then be ready to complete the last assignment in this module, the roleplay interview.

In this lesson, we reviewed some typical interview questions and how to answer them.

Whether you are interviewing someone or being interviewed, we all know that interviews in any language are a challenge, but with careful preparation and lots of practice, you can make them opportunities to impress for success.

Well this is it for this module.

I’ll see you on our next module soon.