Week 6 March 24 th , 2014: Monday March 26 th , 2014: Wednesday

INTERVIEW SKILLS Week 6 March 24th, 2014: Monday March 26th, 2014: Wednesday

LEARNING OUTCOMES At the end of this week sessions, students should be able to: • prepare for job interview • illustrate the do’s and don’ts in job interviews • analyze the frequently asked questions (FAQ) during one-to-one interview session • choose appropriate tenses in describing about own education, experience and skills

INTERVIEWER vs. INTERVIEWEE • Interviewer- The person who plans the meeting, sets goals, asks the questions, and generally controls the direction of the conversation. • Interviewee- The person who answers questions, provides information, and helps to achieve the goals of the meeting.

Effective communication skills for interviews Three types of Communication Skills Oral Communication Written Communication Non-verbal Communication

Developing your communication skills • Module, pp.38-40

Which of the following images reflect positive images for attending an interview? Why? Why not?

DO’s AND DON’Ts Before the Interview ~ Research: Find out as much as you can about the company. ~ Punctuality: Be early so that you can relax and compose yourself before the interview. ~ Documentation: Bring original and copies of documentation such as certificates, assessments, reviews, etc. ~ Presenting yourself: Dress for success. Be neat and clean.

DO’s AND DON’Ts During the interview ~ Listen carefully: Pick out the key details of the question and pause briefly before answering, keep answers on target. Never interrupt the interviewer. ~ Take care to use correct expressions: Utilize language suitable for the situation, avoid slang and expressions like `you know’, `sort of’, `er’, etc. ~ Observe etiquette: Don’t smoke, eat, or drink during the interview.

DO’s AND DON’Ts During the interview ~ Maintain positive non-verbal communication: Look directly at the interviewer(s), sit up straight, control nervous habits and smile naturally as you are greeted. ~ Be honest: Do not pretend to know things that you do not know. ~ Ask questions: Find out about potential for the future, your responsibilities, training and other work-related questions.

TYPES OF QUESTIONS 1. Open • Closed • Problem-solving • Probing

~Open questions – Elicits an in-depth and thoughtful response from the interviewee and makes him/ her do the talking, may illustrate the interviewee’s ideas, opinions and expertise. ~Closed questions – Used only to verify and clarify specific information such as those written in the CV/ cover letter. ~Problem solving questions – Assesses the interviewee’s ability to think logically through a work-related issue. ~Probing questions – Asks more specific questions such as to request details, examples and clarification of previously asked question.

GOOD vs. BAD RESPONSES How are you today? GOOD GOOD BAD BAD I’m fine, thank you. And you? Your company offers more challenges, such as opportunities in dealing with foreign workers. Ok Your company is better than the company I’m currently working at. Why do you choose us?

POSSIBLE FOCUS AREA 1 3 YOU: Skills, knowledge, interests, ambitions 1 AREA 2 THE ORGANIZATION: History, products, circles 2 AREA 3 General knowledge, situations, problem-solving questions

Examples of Opening / Warm Up Questions How are you today? 1 Did you have any trouble finding us? 2 What do you think of the weather lately? 3 4 • Would you summarize your education for us? 5 How did you reach here? By car? Bus? 6 Is this your first job interview? 7 etc.. ect.. etc

COMPULSORY QUESTION in Assessment 3 TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF. How do you answer this question? TIPS: • May include 4 sentences: • Your education • Interest • Main accomplishment • Strength related to the post • NOT about your personal life

Questions about the candidate • How would you/ your friends. Colleagues describe you? • How do you determine or evaluate success? • What are your strengths and/ or weaknesses? • What motivates you to put forth your greatest effort? • What do you look for in a job? • What led you to choose your field/ major of study?

Questions about the job and the organization • Why do you want this job? • Can you work independently/ under pressure/ in a team? • How do you feel about travel/ overtime? • What do you know about our organization? • Why do you want to work for our organization? • What criteria are you using to evaluate the organization for which you hope to work for?

Questions about skills and knowledge • How has the university experience prepared you for this career? • What would be your contribution to the organization? • What have you learnt from participation in extra-curricular activities at school and/ or university? • Describe the relationship that should exist between a supervisor and those under him. • What would you do if you have arranged to meet someone after work and your employer asks you to stay late? • What major challenges have you encountered and how did you deal with them?

Questions about ambition • What do you hope to be doing in 5 years’ time? • Would you consider yourself suitable to enter management? • What would you like to accomplish in this job? • What are your short term and long term goals? • What are the most important rewards you expect from your career? • Do you have any plans for continued study?

Questions about interests and hobbies • What do you do in your free time? • How long have you been interested in this sport/ hobby? • Are you attending any part-time classes at present? • Are there any courses you wish to attend? • What is the name of the book that you are currently reading? • What type of in house training would you suggest for the staff of this organization?

Situations/ problem-solving questions (Group Discussions) • You are offered a job overseas, which means a golden opportunity for you to be successful. But you have to leave your family behind. Would you accept it? Why? Why not? • You are offered a high salary but a longer working hours. Do you choose to stay at the current company or take up the offer? • The new job that awaits you requires a large amount of time to be spent on traveling but many benefits to your family for example, annual holiday trips, insurance coverage and fees paid for your children’s international school. However, it means less time with family. Would you accept the job offer? • Your parents’ dream is to see you working at multinational company but you’d prefer working for national company. How do you solve this dilemma?

For the Interviewees – YOU! During the interview Below are some questions you might like to ask: • What would be the primary duties initially? • How would you describe the management style of this organization as a whole? • What is the most difficult or challenging part of this job? • What growth opportunities are there in the organization? • When can I expect to hear from you?

For the Interviewees – YOU! After the Interview ~ A “thank you” note: You may want to send a follow-up ‘thank you” letter to the interviewer. This shows interest and keeps your name fresh in their mind.

Your education took place in the past. So, use PAST TENSES: - I attended the Universiti Malaysia Pahang from 2010 to 2015. - I graduated with a degree in Project Management.If you are currently a student, use PRESENT TENSES: - I am currently studying at Universiti Malaysia Pahang and I will graduate with a degree in Chemical Engineering in December. - I am studying English at the MARA Community College. LANGUAGE TO USE: Education

Work experience- exactly what you did and how well you accomplished the tasks. Use PRESENT PERFECT or PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS. This signals that you are still performing these tasks at your current job, for example: - IBM has employed me for the last 2 years as a salesperson. - I have been designing the tower for the past 3 months. LANGUAGE TO USE: Experience

Use PAST TENSES to signal that you are no longer working for that company, for example: - I was employed by Indah Water from 2010 to 2011 as a clerk. - I worked as an air traffic controller at MAS for a year. LANGUAGE TO USE: Experience

Skills and strength should have been ‘with’ you so use PRESENT TENSES, but when giving examples, use PAST TENSES, for example: - I am a good leader and enjoy teamwork. I was given a task to lead a project in Sabah last year and I managed to assign roles appropriately to my group members. Everyone enjoyed their tasks. - I am a critical thinker. When I did my industrial attachment at Spear Co., I managed to provide alternative solution in responding to customer complaints. As a result, the number of complaints reduced. LANGUAGE TO USE: Skills and strength

ASSESSMENT 3 • Stage 1: One-to-one (3 questions including Tell Me About Yourself) • Stage 2: Group discussion (10 minutes)

Task for March 26th, 2014 • Go to my wikispaces. • Go to this page: Unit 1 Job Search Skills. • Scroll down the page, you will see a sub-heading: 26 March 2014. • Read three documents: • Instruction: Task for 26 March 2014 • Interview notes • Samples of interview questions. • Deadline: 5pm Friday, March 28th, 2014. • Ask me questions through Edmodo if you are not sure of the task.

THANK YOU

Week 6 March 24 th , 2014: Monday March 26 th , 2014: Wednesday