Preparing for an interview

Before the interview

• No earrings or pony-tails for men.

• Have your hair cut and shave off beards.

• Visit the company beforehand to find out what the dress code is.

• Wear comfortable clothes.

• Carry a smart briefcase – never a plastic bag.

• Think of a couple of intelligent questions to ask.

• Make sure you have a good night’s sleep.

During the interview

• Smile and shake hands with the interviewer(s).

• Look people in the eye.

• Appear modest and not over-confident.

• Don’t fidget or fiddle with hair or jewellery.

• Don’t cross your arms and legs.

• Keep both feet on the ground.

• Never ask about money at the first interview.

Speaking and Communication Skills

Ex. 22. Study the following phrases for an interview. Prepare short dialogues with a partner that would include introduction, greetings, some misunderstanding and reaching a compromise.

1. Greeting the person and introducing yourself

Hello. / Good morning. / Good afternoon. / Good evening.

Let me introduce myself. / May I introduce myself? My name is …

2. Response

Pleased to meet you. / I’m very pleased to meet you. / It’s a pleasure to meet you.

3. Introductory exchanges

- How are you? How are you getting on? How are things? How are you getting on with your work?

- Fine, thanks. I am very well, thank you. / Pretty much the same. / Everything is OK. / Everything is all right.

4. Saying goodbye

Thank you very much for seeing me. Good bye. I will be looking forward to hearing from you.

5. Asking for excuse

Sorry for … / Excuse me for …/ I do apologise.

6. Making requests

Could you … please? / Would you please…? / Could I ask you to…? / Would it be all right if I…?

7. Accepting a suggestion or request

Certainly. / Sure. / Yes, of course. / Of course.

8. Disagreeing

I’m afraid you are wrong here. / Sorry, but you’ve missed the point. / That’s not quite what I had in mind. / I’m not sure I agree with you.

9. Expressing doubt

Is it really so? / Do you really mean that … ? / I shouldn’t say so. / To some extent.

10. Expressing your point

It’s like this. You see… / As I see it … / In my opinion … / I see your point but … / I rather think that … / I’m certain that … / I’m convinced that … / I definitely think that …

11. Making your point clear

I think I should make it clear that … / I would like to say here that …/ I think I should mention here that … / If I understand you correctly … / Do I understand correctly that …? / What I’m trying to say is that … / The point I’m trying to make is that …

12. Refusal

No, I can’t. / I simply can’t. / I’m afraid I can’t. / I’d like to, but … / I’m really sorry, but …

13. Polite suggestion

May I suggest …-ing / that …? / Let me suggest one thing. / I would recommend … / Perhaps you should...

14. Asking a question

May I ask you a question?

15. Expressing hesitation

Well, let me see. / Let me think for a moment. / I’ll need some time to think about that.

16. Emphasizing a point

I must emphasize that … / I want to underline the fact that …

Ex. 23. Fill in the blanks in the following job interview with appropriate words. You may sometimes refer to Exercise 22 above.

• Good morning, Ms Brandies. I’m Geoffrey Grey, the personnel manager. Please (1) __________ a seat.

• Good morning, it's a (2) __________ to meet you.

• Could you (3) __________ me who you work for at the moment?

• I work for Frank and Banowitz importers.

• How (4) __________ have you worked for them?

• I've (5) __________ working for Frank and Banowitz for the past three years.

• You know this job requires a lot of travel. Have you done (6) __________ traveling for business?

• Yes, (7) __________ job I had before Frank and Banowitz required me to travel monthly.

• And why did you leave that position?

• I (8) __________ offered a more interesting position at Frank and Banowitz.

• Do I understand (9) __________ that the main factor was the higher salary?

• That’s not quite what I had in (10) __________. The work itself was more exciting and motivating.

• Will you be ready to work long (11) __________ and sometimes on weekends?

• I’m (12) __________ I can’t.

• Ms Brandies, I’ll (13) __________ some time to think about your application. Would it be (14) __________ right if I give you the answer in a couple of days?

• Sure.

• OK. It was nice to meet you. Goodbye.

• Thank you very much for (15) __________ me. I will be looking (16) __________ to hearing from you.

Ex. 24. ACTION VERBS. Look through the following list of Action verbs and make sure you understand their meaning. Find at least two nouns for each of the verbs.

Model: to achieve progress, to achieve goals; to arrange a meeting, to arrange a conference.

There are a lot of linguistic means that can make the applicant’s speech more convincing. One of them is Action Verbs. They denote actions and therefore show the person’s readiness to achieve results, do important tasks and demonstrate initiative. It is recommended to use them in job interviews and CVs.

1. Achieve

2. Analyze

3. Arrange

4. Assess

5. Clarify

6. Collaborate

7. Collect

8. Consult

9. Coordinate

10. Create

11. Demonstrate

12. Design

13. Develop

14. Diagnose

15. Establish

16. Evaluate

17. Examine

18. Execute

19. Facilitate

20. Generate

21. Handle

22. Identify

23. Implement

24. Improve

25. Increase

26. Initiate

27. Integrate

28. Introduce

29. Investigate

30. Maintain

31. Negotiate

32. Operate

33. Organize

34. Perform

35. Present

36. Produce

37. Promote

38. Represent

39. Research

40. Resolve

41. Review

42. Solve

43. Strengthen

44. Supervise

45. Train

Ex. 25. Match the Action Verbs with appropriate nouns. Make up five sentences with the resulting phrases about your own strong points and support the ideas with real-life examples. Try to use different constructions like:

1. I am good at …

2. One of my strong points is that I can …

3. I believe I can …

4. I have always enjoyed …

5. In my previous job I often had to …

show	information
present	ideas
solve	deadlines
control	colleagues
achieve	initiative
motivate	problems
meet	budgets
create	objectives

Ex. 26. Insert appropriate Action Verbs from Exercise 24 in the gaps, changing the form of the verb if needed. Sometimes several variants are possible.

1. The method that I have __________ in my previous workplace has allowed to __________ data analysis.

2. I can give you several examples that show that I can __________ stressful situations successfully.

3. I have __________ a few presentations of my previous company abroad.

4. During my business trip, I __________ close links with foreign colleagues.

5. In my previous job, my duties involved __________ and __________ a group of younger workers who had little work experience.

6. I was good at __________ work of several departments.

7. What I liked best at the university was the opportunity to __________ the results of my research into practical tasks.

8. I often had to apply my analytical skills to __________ difficult tasks.

9. Together with a group of students we __________ a project on promotion of healthy lifestyle among students.

10. When working in a team, I prefer to __________ new ideas rather than simply __________ prescribed tasks.

11. Sometimes I had to __________ with representatives of other companies, which wasn’t easy, but I always managed to __________ the desired results.

12. I believe that it is necessary to __________ the highest standards of performance at any job, so I will do my best to __________ my abilities and skills.

13. The most challenging part of my job was to __________ some faults and mismatches in the sets of data.

14. My final project was highly __________ by the selection board.

15. I enjoy __________ with other people, because our skills and knowledge can __________ a much better effect than if we worked individually.

Ex. 27. Match the questions and answers at the interview in an oil company.

Why did you choose this company?	I always support my colleagues and believe we should work towards a common goal.
What are your strengths and weaknesses?	Because I think I will find the work environment both challenging and rewarding.
How would your friends describe you?	My aim is to have a position in the Production Department.
What is your greatest achievement?	Leading a group field development project at the university.
How well do you work in a team?	I have excellent time management skills, but I can be impatient for results.
Where will you be in 5 years’ time?	People say I’m sociable, organized, and decisive.

Ex. 28. Look through the following list of questions traditionally asked at a job interview. Are there any that you wouldn’t expect? Think of how you would answer these questions if you applied to an oil company.

Category 1. Personal Questions

1. How would you describe yourself?

2. What influenced you to choose this career?

3. What specific goals have you established for your career?

4. What do you see yourself doing in ten years?

5. How do you determine or evaluate success? Give me an example of one of your successful accomplishments.

6. Are you more energized by working with data or by collaborating with other individuals?

7. How would you describe yourself in terms of your ability to work as a member of a team?

8. What motivates you to put forth your greatest effort?

9. Would you say that you can easily deal with high-pressure situations?

10. What personal weakness has caused you the greatest difficulty in school or on the job?