business magazine

Job interviews
Preparation is the key to a successful job interview. Here’s how to be ready for some common question types.

Before reading
Do the preparation task first. Then read the article and do the exercises.

Preparation task
Match the definitions (a–h) with the vocabulary (1–8).

Vocabulary Definition
1. …D… to deal with a. causing worry because something is difficult to do
something b. not related to what is being discussed or what is important
2. …A… nerve-racking c. an important skill that is needed to do a job
3. …F… hypothetical d. to handle something; to take action in response to
4. …B… irrelevant something
5. …H… to be the perfect fit e. to remember a past event
for something f. imagined and not necessarily real or true
6. …C… competency g. to not be working that day
7. …E… to recall h. to be exactly what is needed
8. …G… to be off work

Job interviews
Job interviews can be a nerve-racking experience, especially when you don’t feel prepared for them. And with the
variety of interview questions that can be asked these days, it’s hard to know what type of questions you should
prepare for.
Here are three types of interview questions that you should practise answering before that important job
interview.

1. Common interview questions PERSONALES

Tell us about yourself.
What are your strengths and weaknesses?

Why do you want to leave your current job?

These questions are for the interviewer to get to know you and to see if you’re the best person for the job. Don’t
simply list things like your hobbies, your strengths or your work experience. Instead, give examples and use them
to show your personality and the characteristics you have that make you perfect for the job. Your interviewer may
want to ask questions about certain areas of your CV, so use this opportunity to link your experience to the job
you’re applying for.
Avoid: Giving a detailed life history or telling long stories that are irrelevant to the job or to the company.

2. Competency questions
Tell me about a time you had to work as a team.
Tell me about a time you had to use your creativity to solve a problem.
Tell me about a time when you experienced conflict with a colleague and how you handled that situation.

Here, the candidate is asked questions about situations they have faced in the past that can demonstrate a
particular skill they have. These could include skills like critical thinking, influencing, problem solving or flexibility.
Interviewers often want to hear about challenges you’ve had, not just about times when everything went smoothly,
so be ready with examples such as how you resolved conflict in your team or dealt with someone who was not
working well. This will demonstrate that you can handle difficult situations.
When preparing for the job interview, read the job description carefully for the required skills and abilities and try
to recall situations where you had to use these skills. Then use the STAR technique when talking about these
examples:

 Situation – Give details about the context of your example and what you were trying to do.
 Task – Describe your responsibilities and the challenges you faced.

 Action – Describe what steps you took to deal with the situation.

 Result – Talk about the end result and how you contributed to this outcome.
Avoid: Going in unprepared and having to think up examples, or saying you’ve never faced any challenges at
work.

3. Hypothetical questions
What would (IA)you do if you had a different opinion from your boss about how to do something?
How would you deal with a large volume of work with several staff members off work?
What would you do if you had to introduce a new policy that you knew was going to be unpopular in your team?

Hypothetical interview questions are similar to competency questions except that instead of asking you to talk
about an experience you’ve had in the past, they present you with an imaginary situation that you might face in your
new job.
This might seem difficult to prepare for, but remember that your answers are meant to demonstrate the skills
needed for the job. When preparing for the interview, consider the qualities that the interviewer might be looking
for, qualities like conflict management, time management or people skills. Then think about how you can
demonstrate those qualities in a range of situations. Start with situations that you’ve experienced and move on to
other possible situations that you might encounter in the role you’re applying for.
Avoid: Going off-topic, changing the subject and not answering the original question.

Whatever type of questions they ask, interviewers want to find the right person and are keen to give you the
opportunity to demonstrate what you can do. With some preparation, you can show them that you’re the perfect fit
for the job.

Tasks

Task 1
Are the sentences true or false?

Answer
1. The main message in this article is that you should spend time preparing for a job interview True False
if you have one coming up.
2. If the interviewer asks you about yourself, you should make sure all the information you True False
give is relevant to the job.
3. You should avoid talking about personal things like your hobbies. True False
4. If the interviewer asks you about an item on your CV, you can give more detail and say how True False
it is connected to the job you’re applying for.
5. The STAR technique can be used to organise your story when answering competency True False
questions.
6. You should never talk about difficulties you’ve experienced at work. True False
7. You can’t prepare for hypothetical interview questions. True False
8. It helps to think about the skills and qualities that the interviewer is looking for when True False
answering interview questions.
Task 2
Put the questions in the correct groups.

Common interview questions

Competency questions Hypothetical questions

Why do you want this job? Describe a difficult decision you’ve What would you do if your project
made. goals suddenly changed? What
What motivates you? Do you consider would you do if a team member was
yourself successful? Why? Tell us about a new skill that you’ve performing badly?
learned for work.
What would you do if you became
Tell us about a time when you led a dissatisfied with your job?
team to achieve an objective
Discussion
CHOOSE TEN (10) QUESTIONS AND ANSWER THEM

3 COMMON
4 COMPETENCY
3 HYPOTHETICAL

 Can you tell me something about yourself?

 What do you know about our organization?
 Why do you want to work for us?
 What can you do for us that someone else can't?
 What do you find most attractive about this position?
o What seems least attractive about it?
 Why should we hire you?
 What do you look for in a job?
 Please give me your definition of the position for which you are being interviewed.
 How long would it take you to make a meaningful contribution to our firm?
 How long would you stay with us?
 Your resume suggests that you may be over-qualified or too experienced for this position.
What's your opinion?
 What is your management style?
 Are you a good manager?
o Can you give me some examples?
o Do you feel that you have top managerial potential?
 What do you look for when you hire people?
 Have you ever had to fire people?
o What were the reasons?
o How did you handle the situation?
 What do you think is the most difficult thing about being a manager or executive?
 What important trends do you see in our industry?
 Why are you leaving (did you leave) your present (last) job?
 How do you feel about leaving all your benefits to find a new job?
 In your current (last) position, what features do (did) you like the most? The least?
 What do you think of your boss?
 Why aren't you earning more at your age?
 What do you feel this position should pay?
 What are your long-range goals?
 How successful have you been so far?
 Why do you want to work for this company?
 What high school did you attend?
  Are you married? Can you tell me about your family?
 Why did you leave your last job?
 What are your long-range career objectives?
 What would you like to do in the future?
 What do you do in your free time?
 Are you qualified for this position?
 How well do you work with people?
 What is a good working environment for you?
 Why should I hire you?
 What was a movie you saw recently that impressed you?
 Do you enjoy traveling?
 Why do you think we should hire you for this job?

ESCRIBIR UN DIALOGO PARA RESPONDER AL AVISO QUE CREARON OFRECIENDO UN EMPLEO. EL DIALOGO SERÁ LA ENTREVISTA DONDE EL CANDIDATO PRESENTARÁ LA
HOJA DE VIDA Y RESPONDERÁ A LAS PREGUNTAS REALIZADAS POR EL “ENTREVISTADOR” LA IDEA ES QUE UTILICEN LAS PREGUNTAS DE ARRIBA

AQUI LES DEJO UN EJEMPLO:

Marcia: Hi, Sarah. I'm Marcia Boardman. We spoke on the phone ...

Sarah: Oh yes, I remember. I was having a bad day!

Marcia: ... and, erm, this is Philip Hart, our CEO.

Philip: Hello!

Sarah: Hello, it's very nice to meet you both.

Philip: It says on your CV that you do voluntary work.

Sarah: Well, when I have time, yes! I do work at a centre for children with difficulties.

Philip: That must be very interesting.

Sarah: It's rewarding and challenging.

Marcia: Sarah, can you tell us a little bit about your current position?

Sarah: I'm assistant sales director for a chain of language schools.

Philip: So this post would be quite a change then.

Sarah: I don't think so, honestly, because the skills are the same, despite the product.

Marcia: Why are you thinking of moving on?

Sarah: Well, I've come as far as I can in my current position, I feel, and I'm 28 now and would love
to take on some more responsibility.

Marcia: OK, um, let's move on to managing people. Can you give us an example of when you had
to deal with a particularly difficult managee?
Sarah: Well, yes, I had two people working for me who didn't get along at all. They had no shared
values, different temperaments and used to argue a lot. It looked like it was impossible for them to
work together. So, I sat down with them and we talked about their differences and their problems,
and after that things went much more smoothly.

Philip: How would you deal with a rapidly changing and uncertain global market?

Sarah: Oh, that's actually something I wanted to talk about in my presentation, but I'd say to stay
flexible and to diversify markets and sales strategies.

Marcia: It says on your CV you speak French and Spanish.

Sarah: Yes, I do. I lived in both France and Spain for a while.

Philip: Any plans to learn other languages?

Sarah: I'd love to try!

Marcia: Erm, OK. Can you tell us about a time you had to close a particularly challenging deal?

Sarah: Well, the biggest contract I won – and the thing I'm most proud of professionally – was with
a large university in India, to provide language training. The contract was full of technicalities and
the client was very picky! But I still pulled it off.

Marcia: OK, erm, do you have any questions for us?

Sarah: Yes, about your ethical policy and your carbon footprint. I was wondering whether you are
planning to reduce your carbon footprint and whether all your products are ethically sourced.

Philip: That's a very good question and that's something we're moving towards at the moment.

Marcia: OK, well, let's move on to the presentation.

Hola, luisa. Soy yobani restrepo. recibi tu hoja de vida ...

l: Oh sí,
y: ... me gustaria hacerte una entrevista el dia jueves, te parece bien
l: si a que horas
y: a las 8 am
l: estare puntual
y: deacuerdo no olvide llevar su hoja de vida fisica
l.muchas gracias hasta luego
y. buenas tardes
entrevista
y:buenos dias bienvenida mucho gusto soy yobani el encardo de descoger el
personal
l: buenos dias
y: permitame su hoja de vida.
l. si porsupuesto.
y. luisa cuentame un poco sobre usted
l.soy una aprendiz sena estudiante de contabilidad
y.Por qué quiere trabajar para nosotros?
l.porque me pueden brindar crecimiento laboral y personal
y.Qué éxito has tenido hasta ahora?
l. mi certificació n
y.Está casado/a? ¿Puede hablarme de su familia
l.no estoy casada,mi familia esta conformada por mi madre padre y 4
hermanos