PREPARING FOR

AN INTERVIEW
SESSIONs 8-10
Yesterday _______
What are the 7 parts
of a cover letter?

What does a header

include?

Do punctuations,
When a cover letter starts capitalization and spelling
with Dear Mr. Smith, check matter?
how will it end?
 Today........
Successful Interviews

UNIT 4
Terminal objective

I am able to deal with

interview questions
Now, Answer these
Have you ever been
interviewed (in
English?)

How did
you feel?
Was it a successful
What questions interview
did you get?
 Topics highlights

1 2 3 4

Preparing Interview Dealing

questions
Advanced
for an Effectively
interview with
interview
interview technic
questions with STAR
method
Bear in mind
Preparing for an interview

Research the Analyze skills and experience

(whether or not they match
Find out what the
job involves
company the needs of the company)

Anticipate uncommon access related articles on Rehearse the interview

questions and prepare interview, watch and decide what you’re
the answers interview videos going to wear
In a nutshell...............
• Do your homework (research yourself and the company)
• Be punctual
• Dress appropriately
• Grip hand firmly when doing a handshake
• Try to appear confident and stay calm
• Maintain good eye contact
• Put hands on the palm
• Listen and answer the questions well
• Be tactical
• Write a follow up thank you note regarding the opportunity of an interview
• Dress at will
• Come late
• Show over nervousness and worries
• Cast your eyes elsewhere but the interviewer
• Speak too softly or unclearly
• Make noises with your fingers, shoes or something
else
• Cut the interviewer
Do pay attention to

ENUNCIATION VOICE TONE

BODY
FACIAL
LANGUAGE
EXPRESSIONS

They DO
MATTER!
Interview Questions
Let’s take a peep
SMALL TALK (a common starter)
Small talk is about topics NOT related to the job opening.

So why is it important to spend time on small talk if you're there to interview?

Because even if what you’re talking about seems like it’s not important, it
actually is important.

It's not important because of the topics, it's important because the interviewer
is evaluating you while you're talking.

During the small talk, the interviewer is deciding if he or she likes you.
 Small Talk Topics

• Basic Greeting
• How you Commute
• Weather
• Weekend/Evening Plans
• Family
Topics Mostly PERSONAL
INFORMATION
highlighted
strong and weak
points

SKILLS Personality Traits

Reasons for applying

EXPERIENCES and for being selected Salary range

BEHAVIORAL QUESTIONS
 What do you Why do you want
Tell me about What are your
consider your to apply for this
yourself strengths ? weaknesses ? position ?

How can you adapt

Why do you think
to a new
you are a suitable atmosphere ?
candidate ?
Frequently asked
QUESTIONS
Where do you see What is
yourself five years your biggest
from now achievement ?

How do you How do you What do you

What are your
perceive overcome know about our
salary expectations?
failures? stress? company?
USEFUL EXPRESSIONS
My full name is ..... USEFUL EXPRESSIONS
I graduated from.... I am good at ….. I still need to improve …..
majoring in ........ I’m able to …. I can be a bit ….
What I enjoyed from my I can …. I would like to be able to …..
study was ....... I am … I am a bit … but …….
In my free time ........ I’m interested in .... I can ….. but ….
I am a member of ...... I’m excellent at .....
I am the ...... child and my I excel at ........ I am a ......... type of person
parents ....... I won .......
I became ....... I joined .....
I have ever ........ I think .......
I believe .........
Dealing effectively with
interview questions

What questions might you

expect to be asked in any job
interview?
 Q1. TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF
Don’t narrate what is already mentioned in your CV
What to consider?
“I’ve been passionate about design since I was a kid. My
parents remodeled their house when I was in high
school and allowed me to play an active role in the
interior design plans. I knew then that I wanted to
pursue interior design as my career. I studied Interior
Design at Savannah College of Art and Design and
graduated 4 years ago.”

“Since college, I’ve been working at an interior design

firm in Savannah, Georgia. During my time there I’ve
been able to build my portfolio through designing both
residential and commercial spaces. My experience at
the firm has built up my proficiencies in billing and
cutting edge technologies, and it has also allowed me to
build strong relationships with local suppliers. The most
rewarding part of my job has been working in
Savannah’s historic buildings. This experience has
familiarized me with best-in-class building preservation.”

“Moving forward I would love to work at a design firm

such as yours that specializes in the design and
preservation of historical buildings. I believe my
experience and passion for preservation will allow me to
be a great asset to your design team.”
Q2. What do you know about
our company? ’
In fact, the company asks you:
Do you have an awareness and knowledge about the company you wish to work with?
Have you researched before applying to the job?
Do you have a passion and seriousness for your career and you care to devote some time
for research?

Sample answer

Well, XYZ is one of the fastest growing startups in the hotel industry in Jakarta today.
Although recently founded in the year 2018, the company’s success stories recently
published on LinkedIn and various other press releases are just commendable. I have
also read the company’s ‘about us’ on the official website and it’s great to know how
quickly you have expanded to other locations in less than three years. I am curious to
be a part of such a growing company and learn more.”
Q3. Why do you want to join our company?
The company would like to learn about your career goals
1. How relevant this job is for your career aspirations
2. Whether you are sincere and 100% interested
3. How the job description makes you fee
4. Whether you took time to learn about the company and industry throughs some research
Sample answers:

Answer for Engineer

“I believe that I will be successful in this position because I have completed a project in Machine Learning in
my final semester, while I was in college. I have also excelled in my Computer Science batch, gaining a
strong base in numerous disciplines.”

Answer for a Commerce graduate

“I have always been interested in Accountancy and it is my personal goal to focus on this area. Because of
that, I read the Journal of Accounting and Economics to stay up-to-date with changes in the field. Hence, I
would say I have excellent fundamentals in the discipline to transcribe the records of Accountants with ease.
Also, I am already taking steps to pursue CMA Foundation, CMA Intermediate and CMA Final, of which I
have.”
Q4. What are your strengths?
Your strongest skills tailored to match those requested in the job offer
POSSIBLE ANSWERS

I noticed that the job offer listed attention to detail as a desirable skill for the
position. I’d say that attention to detail is, in fact, my greatest strength.

My greatest strength is my writing skills. I can also work to tight deadlines under
pressure. For example, I was once asked to complete a project that fell through
the cracks. My editor discovered the mistake two hours before the deadline.
It was an important piece that gave our publication a scoop on the topic in
question. Not only did the piece have to go out on time, but it had to be perfect. I
hunkered down and wrote. The result? The article was on time and acclaimed.
Q5. What are your greatest weaknesses?
Framing your weaknesses positively can be challenging, but when you
combine self-awareness with an action plan, you can quickly stand apart
from other job applicants.

The key to preparing for this question is to identify weaknesses that still
communicate strength. This will show the interviewer you’re introspective
enough to know your areas of opportunity.
My greatest weakness is that I sometimes have trouble saying ‘no’ to requests and
end up taking on more than I can handle. In the past, this has led me to feel
stressed or burnt out. To help myself improve in this area, I use a project
management app so I can visualize how much work I have at any given moment
and know whether or not I have the bandwidth to take on more

In the past, I have sometimes struggled with confidence. It has been helpful for me to keep a
running document of the impact I have made on my team and at my organization to better
understand why I should be confident about the skills and unique talents I bring to the table.

I have also made it a point to voice my ideas and opinions during meetings when I feel they
are appropriate and will add value to the conversation. Because of this, our team ended up
adopting my idea for a new financing process, which resulted in a 10% decrease in time taken
to plan our annual budget.”

Sample Answers
Q6. How do you handle stress?
Stress is a component in many jobs, employers want to know you’ll handle it constructively
with a good attitude to maintain good company culture. You can answer this question by
explaining how you typically respond with an example to support it.

Example: “Communication is key for me in stressful situations, even if over-communicating is

necessary to ensure everyone is on the same page. For example, I was working on a project
with another team and we found there was duplicate work being done. By scheduling a
weekly standup and keeping open lines of honest communication with our teams and
managers, we pushed the project forward and ended up contributing to a significant company
goal in a big way.”
Q7. Why are you leaving your current position?
This is valuable information for employers to understand. It helps them ensure the
opening will be a better fit, make sure they can provide for what your previous
employer did not or see if you might have contributed to a negative experience
for both you and the employer. Answer this question honestly, but refrain from
providing too much personal or negative detail.

Example:

“While I highly valued my time at my previous company, there are no longer many
opportunities for growth that align with my career goals. This position aligns
perfectly with my skill set and how I’m looking to advance my career.”
Q8. Tell me about a time you overcome
an obstacle
Employers ask this question to understand how you deal with difficulties. You can use the STAR
method when answering behavioral interview questions like this. Provide a brief summary of
the situation, your role in the situation, the action you put into place to resolve the issue, and
how the issue was resolved as a result.

Example:

“I worked as a retail manager at a department store during prom season. A customer

purchased a dress online and had it delivered to the store where it was accidentally purchased
by another customer. Before calling the original buyer, I located the same dress at another
location nearby. I ordered it to be pressed and delivered to her home the morning of prom
with a gift card to thank her for her understanding. The customer immediately wrote us a five-
star review on several review sites.”
Q9. What Are Your Salary
Expectations?
1. Give a Salary Range
You’ve done your research and you know what you’re worth
what you can bring to their company.

Sample answer
Taking into account my experience and Excel certifications, which you mentioned
earlier would be very helpful to the team, I’m looking for somewhere between (the
amount you expect) annually for this role. But for me, benefits definitely matter as
well. Your free on-site gym, the commuter benefits, and other perks could definitely
allow me to be a bit flexible with salary.”
2. Flip the Question

You can also respond to “What are your salary expectations?” by simply asking
what the company is looking to pay. “You could say something like, ‘That's a great
question—it would be helpful if you could share what the range is for this role
“I was hoping for something more in the (the amount you expect) range, but I’m definitely
open to negotiating based on the entire compensation package.”

“Unfortunately with my experience and current salary, I don’t know if I can accept anything for less than
(the amount you expect) a year. Do you know if there is any flexibility in the budget for this role?”
. 3. Delay Answering
If you choose this strategy, you might say that salary is important to you, but a well-rounded
offer and opportunity are more important, and you’d prefer to share your salary expectations
later on.

This could sound like:

“Right now, finding the right position for me is more important than salary. I’d love to learn
more about the job, the company, and the entire benefits package before we talk about
numbers.”
What’s more?

ADVANCED
INTERVIEW
TECHNIQUES
DEMONSTRATING SKILLS
STAR METHOD
 Phrases:

add the phrases below to the table

A T S
A R S
S R
Tell me about a time when you have to demonstrate your strengths
Answer using STAR METHOD

Situation - Over a six-month period, I had to assist ABC company in two major reorganization projects. First, the
company went through a merger. Next, we moved our headquarters across town.

Task - My role during the merger was to reorganize the filing system. The new filing system had to be in place
before we moved. Second, I spearheaded the move to the new headquarters. My responsibilities included packing
up the office and coordinating with the movers. I also had to keep everything within budget.

Action - I had to learn the new process quickly and work under pressure according to tight deadlines. So, I
dedicated time after hours to learn the new system. I watched online tutorials and read the manuals front to back.
I paid close attention to details. For the move, I chose a moving company that had helped other companies in our
building move. The company had also worked with me in my previous role and offered a discount.

Result - The time I dedicated to learning the new filing process paid off in the end. It took me half the time
expected to put the new system in place. That allowed me to focus on moving the office. I became an expert in the
new filing system, and my supervisor chose me to teach the process to everyone else. My choice of moving
company also made the transition to the new office smooth.
 The current
trend

ONLINE
INTERVIEW
Let’s practice
 Remember

Be THE BEST VERSION OF YOURSELF