Business Communication

1
Business Communication

• Lecturer Gareth Jones
• Class 17 Job Interviews

2
Before

• Employment messages
• CVs
• Cover Letters

3
Interviews

• What are interviewers looking for?
• How to prepare
• How to act during
• Verbal
• Non-verbal
• How to finish and follow up

4
Interviews

• When applying for a job or scholarship, if you
  get an interview, it means you have a good chance

5
Interviews

• It is your chance to show your personality
• It is their chance to see how well you will fit
  in at their school/job

6
Interviews

• Many schools and jobs are difficult.
• The purpose of the interview is to see how well
  you can handle the job/scholarship

7
Interviews

• In order to do well in the interview, we must
  prepare in the following ways

8
Preparation

• Know yourself!

9
Preparation

• Know yourself!
• Review CV, cover letter, and anything else you
  have given to the interviewer

10
Preparation

• Know your goals
• Think about long term (5-10 year) life
  objectives.
• Think How will this job/scholarship help me
  reach these goals?

11
Preparation

• Analyse your strengths and weaknesses

12
Preparation

• Analyse your strengths and weaknesses
• What are you good/bad at? What subjects would
  you like to spend more/less time talking about

13
Preparation

• Research!

14
Preparation

• Research!
• Find out everything you can about the job or
  school to learn about what kind of people they
  are looking for

15
Preparation

• Research!
• If possible, talk to someone you know at the
  company/school to get insider information

16
Preparation

• Practice

17
Preparation

• Practice
• Conduct a practice interview with a friend/family
  member
• Have them evaluate what you did well and what you
  did badly

18
Before the Interview

• After you have prepared, do the following things
  right before your interview to make a good first
  impression and to make yourself feel comfortable

19
Before the Interview

• Know the exact time and place of the interview
• Give yourself plenty of time and show up at least
  15 minutes early

20
Before the Interview

• Dress for success

21
Before the Interview

• Dress for success
• Formal clothes
• Neat hairstyle
• Trimmed fingernails
• Shave (unless you have a stylish beard)

22
Before the Interview

• Go alone
• If you get a ride from a parent or friend, have
  them leave you and pick you up once the interview
  is done

23
Before the Interview

• Take
• Pens, notebook
• Copy of your CV/cover letter
• Breath mint (for right before)

24
Before the Interview

• Mobile phone (turn it off)
• iPod (leave it in your bag)
• Gum
• Cigarettes
• Candy
• Soda or coffee
• Scuffed shoes, messy and/or not-so-clean clothes

25
How to Act?

• The two most important qualities to show during
  an interview are
• Passion
• A positive attitude

26
Interview Introduction

• Interviews may last anywhere from 5 minutes to
  several hours, but most interviewers have made
  their decision after the first 5 minutes.
• First impressions are critical! Use the
  following techniques to guarantee you make a good
  one.

27
Interview Introduction

• Be polite

28
Interview Introduction

• Be polite
• Address your interviewer as Mr. _______ or Mrs.
  until they ask you to do something different
• Stand and wait to sit until you are asked to

29
Interview Introduction

• Be polite
• Shake your interviewers hand in a strong and
  confident way
• A weak (wet) handshake is a big mistake in
  Western countries

30
How to Act

• We will now discuss
• Non-verbal (unspoken)
• Verbal (spoken)

31
Non-Verbal Strategies

• Much of your communication is based not on what
  you say, but on how you stand, how you look,
  where you stand, etc.
• We call these non-verbal strategies

32
Non-Verbal Strategies

• Eye Contact

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Non-Verbal Strategies

• Eye Contact
• Maintain strong eye contact when listening and
  when speaking
• This shows you are both interested and confident

34
Non-Verbal Strategies

• Facial expressions

35
Non-Verbal Strategies

• Facial expressions
• Smile!
• Keep a neutral or positive facial expression.
• Practice in the mirror or on a video tape to see
  how you can improve your natural expression

36
Non-Verbal Strategies

• Posture

37
Non-Verbal Strategies

• Posture
• Stand tall, walk tall, and sit tall.
• Shows the interviewer are confident
• You may lean forward at times to show you are
  interested

38
Non-Verbal Strategies

• Limit gestures/body language

39
Non-Verbal Strategies

• Limit gestures/body language
• Using too many gestures will make you seem like a
  cartoon character
• Keep gestures to a minimum

40
Non-Verbal Strategies

• Personal Space

41
Non-Verbal Strategies

• Personal Space
• Be aware of your own and others personal space.
• Stand your ground, but dont invade other
  peoples space

42
Verbal Strategies

• The way you speak and what you say is equally
  important
• These are called
• Verbal strategies

43
Verbal Strategies

• Take your time

44
Verbal Strategies

• Take your time
• If you do not understand the question, ask the
  interviewer to repeat it.
• If you are not sure about the answer, take a
  moment to think about it- remember our stalling
  tactics?

45
Verbal Strategies

• Be specific

46
Verbal Strategies

• Be specific
• One of the worst mistakes is being too general
• Answer interviewers questions with specific
  stories and examples

47
Verbal Strategies

• When asked a question, include the following
  information in your answer
• A specific situation
• The tasks that needed to be done
• The action you took
• The results i.e. what happened

48
Verbal Strategies

• Be confident
• "To be a great champion, you must believe you are
  the best. If youre not, pretend you are.
• - Muhammad Ali

49
Verbal Strategies

• Be confident
• There is no right or wrong answer to a question,
  only how the answer is received by the
  interviewer
• Answer in a confident way and the interviewer
  will believe you

50
Closing the Interview

• At the end of the interview, you will want to do
  some things to ensure that you are prepared for
  the rest of the job/scholarship process

51
Closing the Interview

• Repeat your interest in the position.
• Ask about the next step in the process. It's
  important for you to know the next step so you
  can follow up.

52
Closing the Interview

• Find out how to contact them. If you don't hear
  back, you will need to know who to contact.
• Leave with a good handshake

53
Closing the Interview

• Thank the interviewer for their time
• Leave right away! Dont hang around the
  office/school/etc.

54
Following Up

• Send a short thank you note to everyone you spoke
  with
• Call 2-3 days later to see how you are doing in
  the application process

55
Interviews

• A typical interview question is open ended
• This means that the response is entirely up to
  you
• This means there are no right and wrong answers,
  only good and bad ones

56
Interviews

• When choosing your response, be sure to target it
  for the specific job/school
• To be able to tell a good answer from a bad one,
  we must look at some qualities that interviewers
  are looking for

57
Interviews

• We will talk about the qualities, what question
  the interviewer is asking, and some examples we
  could use to show these qualities

58
Interviews

• Leadership
• How good of a leader is this person?
• Examples
• During a school project
• During an out of school activity
• During family problems

59
Interviews

• Teamwork
• Can this person be a good team member?
• Examples
• During a school project
• On a sports team
• On a out of school project

60
Interviews

• Adaptability
• Can this person handle new situations?
• Examples
• Moving to a new town
• Starting a new job
• Starting school

61
Interviews

• Learning
• How fast can this person learn new skills?
• Examples
• New computer skill at school
• New instrument/sport
• New language

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Interviews

• Risk taking
• Is this person willing to try something new?
• Examples
• Try a new activity
• Move to a new place
• Learn a new language

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Interviews

• Creativity
• Does this person have original ideas?
• Examples
• School projects
• Movies/websites/music you made

64
Interviews

• Strengths
• What is this persons best quality?
• Examples
• Team work
• Leadership
• Language, etc.

65
Interviews

• Weaknesses
• Where can this person improve?
• Examples
• Teamwork
• Organisation
• Not being able to say no

66
Interviews

• Morals
• Does this person make good and moral choices?
• Examples
• Difficult decision at school
• Difficult decision with family

67
Interviews

• Ambition
• What are this persons dreams/goals?
• Examples
• Goals you set and reached
• Goals you set and have not reached yet

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Interviews

• Education
• Did this person receive a strong education?
• Examples
• Class work
• Teachers
• Class Projects

69
Interviews

• Communication Skills
• How well can this person communicate?
• Examples
• Class discussions
• Class work

70
Interviews

• Prepare for the interview by thinking of times
  and situations, where you showed each of these
  qualities
• Be ready to tell these stories to your interviewer

71
Interviews

• Remember to be specific and remember to try and
  do the following things with your answer

72
Interviews

• A specific situation
• The tasks that needed to be done
• The action you took
• The results i.e. what happened

73
Interviews

• Also, remember the difference between targeted
  and general answers
• Target your answers for the specific
  job/school/scholarship

74
Interviews

• We will now look at some typical interview
  questions and some good answers
• These answers are not to be copied, they are
  merely examples

75
Interviews

• Tell me a little bit about yourself
• Talk about your current school or work situation.
• Mention one or two strengths and/or activities

76
Interviews

• I am a second year business student at HAUT,
  have been studying English for 10 years and feel
  more confident about my language skills now than
  I ever have. I enjoy my school life and in my
  free time I like to play basketball and read
  contemporary literature. - GOOD

77
Interviews

• I am Chinese student. I like smoking and playing
  poker. BAD
• I am I like BAD

78
Interviews

• What has been your greatest accomplishment at
  school?
• Use this question to show
• Leadership
• Teamwork
• Creativity
• Risk taking

79
Interviews

• In my business communications class, we had to
  give oral presentations in English. I was very
  nervous about speaking in public in English. I
  think I practiced my speech over 100 times. I
  delivered a professional presentation in the end
  and our lecturer loved it. Now I have no trouble
  speaking in public.

80
Interviews

• What is your greatest strength?
• Dont pick just one. Mention three or four of
  your best qualities.
• Try to include ones from the list mentioned
  before.

81
Interviews

• Im a good leader and Im also great at being a
  member of a team. Im also a risk taker and I
  would say that my greatest strength is my ability
  to adapt to new situations.

82
Interviews

• What is your greatest weakness?
• Dont lie! I am awesome, I have none
• Say a weakness you have or had, and say how you
  worked to fix it or how it can be turned into an
  advantage

83
Interviews

• I used to have problems being organised, but to
  fix this, I utilised my iPhone. I now make to-do
  lists every day and write all my plans on my
  phone. This has helped me to keep track of all of
  my responsibilities.

84
Interviews

• How was the transition from High School to
  University? What troubles did you face?
• Use this question to show
• Adaptability
• Risk taking
• Learning

85
Interviews

• I had a difficult time adapting to living with
  roommates. We had some different personalities,
  and sometimes it was hard for me to concentrate.
  By talking to my roommates about what problems I
  had with them, we were able to learn to adapt to
  each others schedules and lifestyle.

86
Interviews

• How do you handle difficult situations?
• Use this question to show
• Communication skills
• Adaptability
• Learning

87
Interviews

• When I started learning from an English teacher,
  I was having lots of trouble understanding. I
  was not receiving good grades, so I met with my
  teacher several times for extra help. This
  taught me the benefits of handling situations in
  this way and the importance of getting to know my
  teachers.

88
Interviews

• If I were to ask your professors to describe
  you, what would they say?
• To answer this question, it will be useful to
  talk to a professor before your interview
• Be honest! Say what they would say.

89
Interviews

• My professors would say that Im a very hard
  worker and a natural leader. They would probably
  also say something about my sense of humor and my
  ability to work in any kind of situation.

90
Interviews

• Give me an example of a time you had to make an
  important decision. How did you make the
  decision? How does it affect you today?
• Use this question to show
• Adaptability
• Risk taking

91
Interviews

• One of the most difficult decisions I had to
  make was going to school far from home. My
  parents wanted me to stay near them, but I am
  glad that I left because I now feel more
  independent and prepared for life after
  university.

92
Interviews

• Why do you want this job/scholarship?
• Use this question to show
• Goals
• Education

93
Interviews

• I want to study at your school because I feel I
  need to spend time in an English speaking country
  to achieve my goal of becoming completely fluent.
  Thus enabling me to work effectively in an
  English speaking job. Your program is one that
  interests me for many reasons...

94
Interviews

• Why are you the best person for this
  job/scholarship?
• Use this question to show
• Leadership Adaptability
• Strengths Education
• Goals

95
Interviews

• I am the best person because I can handle new
  situations. My education has prepared me well
  for the UK school system, and I think I will be a
  positive addition to the students at your school.

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Interviews

• Remember, a good answer will have
• A specific situation
• The tasks that needed to be done
• The action you took
• The results i.e. what happened

97
Interviews

• These are just examples. The interviewer will
  ask many similar questions.
• Be prepared for anything!

98
Interviews

• Knowing what questions to expect is necessary to
  be well prepared
• Being able to adapt your stories to whatever
  question is being asked is the most important
  thing!

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Interviews

• http//www.quintcareers.com/interview_question_dat
  abase/college_student_behavioral_questions.html
• http//www.collegegrad.com/jobsearch/Mastering-the
  -Interview/Fifty-Standard-Interview-Questions/

100
Interviews

• More interview questions
• http//www.quintcareers.com/interview_question_dat
  abase/college_student_behavioral_questions.html
• http//www.aie.org/College/Jobs/Interviews/intervi
  ewquestions.cfm

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Tomorrow

• Last class! ?
• We will focus on team work