Interview Resource - Keller ISD Schools

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INTERVIEW RESOURCE | 21 One decathlete we know once learned in advance that his judges at the state competition would be from the local bar association. When asked about his career goals, he therefore asserted with a great big smile that he wanted to become a lawyer. The judges asked him why—and, as he had never thought about it, he was forced to fumble to justify his claim on the basis of anecdotes from John Grisham novels. As supporting evidence goes, The Pelican Brief is pretty flimsy. At the risk of moralizing, we don’t condone interview lies under any circumstances. We don’t think they’re necessary: every one of you reading this is interesting enough to score well without them. And, any Decathlete good enough at lying to score well this way would probably have the confidence and charisma to do fine anyway. Making Things Up Have you dodged sniper fire on your way to school? 17 If so, it would be a great story to share in the interview. Problem is, some Decathletes share stories even if they aren’t true. They fabricate things that never happened, take on different personas, and even reinvent their whole histories. With that said, I have been fooled by some pretty good performances over my years of interview judging. One student told me how he loved kids and volunteered at a summer camp. He later admitted it never happened—before going on to win nationals. Another had joined a fictional chess club. When students tell me afterward that they made their answers up, I never know what to say. Congratulations? Never do it again? That sounds about right. Congratulations. Never do it again. An Imaginary Friend One of my teammates----the second overall scholastic at nationals----worried that his life was bland. However, he had grown up on an air force base in Saudi Arabia, and decided to take advantage of this to add colorful details to his past. When prompted to discuss how life there was different than in the United States, he would describe the women wearing veils, the five-time daily prayers, and the oppressive heat----and then he would say, in a masterful use of baiting the judges, that even the pets were different in Saudi Arabia. Judges always asked what he meant. Steve would sadly answer that what he missed most about living in Saudi Arabia was his family’s pet camel, Flint. He ended up scoring a perfect 1000 in interview three times over his two years in the competition. Arguably, though, he shouldn’t have had to embellish his childhood at all. Saudi Arabia was intriguing enough, Flint or no Flint. 17 Or landing in Kosovo?
50 More Traditional <strong>Interview</strong> Questions Academic Decathlon: The Competition INTERVIEW RESOURCE | 22 Practice <strong>Interview</strong> Questions Some questions come up all the time; others, less often. I hope the following list can serve both as handy prompts for you to think through as a team and as helpful sample questions for practice interview judges. 1. Which art piece (or music selection, or poem, etc) is your favorite? Why? 2. What have you learned from this year’s theme that applies to the world today? 3. Tell me about (specific music selection, art piece, or poem). How does it relate to the theme? 4. Which event do you find most difficult? Which event do you find easiest? 5. What is the best aspect of the Decathlon competition? What is the worst? 6. Which subject area is your favorite? Least favorite? 7. Do you feel that the Decathlon is an accurate measure of academic ability? Academic Decathlon: The Preparation 8. If you had been your team’s coach, how would you have prepared the team? 9. How did you and your team prepare for the Academic Decathlon? 10. How do you deal with stressful Academic Decathlon moments? 11. What will you remember most about the Academic Decathlon? 12. What have you learned from the Academic Decathlon? How have you changed? 13. Why did you choose to participate in the Academic Decathlon program? 14. What holds your team together? 15. What three words would you use to describe your Decathlon experience? School and Extracurricular Activities 16. What is your favorite (or least favorite) subject? 17. What advice would you give to someone just starting high school? 18. How would you improve your school? 19. What makes a good teacher? 20. In which extra-curricular activities are you involved? Why? 21. Your résumé indicates that you are involved in _____. Tell us about this. 22. Do you play any sports?
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