PURSUITS 2011! - Business Education Council of Niagara

Interview Review
Questions you may be asked during an interview
Your time has finally come! You’ve been called for an interview; now what Don’t worry; you know you’re ready for the job, now you
have to convince the employer you’re right for the job.
Preparation is essential to your success. You are likely to be more successful when you spend more time preparing for the interview.
Visit the place of business or check out the employer’s website. Talk to people who work there to gather information related to the job.
Find out what the employer or company does, what’s involved in the position you are applying for, what qualifications do you need for
the position, and/or what skills might the employer be looking for. Best of all, be prepared to answer their questions about the job and
to ask them questions.
INTERVIEWER: What are your strengths
Be prepared to give an employer at least five things you are good at. Make your strengths relevant to the job you are
applying for and the responsibilities required for it. Keep your answers short.
YOU:
“I pride myself on my customer service skills and my ability to resolve what could be difficult situations.”
INTERVIEWER: What are your weaknesses
Always turn a negative into a positive. Describe a positive attribute, and then continue with a statement of reassurance. State what you are
doing to overcome it and make sure it is relevant to the job you are applying for.
YOU:
“Being organized wasn’t my strongest point, but I implemented a time management system that really helped
my organization skills.”
INTERVIEWER: Tell me about yourself.
Don’t just “wing” it. Use this opportunity to demonstrate your abilities and excellent communication skills.
YOU: “I am currently in grade at (name of school) and am
interested in a job in the
(name a type of field the job is in i.e. hospitality, manufacturing) field. I have taken the
following courses at my school
(name courses taken) where I learned about
(name a skill you learned) and hope to use these skills as a
(name of job). I am eager to get more experience in this
field because it is something I want to pursue after high school.
INTERVIEWER: What do you think this position involves
This is where your preparation beforehand will be very useful. If you’ve done your homework, you’ll be able to answer this question with ease
and confidence. This question is designed to reveal if you have thought about the position, done some research, listened to the interviewer,
and can summarize all of this information clearly.
YOU: “Last summer I worked at (name of employer) and was able to
(Mention some duties you had at the job that might be similar to the ones advertised for the position you are applying for).
I really enjoyed this type of work and the people I worked with. I am really looking forward to learning more about this.
INTERVIEWER: Give us an example of how you worked as part of a team.
Prepare an example that shows how you fit into a team – are you a leader, the worker bee or the one who coasts on the hard work of others
If you don’t have a relevant work experience, draw from a school project or a sports group or volunteer opportunity to which you were part of
a team.
YOU:
“At school, I recently worked on a school project for my Physcology class with three of my classmates.
We met first and discussed how we would meet again to combine our separate research and who would be the key presenter to our class.
Since I don’t mind getting up in front of people, I volunteered to present our project.”
Behavioural INTERVIEW TIPS
Anyone who has been in an interview situation can tell you that interviewers can be tough. The key to a successful interview
is simply being prepared for the questions and having mental outline to follow in responding to each question. A popular
interview style is behavioural, where you have to describe how you demonstrated the skills you claim to have. Take your time
to answers these questions using the S.T.A.R. approach below:
S
T
A
R
SITUATION (Briefly describe a challenging, work-related situation or task.)
TASK (Talk about what you were trying to achieve.)
ACTION (Describe the actions you took to resolve the situation or complete the task.)
RESULT (Describe the positive result of your action.)
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