Moulay Ismail University
Faculty of Sciences and Techniques
Errachidia
Langues et Techniques d'Expression
et de Communication
English –S1-S3
Job Interview Questions and Answers
Tell me about Yourself ?
What are your greatest strengths?
The Outline
1. What is a Job Interview?
2. What do employers look for?
3. What are the REV Points ?
[Link] Power of Story Telling
5. SOAR & STAR Approaches
6. Tell me about yourself ?
5. What are your greatest strengths ?
7. Common Mistakes
What is a Job Interview?
• According to Cambridge Dictionary, a job interview is ‘a
meeting in which an employer asks the person applying for a
job questions to see whether they would be the right person
to do the job.’
Job interview (n.d) in Cambridge Dictionary.
[Link]
Verbs associated with Job Interviews
Employers are looking for
Positive Self-
Dependability
attitude motivation
Problem
Collaboration
solver
REV Points
• Relevant Qualities : Find many job descriptions of the posted job and jot down the most
important competencies which influence the performance and the productivity of
target companies or institutions.
• Exceptional: to focus on qualities that are exceptional or the ones which can stand out,
for instance, integrity, hard work, communication, etc.
• Verifiable: to provide a proof of the cited relevant and exceptional qualifications while
focusing on your contribution to the company’s/ project’s development .
• Demonstrating your communication skills through the interview.
• Previous coaching /training experience for new staff .
• Interfering to keep a client / customer for leaving.
REV Points
Data Analyst Energy Efficiency Manager
• Five years experience in data models • Five years experience in energy
and reporting packages. efficiency engineering.
• Experience in writing comprehensive • Relevant advanced degree
reports and analyzing large datasets.
• Member of Technical Advisory
• MBA –Concentration in Business Committee drafting Cordoba County’s
Analytics first Green Building.
• Successfully adhered to company data
governance standards receiving the
employee of the year for 2 years in a
row.
• Developed Key Performance Indicators
to monitor sales and decrease costs by
17%.
The power of story-telling
‘ It‘s not just a description but an experience, so it’s more convincing
and more memorable’. (kelly,T. Get That Job!: The Quick and Complete
Guide to a Winning Interview. , p.16)
• Instead of citing the qualities in a dull, unattractive way to the
interviewer, the interviewee can rely on relevant well-prepared
stories to talk about his abilities.
• Stories are supposed to cover the REV points while captivating the
employer’s attention.
The Structure of Stories (SOAR)
SOAR STAR
• S – Situation, background, set the scene
• S :Situation
• O :Obstacle (s) • T – Task or Target, specifics of what's
required, when, where, who.
• A: Action (s)
• R: Result (s) • A – Action, what you did, skills used,
behaviours, characteristics.
• R – Result – Outcome, what happened?
SOAR Approach
• Situation "At the Cooper Company I realized that our business
management software wasn't helping us work efficiently.I
researched the options, selected SuccessSuite, learned it, helped
configure it . ’
• Obstacles " Management said SuccessSuite was too expensive. “
• Action " I trained our staff on SuccessSuite. I prepared a
presentation to change the mind of Management staff about the
use of SuccessSuite “
• Results "Efficiency was increased by 40%."
STAR Approach
When there are team conflicts or issues, I always try my best to step up as
team leader if needed. I think my communication skills make me an effective
leader and moderator.
Situation : one time, when I was working on a team project, two of the team
members got embroiled in an argument, both refusing to complete their
assignments. They were both dissatisfied with their workloads.
Task: Solving team conflicts
Action : I arranged a team meeting where we reallocated all the assignments
among the team members.
Result : This made everyone happier and more productive, and our project
was a success.
Acing the Interview question : ‘Tell me about
Yourself ?’
▪ An opportunity for the
interview to impress the Tell me about yourself ? = "Can you
employer and tell him or
her about the reasons why introduce us to your qualifications?”
they should hire you. "How about walking me through your
background?"
▪ Base the answer on the "What's your story?’
REV points. "Why should we hire you (instead of one of
our other qualified candidates)?"
▪ Use a brief answer “What do you have that the other
candidates don't?”
Examples of answers:
"I'm very passionate about building "I was excited to see that you're looking for
engagement with my teamwork. I get someone with expertise in so many different
to know my staff individually and what areas within HR, because that's exactly
their own goals are, then help them see what my background is like. I've been very
the alignment between those goals and fortunate that my 14- year career at
department's needs. It has worked well; Niagara, Inc. and Davis Direct has allowed
in the past five years I've had four team me to gain experience in all of them –
members promoted. I was sorry to lose Employee Relations, Labor Relations,
Compensation and Benefits, HR Information
some of them, but at the same time it Systems and Analytics. I've managed all of
was a great feeling seeing them reach these areas, and solved complex strategic
their dreams. issues in every one of them. »
What are your major strengths ?
• Make a list of your strengths and focus on the mentioned attributes
in the job description or announcement.
• Include the REV points and use examples or a story to illustrate
them.
• Mention some of the qualities for which you were promoted.
• The problems you solved
• Expenses reduced because of your actions or ideas
• Or any accomplishment which demonstrates your strengths.
What are your major strengths ?
I've been an online customer service representative for over 3 years. We are
measured both on customer satisfaction with our services and with their loyalty
to our products . I focus on making sure that I understand the problem the
customer is having and which product they are having the problem with. I
created a list of questions that I ask for each of our 4 different products which
helps me get a very good grasp of the customer's situation.
I know how to resolve most of the problems people have with 2 of our products,
and have the information I need to get the answers from technical support on
the other 2 products more than 80% of the time. When I can't help the customer,
I forward them to the technical support team to handle.
Usually, the result is customers who are able to successfully resolve their problem
and use our products. I'm proud to say that I am usually among the customer
satisfaction leaders in our group, and have received three service representative
of the month awards this year.
Sample answer
“My greatest professional strength is [ the ability to handle pressure
and work under a tight deadline ]. I think that would help me
succeed in this position because of [ the large number of clients and
deadlines I’d be working with here ]. In my last position, [ I handled
difficult projects on short notice for a number of our top clients like
Coca Cola and Microsoft ]. [ I completed 100% of the projects I was
assigned ] and this resulted in [ us winning $2 million in additional
business from these clients ].”
What’s wrong with the following answers
"Wow, well let's see…I was born in I’m 25 years old. Born and
1992 in Chicago, Illinois. I was the
second boy in a family of four boys. raised in San Francisco. I
We got along OK, except for my have a degree in Business
older brother, especially when he but I am honestly really
got older and joined a gang. My open to any kind of job out
parents were Catholic, so it was a there. I really do like Tv’s
pretty strict upbringing. I made my
first communion in second grade and DVD’s and video
and was confirmed in seventh grade. games. I did work in a
I was even an altar boy, can you college bookstore so I have
believe that! I had a pretty rough a little bit of experience in
childhood and I spent some time at customer service.
reform school…"
Match the statements
with the correct 1) ……e… the word communicates that everyone who was part of
expressions the problem or disagreement was satisfied in the end, and that
is a very positive outcome.
2) ……d…… you do what needs to be done without anyone
asking you.
a) To sell oneself
b) To collaborate 3) ……g…. to guide on a way especially by going in advance.
c) To be in charge of
4) ……a….. Convince another of one's merits, present oneself in a
d) To take Initiative favorable light.
e) To resolve 5) ……F……….. to bring to completion
f) To accomplish
g) To lead 6) ……B…… means to work with other people to achieve an end
goal.
7) ……C….. having control of or responsibility for (something)
led- accomplish- collaborative- sell youryself- handle-
took initiative – measurable- responsible -resolved
1. I was responsible for human ressources and accounting systems.
2. I work hard to accomplish my goals.
3. I handle job-related stress so well since I submit my work on due time even
when I have many projects on short notice.
4. Make your point and try to sell yourself as the best candidate for the
position.
5. In my part time job, I took initiative to fix a paper jam or a broken
photocopier before asking a more experienced colleague to help.
6. I’m very collaborative and have always preferred to work in groups.
7. In my previous job, I led my team to win in many international
competitions.
8. When this conflict occurred, I revolsed the situation by allocating new tasks
to my team members.
9. The measurable result of my action was 15% increase in sales last year.
Bibliography
• Apply. (n.d.). In Cambridge English Dictionary (2020th ed.). Cambridge University
Press. Retrieved November 10, 2020, from
[Link]
• In: Thesaurus. 2020. Carry out. [online] Available at:
<[Link] [Accessed 18 November
2020].
• Job interview (n.d) in Cambridge Dictionary.
[Link]
• Kelley, T. (2017) Get That Job!: The Quick and Complete Guide to a Winning
Interview. Albany: Thea Kelley Verlag.
• [Link]. (n.d.). Retrieved from
[Link]
[Link]
