Compelling Conversations - PRACTICING JOB INTERVIEWS

“Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell ‘em, “Certainly, I can!” – and get busy and find out how to do it.”

- Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), cowboy, police chief, colonel, and U.S. President

Anticipating questions: Work with your partner and role-play applying for a position in your field. Switch roles every ten questions. Please use complete sentences in your answers.

1. Have you ever applied for a job with our organization before?
2. Have you ever worked in the United States before? Where?
3. Are you eligible to work in the U.S.?
4. Have you ever worked off-the-books?
5. May we investigate your background? Can we run a credit-check on you?
6. Have you ever been laid off? Have you ever been fired?
7. Have you ever been sued? Have you ever been arrested?
8. Have you ever been caught stealing? Stolen from your employer?
9. Have you ever been investigated for misconduct? Have you ever had a professional license revoked?
10. Have you ever taken a psychological test before?
11. Have you ever hidden problems from your managers?
12. Have you ever lied on a job application? Have you lied on your resume?
13. Have you ever taken a lie detector test? A drug test? A handwriting test?
14. Have you ever quit without giving two weeks notice?
15. Have you ever studied computers? Have you worked with computers before?
16. Have you ever used Microsoft Office? What software have you used?
17. Have you ever used a cash register? Fax machine? Xerox machine?
18. What skills have you learned in your professional life?
19. What did you learn from your last job? Best manager? Worst boss?
20. Have you ever been certified in a professional field? How did you prepare?
21. Have you ever been evaluated by a supervisor? What did you learn?
22. What suggestions have you made at work to help the company?
23. Were your suggestions been adopted? Were they successful?
24. Have you ever been promoted? What was your new title?
25. Have you ever received a bonus? Have you ever gotten a raise?
26. Have you ever worked on commission? Have you ever worked as a salesmen?
27. Have you ever traveled out of town for work? What did you do?
28. Have you ever volunteered for overtime? Have you ever declined overtime?
29. Have you ever worked on the weekends? Week nights?
30. Have you ever worked 12-hour shifts? What shift is best for you?
31. Have you ever spoken English with customers or clients?
32. Have you ever worked as a mechanic/salesman/researcher/nurse before?
33. Have you ever taken care of young children? In America?
34. Do you prefer working alone or with others? Why?
35. What items have you sold? Did you sell merchandise in English?
36. Have you ever worked with difficult customers? What was your approach?
37. Have you ever hired people? What did you look for in applicants?
38. Have you ever worked as a supervisor? Foreman? Manager?
39. What tips do you have for young people entering your profession?
40. Why should you be hired for this position?

Vocabulary: Please circle the words that you know. Ask your partner or teacher for the meanings of the other words.

Sayings: Read the common sayings and proverbs below. Can you add two more?

The secret of getting ahead is getting started.

Short answers save trouble.

What you don’t ask, you don’t get.

Anything worth having is worth working for.

Better sit idle than work for nothing.

Quotations – Which quotation is your favorite? Why?

1. “The difference between a job and a career is the difference between 40 and 60 hours a week.”
   
   - Robert Frost (1874-1963), poet
2. “You have to have your heart in the business and the business in your heart. “
   
   - Thomas J. Watson (1874-1956), founder of IBM
3. “If you don’t know where you are going, you will probably end up somewhere else.”
   
   - Dr. Laurence J. Peter (1919-1990 ), educator
4. “In a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence."
   
   - Dr. Laurence J. Peter (1919-1990), educator
5. “You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don’t try.”
   
   - Beverly Sills (1929-) opera singer
6. “In business for yourself, not by yourself.”
   
   - Ray Kroc (1902-1984), founder of McDonald’s
7. My father taught me to work; he did not teach me to love it.”
   
   - Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), 16th U.S. President
8. “I want to work for a company that contributes to and is part of a community. I want not just to invest in; I want to believe in.”
   
   - Anita Roddick (1943 - ), founder of Body Shop International
9. “The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.”
   
   - Vidal Sassoon (1928- ), hair stylist
10. “If you have to support yourself, you had bloody well better find some way that is going to be interesting. And you don’t do that by sitting around.”
    
    - Katharine Hepburn (1907-2003), iconic movie star

EXTENSION – You have started a new business and need to hire your first employee. Choose the business, pick the job title, and tell us your criteria for hiring. Please write 3 more interview questions that you will use to select your employee.