You're listening to Business English Pod, the business English podcast for professionals on the move.
Welcome back to the second in our two-part series on first-round interviews.
We'll be looking at how to respond to common interview questions and you'll also learn some useful phrases and vocabulary.
As you'll remember from the first episode, Mike Warner is interviewing William Chow for a job at the Hong Kong head office of First Mercantile International, a global bank.
When we left off last time, William had just finished telling Mike about his work history, management style and personal characteristics.
Our HR manager, Mike, continues the interview with another very common first-round question.
Let's see what it is and think about how you would answer this question.
Just before we hear the dialogue, here are today's listening comprehension questions.
Make a note of these, and you can check your answers on the website.
1.
What is William's proudest achievement?
2.
What is William's greatest strength?
3.
What does William say is his greatest weakness?
4.
Is William happy at his current job?
5.
Is William very concerned about compensation?
Okay, William.
Tell me about your proudest achievement.
When I took over as assistant manager in 2004, we had a non-performing loan rate of 5 on short-term loans and revolving credit due to problems with credit controls.
That sounds pretty bad.
Yeah, obviously there were some problems there.
So to find out where the weaknesses were, I worked with my team and the credit department to determine whether the issue was structural or down to a lack of controls.
And you determined it was lack of controls?
Yes, mainly.
How'd you go about fixing it?
Well, I was able to leverage my local cultural knowledge to find several previously unidentified risk factors that correlated strongly with the non-performers.
After analysis, I reduced exposure to high-risk segments, especially real estate.
And after that, we also modified due diligence procedures to take into account this new information.
Hmm, sounds like you really focused in on the problem.
What were the results?
Um, let's see.
In 2005, my team and I dealt with a total of $200 million in credit and loans.
But I am proud to say that the non-performing rate was only 0.3%.
That's a mere fraction of the rate for the previous year.
This has added up to an estimated savings to the bank of $20 million over the next three years.
Did I give you the level of detail you were looking for?
Or would you like to hear another example?
No, that's fine.
Thank you.
Let's move on to another question.
So, what would you say are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?
One of my strengths is my ability to be flexible in my perspective, my flexibility in analyzing new ideas and concepts.
Over the past seven years, I've seen First United go through several restructurings, with changes in leadership and management too.
I've had to adjust my style to the new environments, but I've always succeeded in adapting.
Flexibility is always appreciated.
And what about your weaknesses?
I think I mentioned before that I enjoy challenges and work well under pressure.
I really enjoy my work.
The downside to this is that sometimes I put in too much time.
But by being aware of my tendency to overwork, I've learned to pace myself more and work less overtime.
That's a hard thing to do in this business.
Now, can I ask you why you want to leave your current position?
Well, I've set some goals for myself and for my career.
And unfortunately, there's no room for me to move forward at First United.
I have begun to explore the options available before I spend too much time in a job where I can't advance.
My goal is to continue to grow and improve myself so that I can be a stronger performer and contender in the workplace.
Good.
We always appreciate someone who is looking for more challenges.
And what are your salary expectations?
Well, let's see.
I'm sure whatever you offer will be a fair amount for a person with my qualifications.
Salary is not the most important factor to me.
I'm looking for opportunity.
Fair enough.
Do you have any questions for me?
Yes.
I'd like to ask, what is Mercantile International's plan for the next five years?
And how does the central branch, specifically the business development side, fit in?
Let's go through the dialogue together.
Mike's first question is about William's proudest achievements.
When you're asked this question, you should, of course, first give the interviewer some background so that he can put your achievement in context.
How does William do this?
When I took over as assistant manager in 2004, we had a non-performing loan rate of 5 on short-term loans and revolving credit due to problems with credit controls.
William tells us that when he took over his current job, the portfolio under his control had a nonperforming rate of 5.
This refers to the rate of bad loans, the loans that people stop paying.
Bad loans are also sometimes called nonperformers.
They fail to perform.
William says the problem was with credit controls.
That is, The set of procedures and methods that an organization uses to make sure that it does not give credit to its customers unwisely and that it collects money promptly.
A 5% non-performing rate is pretty high.
How does Mike react?
That sounds pretty bad.
Yeah, obviously there were some problems there.
So to find out where the weaknesses were, I worked with my team and the credit department to determine whether the issue was structural or down to a lack of controls.
At first, William didn't know whether the problem was structural that is, a basic problem with how the bank structured its credit and loan portfolios or down to lack of controls.
Lack of controls refers to credit controls.
To be down to something basically means because of.
This is a way of stating the cause of a problem.
What are some other ways of stating the cause?
This problem basically revolved around the issue of timing.
Was it too soon or too late to lower the price?
After careful analysis, We identified the root cause as being a minute flaw in one of the tools.
In the end, the problem went back to how we managed the relationship with new customers.
In the final analysis, the issue turned on a high turnover rate in the sales department.
How does Williams say he solved the problem with non-performing loans?
Well, I was able to leverage my local cultural knowledge to find several previously unidentified risk factors that correlated strongly with the non-performers.
Williams says he was able to leverage his local cultural knowledge.
A lever or lever in British English is Leverage can be a noun that refers to the actual advantage you get when you use a lever.
Used as a verb, to leverage something means to use it as a lever.
That is, to use it to your advantage to get a job done.
This is a very useful word, very popular in business.
Listen to more examples of the verb to leverage.
We've got to leverage the unique competencies we have in this team.
I want to see everyone working up to their full potential.
Here at Mega Mart, we leverage our great size to purchase goods at a heavy discount, and then we pass the savings on to our customers.
William also says he reduced exposure to high-risk segments.
A segment in this case means part of the loan portfolio.
Exposure to risk is a useful collocation or word partnership.
To expose yourself to risk, means to take a risk or to leave yourself open to risk.
So when William says he reduced exposure to high-risk segments, he means that he reduced the amount of loans in risky areas of business, in this case real estate.
William mentions modifying due diligence procedures.
Due diligence procedures just means your methods for satisfactorily investigating the background or risk of something.
This is also called doing due diligence.
Diligence is the noun form of diligent.
Due, in this case, means deserved or appropriate.
When he finishes answering, William wisely checks to see if his answer is sufficient.
Did I give you the level of detail you were looking for?
Or would you like to hear another example?
What are some other ways to check whether or not your answer is sufficient?
Does that cover what you were looking for?
Have I answered your question?
Is that answer sufficient?
Or would you like me to go into more detail?
I'd be happy to give you another example if you like.
Many others come to mind.
Now, what is Mike's next question?
So, what would you say are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?
One of my strengths is my ability to be flexible in my perspective, my flexibility in analyzing new ideas and concepts.
William knows that flexibility in perspective is highly valued by employers in his career international banking.
So he makes a point of emphasizing it when asked about his strength.
To demonstrate his flexibility.
He talks about successfully adapting to changes in management and restructurings in his current job.
Here, restructuring refers to reorganization, moving people around and changing the organizational chart.
So far, so good.
But how does William do in answering the question about his greatest weakness?
I think I mentioned before that I enjoy challenges and work well under pressure.
I really enjoy my work.
The downside to this is that sometimes I put in too much time.
But by being aware of my tendency to overwork, I've learned to pace myself more and work less overtime.
William gives a classic good example of how to answer this very common interview question.
Keep in mind that it's important to sound sincere and to demonstrate real self-knowledge.
First, you should identify something in your personality or work habits that can be interpreted both as a strength and as a weakness.
For example, being detail-oriented is positive. but being overly concerned with details is negative.
William decided to use his tendency to overwork.
Like William, first talk about the positive side of the characteristic you've identified as your weakness.
For example, you can say one advantage to this is or the good side to this is then briefly identify the bad side.
The downside of this is, or one drawback to this is, and finally describe how you have started to overcome your weakness.
For example, William says By being aware of my tendency to overwork, I've learned to pace myself more and work less overtime.
So far, William seems to be doing well in his interview, doesn't he?
How does he handle the next question?
Can I ask you why you want to leave your current position?
Well, I've set some goals for myself and for my career.
And unfortunately, there is no room for me to move forward at First United.
I have begun to explore the options available before I spend too much time in a job where I can't advance.
My goal is to continue to grow and improve myself so that I can be a stronger performer and contender in the workplace.
One of the best ways to answer this question is just as William does.
Emphasize that you're looking for bigger or different challenges.
As you know, it's usually good to stay positive.
Don't say anything really bad about your current company, position, or boss.
William focuses on the future and uses a great phrase to describe his ambition.
He says his goal is to grow so that he can be a stronger performer and contender in the workplace.
The word contender comes from athletics.
Contenders are fellow athletes in a competition.
For example, Tiger Woods is a real contender for the greatest golfer ever.
Notice contender partners with strong.
William wants to be a strong contender.
Now, Mike asks a very important question.
What kind of salary does William expect?
As you'll recall, William says that salary is not really the most important factor for him.
He trusts Mike to make him an offer immediately that matches the qualifications and experience of a candidate like him.
What do you think about this answer?
It could be a mistake.
Remember, you may be being judged on how well you negotiate.
Also, it's better to leave the topic of compensation open until you fully understand the duties of the job you'll be taking over.
Try to get them to make the first offer.
Listen to a better answer to this question.
I really need more information about the job before we start to discuss salary.
I'd like to postpone that discussion until later.
Maybe you could tell me what is budgeted for the position.
Finally, there is one more part of the dialogue to cover.
Mike asks William if he has any questions.
As you know, In an interview, it's very important to ask questions.
By querying your potential employer, you not only learn important information, but also demonstrate your knowledge about their company and show them that you take the position seriously.
William uses a type of question that's good to ask.
What's the five-year plan for your company?
And how does this department fit in about some other common types of questions that you can ask an interviewer?
How important does upper management consider the function of this position?
Could you give me an overview of your organizational structure?
What are the company's strengths and weaknesses compared to its competition?
How will my leadership responsibilities and performance be measured?
By whom?
Could you describe your company's management style and the type of employee who fits well with it?
That's about all for today's episode. the second part in our two-part series on first interviews.
You've practiced responding to some typical interview questions, such as greatest achievement, strengths and weaknesses and expected compensation.
Also, you've learned some useful phrases for stating the cause of a problem and for asking whether your answer is sufficient.
Finally, you looked at a lot of useful vocabulary and at some questions that you can ask an interviewer.
Be sure to visit our website at wwwbusinessenglishpodcom to sign up for our premium member service, and you can also download a free worksheet on useful words for describing your achievements and personal characteristics.
Here at Business English Pod, we're busy leveraging over 40 years of business and training experience to bring you great podcasts so that you can practice your English on the go.
See you again soon.
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