You're listening to Business English Pod, the Business English podcast for professionals on the move.
Welcome back to Business English Pod.
My name's Edwin and I'll be your host for this episode, the first in a three-part series on your first job interview.
Job interviews can make anyone nervous.
After all, you want to make the best impression you can.
But as a new graduate, you have an added challenge, little formal job experience.
You need to prove to the employer that your studies and university experiences relate to the job you're seeking.
Today we'll cover some ways to help you connect your college experiences to an employer's job requirements.
We'll look at making introductions and explaining ground rules and interview format.
We'll also look at two types of common questions.
Tell me about yourself and discussing your education.
We'll meet Owen, who just got his master's in electrical engineering.
He's originally from Chengdu China, a city 2000 kilometers west of Shanghai, but he moved to Shanghai for graduate school and has decided to stay here for work.
He's interviewing for a test engineer position at IBH, an electronics company.
Today's meeting is a panel interview.
This means a group of people will be asking the questions.
So we'll also meet Erica, who's in charge of recruiting for IBH, and two of her colleagues George, an engineering manager, and Cindy, a new HR manager.
As you listen to the dialogue, try to answer the following questions.
One, why do you think George is handling the technical aspects of the interview?
Two, What are two qualities or transferable skills that Owen mentions?
Three, what does Owen say about his university's approach to learning?
Good morning, Owen.
Thanks for coming in.
I'm Erica Lee, the recruiting lead for IBH.
Good morning, Miss Lee.
Thanks for having me.
Let me introduce my colleagues.
To my left is George Du, the engineering manager for the printers division.
Hello, George.
And next to him is Cindy Wei from HR.
Cindy will be sitting in for Julie, who you spoke to at the job fair.
Good morning, Owen.
Morning.
Before we start, I'd like to go over the ground rules for today, just to give you an idea of the format.
OK, certainly.
I'll be leading the meeting, covering most of the basic questions.
Cindy will mainly observe, but she'll chime in if she wants to clarify anything.
And George will handle the more technical aspects.
Sounds good.
Do you mind if I take notes during the interview?
I'd like to keep track of things.
No problem at all.
So, let's get started.
I see from your resume that you went to Jiao Tong for electrical engineering.
What else can you tell us about yourself?
Well, I've always loved to tinker with electronics, even as a kid in Chengdu.
I like to know how things work, or if they don't work, I want to know why.
I really enjoy analysing situations and solving problems.
Great.
That's just the kind of person we're looking for.
So let's talk a bit about your coursework at Jiao Tong.
What in particular did you cover that you think is relevant to this position?
Hmm.
A lot of courses from my core curriculum come to mind.
One was all about designing and troubleshooting PCBs, and I think the work we did in process analysis would be a great help, as it's such a key skill for any project.
Those are pretty typical courses.
Anything else that stands out?
Jiao Tong places great emphasis on thorough testing and project management processes.
I think, more than other schools or courses, the electrical engineering program is really oriented toward real-life situations.
Now, let's take a closer look at the dialogue.
This is a panel interview, so the introductions are a bit more formal.
There also isn't a lot of small talk at the beginning of a panel interview.
Good morning, Owen.
Thanks for coming in.
I'm Erica Lee, the recruiting lead for IBH.
Good morning, Miss Lee.
Thanks for having me.
Erica introduces herself as the recruiting lead for IBH.
She's in charge of recruiting for the entire company.
A lead is a person that's the head of an activity or project.
When Owen answers thanks for having me, he is thanking her for the invitation to meet with the panel.
This is a polite response to use when you are invited somewhere.
Next, Erica makes some introductions.
Let me introduce my colleagues.
To my left is George Du, the engineering manager for the printers division.
Hello, George.
And next to him is Cindy Way from HR.
Cindy will be sitting in for Julie, who you spoke to at the job fair.
Two of Erica's colleagues are joining her on the panel, and she introduces them by name and title.
As engineering manager of the printers division, George will be Owen's boss if he's hired.
Cindy, the new HR manager of the printers division, is sitting in.
This means she's part of the meeting but may not take an active role.
This could be because she's new to IBH herself.
When you're introducing a panel, be sure to state each person's name and title clearly.
It's also helpful to politely gesture towards that person or point out where he or she is seated, so the interviewee can keep track of who is speaking.
I'd like to introduce our executive director, Ted Chiang.
To my right is Jenny Wood.
She's the head of the sales division.
Our director of finance, Stephen Kim, is sitting in with us today.
That's Tiffany Cole, Director of HR, seated on Mr. Smith's left.
Next, Erica talks about how the interview will be run.
Before we start, I'd like to go over the ground rules for today, just to give you an idea of the format.
Okay, certainly.
I'll be leading the meeting, covering most of the basic questions.
Cindy will mainly observe, but she'll chime in if she wants to clarify anything.
And George will handle the more technical aspects.
Sounds good.
Do you mind if I take notes during the interview?
I'd like to keep track of things.
No problem at all.
Erica sets up ground rules, or guidelines, on what to expect in this particular meeting.
Erica explains... that while Cindy will be mainly observing, she will chime in when necessary.
This means she's free to make a comment or question during the interview.
Since he's the engineering manager of the printers division, George will handle the technical questions.
Technical is an adjective that refers to mechanical or technological things.
George is most interested in Owen's experience with electronics and what practical skills he has that fit with the job requirements.
Owen asks if he can take notes, which can be helpful during a panel interview.
But it's best to ask first.
Explaining ground rules is a lot like giving directions or instructions.
Let's review a few different points you might want to mention at the start of the interview.
We'll tour the plant this morning, then do a group interview in the afternoon.
You'll interview with the director of accounting over lunch.
We'll discuss your credentials first, then ask you to do a 20 minute presentation.
Before you leave today, we'll have you take a quick keyboarding test.
Before we continue, let's look at one phrase from the batch of examples.
In a group interview, two or more job candidates are interviewed at the same time.
Now back to the dialogue.
So, let's get started.
I see from your resume that you went to Jiao Tong for electrical engineering.
What else can you tell us about yourself?
Well, I've always loved to tinker with electronics, even as a kid in Chengdu.
I like to know how things work, or if they don't work, I want to know why.
I really enjoy analyzing situations and solving problems.
Tell us about yourself is one of the most common requests in job interviews.
It can also be one of the most difficult because there are many ways to answer it.
Keep in mind that the interviewers don't want to know your whole life story at this point.
They're mainly concerned with relevant highlights such as your education, experience and special skills.
Whatever makes you the best person for the job.
Since Erica, George, and Cindy have read Owen's resume, they already know about his education.
So Owen talks a bit about his lifelong interest in electronics.
To tinker is a verb that means to experiment with or adjust.
Sometimes it means to take something apart and put it back together, just to see how it works.
He adds that when machines don't work, he wants to know why.
This suggests he's curious, the kind of person who wants to investigate things and find answers.
He also mentions analyzing situations and calls himself an excellent problem solver two qualities that an effective test engineer should possess.
Your response to tell us about yourself should be interesting but concise.
It's good to prepare your response before the interview so you can give concise answers like these examples
I just completed a degree in communications and have extensive television production experience.
I have a BA in medical illustration and won several awards for work in my university's biology department.
I finished my PhD in anthropology in May, and I'm an expert in Eastern European commerce systems.
I have a law degree from Cornell, where I was among the top 10% students in my class.
My specialty is tax law.
What happens next?
Great.
That's just the kind of person we're looking for.
So let's talk a bit about your coursework at Jiao Tong.
What in particular did you cover that you think is relevant to this position?
Hmm.
A lot of courses from my core curriculum come to mind.
One was all about designing and troubleshooting PCBs, and I think the work we did in process analysis would be a great help, as it's such a key skill for any project.
Erica turns the discussion to the test engineer position and wants to know about Owen's university coursework.
Coursework refers to the overall group of classes taken at school.
Owen says that a lot from his core curriculum come to mind.
A core curriculum is a smaller group of courses that university students have to study in order to graduate.
Sometimes, individual departments have a core curriculum as well.
Come to mind is an idiom we use when we think of something, and PCBs are printed circuit boards, a basic part of all electrical devices.
If it's your first job interview after graduating, you probably don't have a lot of formal work experience, so employees often ask about your coursework or your major field of study.
This tells them whether your studies match the job requirements.
Notice, however, how George's question makes Owen go a step further.
Those are pretty typical courses.
Anything else that stands out?
Jiao Tong places great emphasis on thorough testing and project management processes.
I think, more than other schools or courses, the electrical engineering program is really oriented toward real-life situations.
It's one thing to talk about your courses, but it's better to tell interviewers how your studies, or any college experience relate to the job you're seeking.
Here, Owen discusses his engineering program using some collocations.
The first is great emphasis.
This is another way to say a lot of emphasis.
Another is thorough testing.
This means that testing is complete.
Every possible feature has been tested.
Owen adds that his engineering program is really oriented toward real-life situations.
This means the program is focused on practical applications that students can use when they leave school.
These are experiences and skills that can be easily transferred to the workplace, something Owen definitely wants to highlight in the interview.
Let's practice some examples on how to discuss coursework and major fields of study.
Our marketing class was very hands-on.
Teams were assigned to develop a product line and a marketing plan.
Being an English major, I developed a number of important skills that will help me in the workplace, including communication and analytical skills.
I took a number of copy editing courses, which helped me develop my eye for detail.
In my microbiology courses, we learn to use top of the line equipment.
Notice how each example shows how you can take college experience and connect it to job requirements.
We'll look more at these types of connections in our next episode.
One quick vocabulary note.
The phrase top of the line means the very best or most advanced.
Now, let's practice some of the language we've covered today.
First, let's try a role-play practice, where you'll play the part of the candidate.
Imagine you're in an interview for a sales position.
In a moment, you'll hear a question from an interviewer followed by a prompt.
The prompt will give you an idea of how to answer the question.
Use this information to give an appropriate response.
After you've answered the first question, you'll hear a second question and prompt.
Keep answering the questions based on the prompts until you complete the dialogue.
For example, if you hear... Good morning.
I'm Jessica Jiang, Director of HR.
Please have a seat.
Read the interviewer and thank her politely.
You can say...
Good morning, Miss Jiang.
Thanks for having me.
We'll play an example answer after the practice.
Ready?
Let's give it a go.
So, tell me a little bit about yourself.
Say you graduated last spring in marketing.
Okay, and what courses have you taken related to sales?
Say you took many courses.
Use consumer behavior and sales strategy for your examples interesting.
How did you study sales strategy in class?
Say you used role plays and presentations for your projects.
And how did you know if your strategies were successful?
Say you got positive feedback from your classmates.
How did you do?
Compare your answers with these examples.
So, tell me a little bit about yourself.
Example answer.
I graduated last spring with a degree in marketing.
Okay, and what courses have you taken related to sales?
Example answer.
I took many courses in consumer behavior and sales strategy.
Interesting.
How did you study sales strategy in class?
Example answer.
Our projects included role plays and presentations.
And how did you know if your strategies were successful?
Example answer.
We received very positive feedback from our classmates.
Now, let's practice useful vocabulary and idioms.
You'll hear a series of sentences with a word replaced with a beep.
Repeat the whole sentence saying the missing word.
For example, if you hear, Did Chester discuss the ground... for the meeting?
You can say... Did Chester discuss the ground rules for the meeting?
After each response, we'll play the correct answer.
Let's begin.
Janet is the recruiting... for Central Bank.
Answer.
Janet is a recruiting lead for Central Bank.
The curriculum required all students to take English.
Answer.
The core curriculum required all students to take English.
I'm not very good with things like computers.
Answer.
I'm not very good with technical things like computers.
My included classes in psychology and history.
Answer.
My coursework included classes in psychology and history.
Be sure to listen next time when we'll hear more of Owen's interview and cover ways to discuss extracurricular activities, internships and how to stand out from the competition.
In the meantime, check out some of Business English Pod's other podcasts that can help you with first job interviews, such as discussing your previous experience.
That was covered in BEP 82 and 83.
Thanks for listening, and see you next time.
