You're listening to Business English Pod, the Business English podcast for professionals on the move.
Hello, and welcome back to Business English Pod.
My name's Edwin, and I'll be your host for today's lesson on conducting an interview.
The interview is a crucial step in the hiring process.
You have the opportunity to sit down with a candidate and get as much useful information as possible.
And to get good information, you need to set the right tone and ask good questions.
You also need techniques for getting people to explain and elaborate on ideas.
The more details you can get from someone, the better.
And hopefully you can figure out if the person is right for the job and for your company.
Good techniques for conducting interviews can help you in many other situations.
Anytime you need to evaluate a person or a person's company, you will use the same techniques.
Imagine you need to contract an internet marketing company.
You will probably sit down with someone to ask some questions.
Or imagine if you have a paper salesman in your office.
Again, you will need to ask him some good questions to evaluate his company.
Today we'll learn some great interviewing techniques, including how to ask stress questions and hypothetical questions.
We'll also learn about echoing someone to encourage them to speak more and calling someone on an invasive answer.
And finally, we'll learn about giving the candidate a chance to ask questions of their own.
In today's dialogue, we'll rejoin Sandy and Lee, who are interviewing Maria.
Sandy and Lee are looking for someone to lead the company's expansion into Asia.
As you listen, try to answer the following questions.
One, what does Maria say she does that Sandy repeats in order to encourage more detail?
Two, what type of situation does Sandy ask Maria to imagine?
3.
What does Sandy give Maria the chance to do at the end of the interview?
Okay, Maria.
Let's move on here.
I think Lee has some things he'd like to ask.
Lee?
Okay, yeah.
So, we've heard a lot about your experience.
Everything sounds great there.
But to be honest, everyone we've interviewed has a lot of great experience too.
So, I really want to know what else you bring to the table.
I mean, we've got a lot of good people, but we need to find a leader who can really make this new venture a success.
So, in other words, why should we hire you?
I'm sure you must have a lot of amazing candidates and I understand that experience is just one part of the equation.
Lee, you mentioned that you want to find a real leader, and I think that's what really sets me apart from everyone else.
I'm a real leader, and a big part of that means knowing how to get the best out of my staff.
Yes, I agree that leading involves getting the best out of staff.
So what exactly does that look like?
To you, what does it mean to get the best out of your staff?
Well, I believe I've learned quite a bit about people in my 15 years of business experience.
And I see two kinds of people.
I mean, there are people who go to work because it's their job, but then there are people who go to work because they love it.
They bring energy and motivation to their work because they feel they're a part of something, something big.
And that's what I do for people.
I show them how they fit into the big picture, and I honor their work and ideas.
My staff comes to work because they love it.
Yes, it's definitely important that staff see the big picture, and that they're motivated.
But you understand that a lot of the people coming to work here have been with the company for years and you'd be the outsider.
There might be some resistance to your leadership.
So how would you handle it when these guys who've been working here for years say that you don't have the strategic vision?
What if they said that, as an outsider, you don't understand the company and are not qualified to talk about the big picture?
Right.
I'm certainly aware of the challenges as an outsider.
And firstly, I'd handle this situation by emphasizing my international experience.
I've gone to new places and successfully built new relationships.
That matters.
Secondly, I'd show how this experience relates to this company and its new venture.
I'd be an outsider, sure, but a broad outside perspective can help the company.
Okay, so you would emphasize your experience and your perspective, but that's only part of it.
The question is about someone challenging you on your understanding of the company.
How would you deal with that?
Well, people don't challenge authority without reason, so I try to get to the root of the issue.
I think that in many cases, this type of situation happens because someone doesn't feel listened to or valued.
So I treat those issues.
I'd listen.
I'd ask that person to share his understanding of the company.
And I'd show him how his organizational knowledge can improve what I do and how it can improve what the company does.
It's not about my knowledge or lack of knowledge.
It's about how I organize, how I harness other people's knowledge.
I think that's a good way of looking at it.
And I don't want to be rude, but I have to be at a meeting shortly, so we'll need to wrap things up fairly soon.
Sure.
I think we've covered everything we wanted to.
Now, to finish off, is there anything else you'd like to know, Maria?
Anything we've discussed that you want to follow up more on?
Yes, to be honest, I've got a ton of questions.
But first and foremost, I'm curious about strategy.
Are you looking at growing the operation organically, or are you going for acquisitions and a more aggressive approach?
Now, let's listen to the dialogue again and learn about the techniques Sandy and Lee are using.
Okay, Maria.
Let's move on here.
I think Lee has some things he'd like to ask.
Lee?
Okay, yeah.
So, we've heard a lot about your experience.
Everything sounds great there.
But to be honest, everyone we've interviewed has a lot of great experience, too.
So, I really want to know what else you bring to the table.
I mean, we've got a lot of good people, but we need to find the leader who can really make this new venture a success.
So, in other words, why should we hire you?
Sandy begins by saying, let's move on, which means she wants to change topics.
She then invites Lee to ask the next question.
Lee wants to ask a difficult question, or a stress question, as we call it.
He needs to know what makes Maria different, or as he says, what else she brings to the table.
Lee also emphasizes that they need a leader who will help the company be successful.
By reminding Maria of this, he is showing that he expects an impressive answer to his stress question, which is why should we hire you?
This type of stress question can be very useful because it puts a lot of pressure on the interviewee.
While answers to standard interview questions might sound similar, the answers to stress questions will usually be very different.
Let's practice a few more example stress questions.
So, what is the worst thing you've heard about our company?
What makes you think you can do this job better than someone else?
How do you feel about rejection and criticism?
So what does Maria believe makes her different?
Lee, you mentioned that you want to find a real leader, and I think that's what really sets me apart from everyone else.
I'm a real leader, and a big part of that means knowing how to get the best out of my staff.
Yes, I agree that leading involves getting the best out of staff.
So what exactly does that look like?
To you, what does it mean to get the best out of your staff?
Maria explains that what sets her apart or makes her different is her leadership ability.
And to Maria, a big part of leadership is getting the best out of staff.
Getting the best out of someone means helping them work productively and successfully.
Sandy needs more detail.
She wants Maria to explain how she gets the best out of her staff.
To encourage elaboration, Sandy starts by agreeing with Maria's idea.
Then she repeats or echoes the idea to get Maria to explain in more detail.
It is common in interview situations to echo what someone has said and then encourage more detail.
You can hear how this is done in the following examples.
You mentioned that collaboration is the key to success.
How so?
I see.
As you say, you enjoy the challenges of sales.
What challenges?
In a crisis situation, you need to control information.
I can see that.
But how?
You say that your experience transfers well to this new position.
How exactly?
Now, let's hear Maria's explanation.
There are people who go to work because it's their job, but then there are people who go to work because they love it.
They bring energy and motivation to their work because they feel they're a part of something, something big.
And that's what I do for people.
I show them how they fit into the big picture, and I honor their work and ideas.
Maria has answered the questions well, but Sandy wants to hear some more specifics.
Yes, it's definitely important that staff see the big picture and that they're motivated.
But you understand that a lot of the people coming to work here have been with the company for years and you'd be the outsider.
There might be some resistance to your leadership.
So how would you handle it when these guys who've been working here for years say that you don't have the strategic vision?
What if they said that, as an outsider, you don't understand the company and are not qualified to talk about the big picture?
You can see how Sandy begins again by agreeing with Maria.
Then she uses the word, but, to lead into the next question.
She wants to remind Maria that there might be resistance to her leadership.
In other words, some people might not respond very positively to Maria.
What Sandy wants to know is what Maria would do in this type of situation.
As Sandy says, how would you handle it when these guys say that you don't have the strategic vision?
She also asks, what if they said?
Sandy has used two common ways to ask hypothetical questions.
A hypothetical question requires a person to imagine a situation.
It's not enough to ask about experience and beliefs.
Sometimes we want to know exactly how someone would deal with a specific situation.
You can hear imagined situations in these examples of hypothetical questions.
What if you had to ask staff to work on the weekend?
How would you do it?
What's the first thing you would change if you ran the company?
Who's the first person you would turn to if you had a problem at work?
Now back to the dialogue, as Maria talks about what she would do if an employee challenged her leadership.
And firstly, I'd handle this situation by emphasizing my international experience.
I've gone to new places and successfully built new relationships.
That matters.
Secondly, I'd show how this experience relates to this company and its new venture.
Maria talks quite generally about what she would do to fit in and show how she has the right skills and experience.
But Lee isn't satisfied with the answer.
Okay, so you would emphasize your experience and your perspective, but that's only part of it.
The question is about someone challenging you on your understanding of the company.
How would you deal with that?
Lee feels that Maria's answer was evasive.
In other words, Maria avoided the issue, and Lee wants to call her on it.
He wants to ask her to answer the question again, but more directly or in more detail.
Lee restates the situation for Maria and asks the hypothetical question again.
How would you deal with that?
What are some other ways we can call someone on an evasive answer?
Let's listen.
What do you mean when you say things are fairly good?
What's the problem?
There's nothing you would improve, so everything's perfect?
Now, let's hear Maria answer the question again.
Well, people don't challenge authority without reason, so I try to get to the root of the issue.
I think that in many cases, this type of situation happens because someone doesn't feel listened to or valued.
So I treat those issues.
I'd listen.
I think that's a good way of looking at it.
And I don't want to be rude, but I have to be in a meeting shortly, so we'll need to wrap things up fairly soon.
Lee sounds satisfied with Maria's answer.
He then shows that he wants to conclude the interview or wrap things up because he has another meeting.
But he doesn't want to sound rude, so he says so directly with I don't want to be rude, but This is useful when we don't want someone to misunderstand why we want to end a meeting.
But before the interview finishes, there is one thing left to do.
As Sandy says, Sure.
I think we've covered everything we wanted to.
Now, to finish off, is there anything else you'd like to know, Maria?
Anything we've discussed that you want to follow up more on?
Sandy asks Maria if there's anything else you'd like to know.
She rephrases this by asking if there's anything Maria wants to follow up more on.
These are two common ways of giving someone a chance to ask questions.
Now, let's hear some more.
Do you have anything to ask about the position or our company?
Now I'd like to give you the chance to ask questions, if you have any.
At this point, do you have any questions for us?
Now, let's hear how Maria responds.
Yes, to be honest, I've got a ton of questions.
But first and foremost, I'm curious about strategy.
Are you looking at growing the operation organically, or are you going for acquisitions and a more aggressive approach?
Maria has a ton of questions, or lots, but she begins with one about the company's approach to growth in their new market.
It's an important question for a prospective manager to ask.
Will the business grow organically or naturally, or will it grow through acquisitions or by buying other companies?
Now let's practice some of the language we've learned for asking hypothetical questions.
You'll hear a statement by an interviewee.
Then you'll hear a prompt.
Use the words in the prompt to ask a hypothetical question about the topic the interviewee is discussing.
For example, if you hear, You can say, I see.
And what if someone criticized your designs?
How would you react?
We'll play an example answer after each question.
Ready?
Let's give it a go.
I have a great relationship with the people I manage.
So, would, difficult, layoff.
Answer.
So, would it be difficult if you had to lay someone off?
If.
Very angry.
What.
Do.
Answer.
Okay, and if a customer became very angry, what would you do?
I have a very good understanding of our company's strategy.
What.
First thing.
If.
C.E.O.
Answer.
What is the first thing you'd do if you were CEO?
I am pretty open to working internationally if necessary.
Would Willing Relocate Singapore Answer.
So, would you be willing to relocate to Singapore?
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, including the missing word.
For example, if you hear I think that first and We need to hire more staff, you can say I think that first and foremost, we need to hire more staff.
After each response, we'll play the correct answer.
Let's begin.
What special experience do you bring to the... Answer.
What special experience do you bring to the table...
As a manager, how do you get the out of people?
Answer.
As a manager, how do you get the best out of people?
Before finding a solution, we need to get to the of the problem.
Answer.
Before finding a solution, we need to get to the root of the problem.
What qualities set you from the other applicants?
Answer.
What qualities set you apart from the other applicants?
We've reached the end of this lesson, the second in our two-part series about conducting a job interview.
We've learned how to ask hypothetical and stress questions and how to give the candidate a chance to ask their own questions.
We've also learned how to echo someone to encourage elaboration and how to call someone on an evasive answer.
These techniques will serve you well in any situation that requires you to ask questions and evaluate a person or company.
Thanks for listening, and see you again soon.
