interview

Q: “Tell me a little about yourself.”

I have lived in Montana all of my life, I love being around people, and I love learning new things.

I’m currently learning Spanish because I think it is important to be able to communicate with a

variety of people. I’d love to be able to travel someday to a Spanish speaking country. I also like

doing physical work, to me it’s therapeutic. Gardening and landscaping are two of my passions.

I have the best looking yard in my neighborhood!

Q: “What are your strengths?”

I’m a great listener. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a good talker too, but I think listening skills are

even more important. I’m a good organizer too. It doesn’t make any diference if it is organizing

closets or a family vacation, I love all the planning and organizing that goes into it.

Q: “What are your weaknesses?”

I like things to go according to my plans so when something comes up that may make my plans

go of schedule it stresses me out a bit. But what I have learned about myself is that coming up

with a plan B helps alleviate some of that. If I plan ahead for potential problems, then I don’t

stress out at all because I know what to do next.

Q: “Why do you want to work here?”

As I said earlier, I love being around people and in this job I’d get to meet every person that

walks through the door. Your restaurant has a good reputation for quality food and service and

that’s the type of restaurant I’d be proud to work in. I think my qualities will it nicely with this

restaurant.

Q: “Tell me about your most recent job.”

I worked in a cafeteria serving food. Sometimes I worked in the kitchen but I really loved

working as a server. I got to meet a lot of people. Some days were easier than others. I set

a goal for myself to smile at everyone I served, especially those people who always seemed

depressed. It may seem like a boring job to some people but not me.

Q: “Why did you leave your last job?”

I left because I had started school and couldn’t do both school and work at the same time.

Q: “Do you have any questions for me?”

Your staf has such a good reputation for customer service, so I thought perhaps I’d ask if you

have a training program you put your staf through to achieve that.

Before you leave:

I also have a list of references to give you. Thank you for the interview, it was a pleasure to meet

you.

INTERVIEW SCRIPT (GOOD CANDIDATE)

INTERVIEW SCRIPT (BAD CANDIDATE) This version of the interview should be over-the-top bad. This candidate should be dressed

inappropriately, wearing sunglasses, showing bare arms with exposed tattoos, displaying poor

posture, disorganized, late, etc.

Q: “Did you bring a copy of your resume?”

Ah, yeah, it’s in here somewhere. (Digs around in their bag until they ind a crumpled resume)

Q: “Tell me a little about yourself.”

Well, I’ve been a bit of the beaten path for awhile. I collect tattoos. In fact, my goal is to get one

from each of the 50 states. I’ve already got a pretty good start, see? (show arms).

Q: “What are your strengths?”

I’m a good conversationalist. I can talk about any subject. Never a dull moment when I’m in a

room.

Q: “What are your weaknesses?”

Wow, I can’t think of anything. Oh yeah, I have a weakness for Rocky Road ice cream. I bet I

could eat an entire gallon in one sitting. I also like to sleep late. Really I’m much more of a night

owl than an early bird. Sure the early bird gets the worm but who wants worms anyway?

Q: “I noticed that you checked that you have a criminal record on your application.

Can you explain a little bit about that?” (This is an optional question)

Sure, I got busted for bouncing checks and a couple of other money-related problems. I should

have gotten a deferred sentence, but I got a bad judge. Anyway, I did my time.

Q: “Why do you want to work here?”

I igured I’d be able to get free meals if I worked for a restaurant.

(Optional response: A condition of my parole is I have to have a job.)

Q: “Tell me about your most recent job.”

I haven’t worked for 3 years. I worked at a video store for awhile.

Q: “Why did you leave your last job?”

I didn’t see eye to eye with the manager at the video store. Sometimes customers were pretty

rude when we didn’t have a video they wanted and my manager expected me to be nice to

these people when they clearly didn’t deserve it. Let’s just say I left by mutual agreement.

Q: “Do you have any questions for me?”

Do your employee’s get free meals?

When critiquing the interview teams, use these points to help

decide which team does the best job discussing the interviews:

Bad candidate points

• Not dressed professionally

• Tattoos on arm exposed

• Didn’t shake hands with the interviewer

• Bad posture

• Handed interviewer a crumpled resume, not well

prepared

• None of the personal information was helpful for

learning whether or not the candidate would be a

good it for the job

• The strength they highlighted made it sound like

they are the life of the party, rather than a good

communicator

• The weaknesses they admitted had nothing to do

with work habits. Liking to sleep in could indicate

a problem being on time for morning shifts.

• Explained too much about the conviction

and blamed the judge for their incarceration.

Didn’t say they learned anything from it or took

advantage of any training while in prison

• Wants to work there for free food, and to meet

parole conditions. It’s all about the candidate’s

needs and not the employer’s.

• Didn’t give enough information about the

previous job. It appears they quit or were ired

because of their poor customer service.

• The question the candidate asked showed no

concern or interest in the needs of the employer.

• Didn’t thank the interviewer or shake hands

Good candidate points

• Dressed professionally

• Good handshake

• Good posture while sitting

• Came prepared with a resume and

references

• Smiled

• Hightlighted that they love being around

people

• Likes to learn new things

• Listens well

• Learning another language to

communicate better with others

• Made a personal weakness less of a

weakness by planning diferently

• Knew the reputation of the restaurant

(shows some research) and indicated they

would be proud to work in a restaurant

like that

• Indicated how much they liked interacting

with people, even people who were

depressed, at a previous job in a cafeteria.

• Left previous job to go to school

• Had a good question on training, again

highlighting the fact the restaurant’s

reputation for good customer service was

top notch

• Thanked the interviewer and shook hands

CRITIQUING THE INTERVIEWS

TIPS FOR A

SUCCESSFUL JOB INTERVIEW

Commonly asked

interview questions:

Tell me a little about yourself.

What are your strengths?

What are your weaknesses?

Why do you want to work

here?

Tell me about your most

recent job.

Why did you leave your last

job?

Situation Explain the situation

Task Explain your task or role

Action What action did you take?

Results What resulted from your action?

The S.T.A.R. Method:

*

RESEARCH THE COMPANY

Find out as much as you can about the company

EXPLAIN YOUR EXAMPLES IN DETAIL

Use the S.T.A.R. method to answer questions*

LOOK YOUR BEST

Your clothes should be neat and appropriate

for the working environment

You should be well-groomed

No heavy perfume or cologne

Modest jewelry

BE PREPARED

Bring a copy of your resume, references,

samples of work if appropriate

ARRIVE EARLY

Make sure you know how to get to the

interview and arrive 10 minutes early

BODY LANGUAGE

Look the interviewer in the eye, but don’t stare

Sit up straight and act alert

Don’t chew gum or smoke

Smile when appropriate

BE ENTHUSIASTIC

Show genuine interest in the job

USE DISCRETION

Be honest in your answers but steer

away from troublesome areas

ASK QUESTIONS

Ask questions that will help you decide

if the position is suitable for you

SUBJECTS TO AVOID:

Don’t mention inancial or personal problems

Don’t talk about what was wrong with

previous employers

Don’t mention salary or beneits

REMEMBER TO THANK YOUR INTERVIEWER