Interview essay

COM 100: Speech Communication

Professor Gina Costa

PROFESSIONAL INTERVIEW & REPORT

Often times, the job interview is the most crucial part when searching for a job. The interview can be the deciding factor determining whether you are hired or not. Many people don’t realize what goes into conducting a good interview. Good interviewing requires good communication skills. It requires verbal and nonverbal communication, listening, perception, conversation skills and professionalism. Although many of you have probably been interviewed before, you may not have been the one asking the questions. This assignment allows you to be the interviewer and be the person in charge.

For this interview assignment, students will conduct a formal interview with a person who has a management/supervisory position. This person can work at Bergen or off campus. You will be conducting a PROFESSIONAL interview which means all questions are related to work, career, job, education…nothing personal!

First, contact your interviewee and explain why you are requesting to meet with them. Please remember professionalism before, during and after the interview process. That includes establishing initial contact, being on time, shaking hands appropriate attire and asking appropriate questions. Don’t forget to start your interview explaining why you are meeting with them and concluding the interview by thanking them for their time.

Your interview should last from 15-30 minutes and you should have several questions prepared. Your questions should be professional and focus on the person’s job, career, experience with Bergen, career goals, education, degrees earned, prior work experience, future goals, etc… Make sure you put thought into the questions before you meet with the person. Be sure to phrase your questions in a way that will give you thorough answers. Use open-ended questions and don’t be afraid to ask follow-up questions. Sometimes the unexpected questions give us the best information. (refer to commonly asked questions on Moodle)

· DO NOT ask any personal questions (family, children, religion, marital status)…everything should be professional! Please refer to the information about illegal interview questions on Moodle.

· DO NOT conduct your interview over the phone or through email—must be done in person. It’s definitely a different experience when you interview face to face.

· DO NOT record or videotape the interview. This makes people feel uncomfortable. Plus it takes away from the authenticity of listening and really paying attention to your person. But you can definitely take written notes while they are talking.

· DO NOT interview them as if you’re actually hiring them! You are not giving them a job…you are just gathering information about them.

YOU WILL SUBMIT TO ME:

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

A list of your interview questions and the person’s answers. This should be a typed list of questions that you used during your interview. You can list this in numeric or bullet format. The answers do not need to be verbatim, but try to be as thorough as possible. You should have at least 12-15 questions.

A BRIEF PARAGRAPH INCLUDING:

· Who you interviewed and why you chose that person

· Your reaction to the experience and process; what you liked/disliked

· What you did to prepare for the interview

· What the setting was for the interview; where did you meet, how long was interview, how many questions?

· What did you find most interesting about the person?

· Anything you wish you did differently? If so, explain.

PLEASE SUBMIT THE INTERVIEW ASSIGNMENT THROUGH MOODLE.