Before you answer your interview questions, you have to understand them. By listening well, you will make a good impression, show you are a good employee, and have a better idea of what the interviewer wants to hear.
Once you make it to the interview, it means that your credentials are good enough for the job. Your most important goal in the interview is to show that you are the type of person who can be a good employee, a good colleague, or represent your company well to clients.
Furthermore, some interviewers make decisions quickly, so what you say right at the beginning matters a lot. You can make a great impression before you are even asked a question. Do it by listening actively.
If the company only cared about your credentials, you'd be hired based on your resume. But they want to know if you are a good colleague, if you are a good subordinate, and if you will represent the company well to clients.
If your job involves an English interview, then you need to be able to communicate in English. Listening well is that!
https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/interviews.png?w=620&h=38…
There's a saying that we all have two ears and one mouth, so we should always listen at least twice as much as we speak.
- How important is listening in a job interview?
- How do you show that you are listening closely when someone is talking to you?
The benefits of Active listening are not obvious to everybody. Prompt students to provide some ways in which an interviewee’s performance would improve if (s)he had enhanced Active listening capabilities.
Students should mention some or all of these (if they don’t, make sure you mention them):
1. Appropriate body language (nodding head, shrugging shoulders, facial expressions)
2. Appropriate sounds (hmm, ah, oh)
3. Appropriate verbal responses (really? right, I see)
4. Echoing ($1 million! 25%!)
The following strategies are essential in active listening:
A. Body language (Non-verbal communication)
Do the following.
- Lean forward.
-
Nod your head.
-
Use a "listening" facial expression.
- Open your body language.
- Use hand gestures.
Your teacher will tell you about a company. Use body language to show that you are following.
B. Short words and Phrases
Use language during short pauses to show that you understand.
- Right
- I see
- Okay
- Mmmm/Ah.
Your teacher will read something to you. Use the above language appropriately to show that you are actively listening.
C. Echoing
Simply repeat a keyword with strong intonation.
Numbers:
- 3 million!
- 200%!
- 200 kilograms!
- $10,000!
Key information:
- New York?
- Microsoft?
- A bonus!
- Hang gliding!
Your teacher will read some statements. Echo significant information that they mention.
D. Clarifying
You may need to clarify a question. Clarifying is particularly important when you are interviewing in your second language—you don't want to misunderstand any questions!
- Could you tell me what you mean by that?
- Did you say ---?
- Do you mean [recently, or for a long time]?
1) Body language
Show examples of the body language listed. Make sure the student understands before going on.
Read the following text to your student:
“Brainstorming - Generating many radical and useful ideas”
Brainstorming is a useful and popular tool that you can use to develop highly creative solutions to a problem.
It is particularly helpful when you need to break out of stale, established patterns of thinking, so that you can develop new ways of looking at things. This can be when you need to develop new opportunities, where you want to improve the service that you offer, or when existing approaches just aren't giving you the results you want.
So who invented brainstorming?”
Praise the student for using effective body language while you are reading. If (s)he fails to do so, point this out and read the extract again.
2) Words and Phrases
Read the following text to your student (allow pauses at the end of each sentence to allow the student to respond with appropriate words):
“So, in your new position, you’ll be coordinating with a team of external consultants. The project is expected to take around 8 months. You’ll be spending around half of your time on the client's site. You’ll be directly responsible for 8 team members and you’ll be reporting back to me. The budget you’ll be controlling is $1.5 million”.
Praise the student for using the words and phrases while you are reading. If (s)he fails to do so, point this out and read the extract again.
3) Sounds
Read the following text to your student:
“Let me tell you a bit about the hierarchy of our division. We are split into 6 departments under separate departmental managers. Your direct report will be your line manager Ms. Shelby. You will be responsible for 4 subordinates and have your own personal assistant.”
Praise the student for using sounds effectively while you are reading. If (s)he fails to do so, point this out and read the extract again.
4) Echo
Read these statements to your student. They should echo as outlined:
“I earned 2 million dollars last year.” “2 million dollars!”
“We increased our sales by 300% last year.” “300%!”
“The world population is expected to reach 9.7 billion in 2050.” “9.7 billion!”
“The heaviest man in Japan weighs 265kg.” “265kg!”
“The Great Pyramid took 20 years to build.” “20 years!”
“I’m going to Bali for my next vacation.” “Bali!”
“Mike’s applying for a job with Google.” “Google!”
“The boss is going to give us a pay rise next month.” “A pay rise!”
“I tried bungee jumping while I was in Canada.” “bungee jumping!”
Praise the student for echoing effectively while you are reading. If (s)he fails to do so, point this out and read the extract again.
5) Choose a topic of mutual interest and have a 2-3 minute conversation using the 4 strategies above to actively listen in a way that shows interest in what your interlocutor is saying and encourages him/her to continue.
If your acting skills are up to it, alternate between being boring and entertaining.
Possible topics:
Solutions to the Japanese demographic crisis.
Pros and cons of holding the Olympic games in Japan.
Life before the internet.
How will consultancy change over the next ten years?
In what ways will AI affect business in the future?
Get your student to do some written homework:
If you don’t like these topics, take a look at the Discussion topics page for ideas: https://theenglishfarm.com/discussion
Now, your teacher is going to explain the context of some questions before asking the question. Listen actively to the context and then answer the question as best you can.