Episode 04

Daniel's interview doesn't go too well. What mistakes does he make?

Do the preparation task first. Then watch the video and do the exercises. You can also read the transcript.

Preparation

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Transcript

Daniel: Hi there!

Marcia: Good morning, Daniel!

Daniel: Oh, Dan, please.

Marcia: I'm Marcia Boardman – we spoke on the phone – and this is Philip Hart, our CEO.

Philip: Hello!

Daniel: Nice to meet you both.

Philip: So, it says here on your CV that you’re interested in rock climbing.

Daniel: Yeah, I love it!

Philip: Great, so do I! When did you last go climbing?

Daniel: Er, well, it was a while ago, now.

Philip: Anywhere interesting?

Daniel: Yeah, I walked up the hill behind my house. Took me about 30 minutes!

Philip: Oh.

Marcia: OK, erm, Daniel, can you tell us a little bit about your current position?

Daniel: Certainly. As it says in the CV, I'm part of the European sales team at Networld. We're the world's leading supplier of IT hardware.

Philip: Why do you want to move on?

Daniel: Well, they're too small for me!

Marcia: Networld are too small for you?

Daniel: Yeah, I'm looking for something much bigger.

Philip: Well, we're not a big company by any means, but we are looking to grow! Er, what first attracted you to WebWare in particular?

Daniel: Well, I see WebWare as kind of like a stepping stone ...

Marcia: Sorry?

Daniel: Yeah, start here, gain the necessary experience, then move on to something bigger.

Philip: OK ... well, I do admire your ambition!

Daniel: Thanks. I've got lots of it!

Marcia: Let's move on to managing people. Can you give an example of a time when you had to deal with a particularly difficult managee?

Daniel: Sure, well, I think that's one of my strong points, actually. Er, a couple of years ago, I was working with a guy, he wasn't pulling his weight, basically being lazy – so I told him to get out.

Marcia: Oh, you didn't give him a performance review or a warning or perhaps try to develop his motivation?

Daniel: No, no, no, no. None of that rubbish. If someone's not working hard enough, then they're out! That's the way I work. I'm a hard man.

Marcia: I see.

Philip: Erm, how would you handle a rapidly changing market?

Daniel: Basically not change anything at all! Just continue on as normal, regardless.

Marcia: Erm, according to your CV you are fluent in Mandarin ...

Daniel: Well, I wouldn't say 'fluent', exactly, but I like Chinese food a lot so I can read the menu.

Philip: So you can't actually speak the language?

Daniel: Er, no.

Marcia: Can you tell us about a time you had to close a particularly challenging deal?

Daniel: I haven't had one. They're all easy for me. I close deals all the time.

Marcia: OK, well, do you have any questions for us?

Daniel: No.

Philip: Oh. OK. Erm, thanks.

Marcia: Let's move on to the presentation ...

Task 1

Exercise

Task 2

Exercise

Discussion

What were Daniel's good and bad points? What should he do to improve his interview performance?

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Language level

B1 Intermediate

B2 Upper intermediate

He was not good at all he lies in CV he was not professional he well not get this job

Daniel was a confident man. He answered about his strength. He also had solve skills and gived examples in his current. However, he didn't know any languages. Futher, he said that he had ambition bigger, he didnt want to work long time . This company is stepping stone for his future.

The good points of Daniel is that he has an ambition and the bad points is that he doesn't know the 'Don't' of an interview. He should be acquitted with the 'Do' and 'Don't ' of an interview.

Daniel made all possible mistakes in the interview: answers with lack details, show negative charachter traits (about 'hard man), etc. I would not have hired such an employee.

Through the video, I can learn a crucial point that would be beneficial for a candidate: be confident but not arrogant in an interview. The interviewee here looks too proud of himself but doesn't focus on the critical interest of the employer and fails to bring trust and convincing. Another point that needs avoiding is not to overstate your qualification and be honest in your CV.

The conversation about rock climbing was interesting to me. I thought that the interviewers ask about hobbies only to break the ice in the interview. However as shown in the video, it might give a poor impression on how passionate you are about things you do. Philip might have thought "Oh.. you just walked up the hill behind your house, saying you're interested in rock climbing."