Killer questions

When it comes to interview questions, it pays to expect the unexpected. This is a true story of one candidate’s experience. This is how interviewers greeted him:

“We’ve been interviewing candidates all morning and we’re getting bored. Do something to impress us.”Then the interviewers got out their newspapers and started reading them.

The candidate said, “Well, I’ve been waiting in this office for more than two hours because you’ve been running late. Actually I’m not impressed by your organization and not sure I want to work for you.

Goodbye.”

The interviewee walked out, was invited back the next day and wasoffered the job.

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How would you act in a situation like this?

That interview was rather extreme, but a lot of employees have turned to using “killer questions” or “shock tactics”, such as these:

“Tell me something about yourself that you have never told anyone.”

“Which three famous people would you invite to a dinner party and why? ”

“We have employed people from your university, and they haven’t been good. Can you tell us why you think you’d do better? ”

Killer questions often are aimed at throwing the candidate off guard. By surprising the candidate with an original or difficult question, interviewers can get an honest reaction and an unplanned response. They also want to see candidates think through their responses calmly.

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Exercise 1. Rank the following questions in order of difficulty.Comment on your choice.

1. What are your strengths and difficulties?

2. What can you offer our organization?

3. Why do you want the job?

4. Whould you ever lie to get what you want?

Exercise2. Discuss the following.

1. Do you think it is fair to ask killer questions?

2. Do you think hypothetical questions are useful?

3. How do you react under pressure?

Exercise3. Complete the sentenceswith the present perfect simple or present perfect continuous of the verbs in the box. Use each verb twice.

1. I ______emails all day.

2. I _____20 emals today.

3. He _____Polish for six weeks.

4. He _____six new words today.

5. I _____ dozens of killer questions over the years.

6. Interwiewers ______ killer questions for years.

7. Sally _____ TV all afternoon.

8. Sally _____ five TVprogrammes this afternoon.

Exercise4. Translate into English.

1. Якщо працівники зараховані в штат, то вони мають певні права.

2. Як часто cправляють податок?

3. Вам слід оголосити посаду в газеті.

4. Я переважно не ставлю багато каверзних запитань.

5. Чи ви коли небудь розповідали про цей досвід?

6. Його не вразили ваші успіхи.

7. Я не цікавлюся вашим минулим.

8. Чи варто очікувати несподіванок?

9. Задаючи несподівані запитання ви можете отримати чесну відповідь.

10.Коли йдеться про співбесіду, то ніколи не треба розслаблятися.

Exercise5. Read the text and get ready to give your partner recommendations on how to present resume. Use the model You shouldn’t / You should ….

Resumes are a necessity for almost every job on the planet – accountant, teacher, CEO or municipal employee. But unless you carefully and objectively examine your resume before sending it out, recycling bins across America may be filling up with those ill-planned documents. Before mailing your next resume, check the ten resume “don’ts” below:

1. Appearances Count - Don’t try to save money by printing your resume on cheap copy paper instead of good quality stock. Check for typos, grammatical errors and coffee stains. Use the spellcheck feature on your word processor and ask a friend to review the resume to find mistakes you might have missed.

2. Does Size Matter? – If your career warrants a two-page resume, then go ahead and create a document that reflects the full range of your experience and accomplishments. Don’t reduce the type size to such a degree that your resume becomes difficult to read.

3. Truth or Consequences – Don’t fudge over dates or titles on your resume to hide the fact that you have been unemployed, that you switched jobs too frequently or that you held low-level positions. If a prospective employer conducts a background check and discovers that you lied, you can kiss the job good-bye.

4. State Your Case - If you are seeking a job in a field in which you have no prior experience, don’t use the chronological format for your resume. By using a functional or skill-oriented format, you can present your relevant experience and skills up front.

5. Put Your Best Foot Forward – Don’t simply copy the job description jargon from your company’s HR manual. To show that you are more qualified than the competition for the positions you are seeking, you need to do more than simply list your job responsibilities. Present specific accomplishments and achievements: percentages increased, accounts expanded, awards won etc.

6. No Excuses – Don’t include the reasons you are no longer working at each job listed on your resume. The phrases “Company sold”, “Boss was an idiot” and “Left to make more money” have no place on your resume.

7. What Have You Done Lately? – While it is certainly acceptable to have a two-page resume, don’t list every single job you’ve ever held. Personnel managers are most interested in your experience from the last 10 years, so focus on your most recent and most relevant career experience.

8. Target Your Audience – Don’t mail out your resume to every ad in the Sunday newspaper. If you are not even remotely qualified for a position, don’t apply.

9. No Extra Paper, Please – When you send out your resume, don’t include copies of transcripts, letters of recommendation or awards, unless you are specifically asked to do so. If you are called in for an interview, you may bring these extra materials along in your briefcase for show-and-tell.

10. Don’t Get Personal - Personal information does not belong on a resume in the United States. Don’t include information on your marital status, age, race, family or hobbies.

Notes: to warrant - тут давати підставу

to fudge – вигадувати

transcript - копія