Transcript
Page 1: Introducing yourself in interviews

The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Now, please introduce yourself.Yes, well…I…Ah…???

Introducing Yourself in a Job

Interview

Mary Willes

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INTRODUCING YOURSELFIN A JOB INTERVIEW

Mary Willes

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Contents

Preface

1. About this book 2

2. Forms of the question: Please introduce yourself 2

3. Meanings of the question 3

4. The Interviewer's point of view 4

5. What the Interviewer wants from the applicant 5

Preparing for the day

6. Making a start 8

7. Presenting yourself as a serious applicant

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8. Presenting yourself as a suitable applicant

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9. Presenting yourself as a memorable 15

- even an outstanding applicant

Introducing a potentially valuable employee

10. The Interviewer's worst nightmare 16

11. The really excellent employee

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Past experience applicable to work situations

12. The experience of study

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13. Participation in extra-curricular activities

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"Please introduce yourself" A selection of answers

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PREFACE

1. ABOUT THIS BOOK

This is a very short book - not much more than a booklet, or pamphlet. You will

be able to read it through in 45 minutes to 60 minutes. It is part of the Job

Search Communication Package of the ILC, and it is about just one single

question.

The question is an important one, because almost all interviewers ask it! You

can almost sure it will be asked, in some form, at any job interview you attend.

A few interviewers ask you for an answer in Putonghua - but most of them ask

for it in English. They treat the question as a test of your English, and of your

skills as an applicant.

If you answer it appropriately, and with understanding, then you are well on the

way to a successful interview! So what is the question? It is expressed in

different ways, but the most usual is:

2. FORMS OF THE QUESTION

You may hear this question expressed in a number of different ways. All of

them are intended to get the same sort of response from you. Here are some

of the ways in which the question may be asked:

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1 Would you like to introduce yourself?

2 Tell us what sort of person you think you are.

How about you? Your family, your interest?

Let's hear what you have to say about yourself.

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Notice that the key is yourself. That's the word that you immediately recognize

- so you take a breath, and you get ready to answer. Now stop, and before the

interview, let's think about what the question really means, and what sort of

answer the questioner needs and wants.

3. MEANINGS OF THE QUESTION

The question has different meanings in different contexts. Think how different

the meanings would be, for example -

At a party, where it might mean, do you know any of the people that I

know?

or from a psychologist, in his consulting room, where it might mean.

does anything in your childhood experience explain what you are feeling

and doing now?

or in a Police Station, when you have reported (say) a theft or an accident, and

it might mean, are you someone whose evidence should be taken

seriously?

It doesn't mean any of these things in a job interview!

If you are going to understand what it does mean, you have to ask another

question first. It is this: What, exactly, does the interviewer want? What

would he - or she - find helpful in deciding among several applicants which is

best suited to the job? So we'll look at that question now.

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4. THE INTERVIEWERS'S POINT OF VIEW

It's time to imagine you are not you - the final year CUHK student reading this,

but someone quite different! Let's suppose…

Your name is Desmond Wong, and you are in your late forties, with greying

hair. You are very well respected in your middle management position, and

your children are growing up, and your wife is in full-time employment. The

elder of your sons is already in the second year of Medical School - it's the

second one - not doing very well in Secondary School - that worries you.

However, you have to put aside your family and financial worries this

afternoon.

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You have been asked to interview

five - or is it six? applicants for that

management trainee post. The

interviews will take at least until six

in the afternoon. You are worried

about what the stock market

is doing and the value of some

shares you bought on Tuesday …

Enough of that. You remember that

for each of these five? Six? Young

people this is an important day.

You hope none of them will waste your time by canceling their appointments

at the last minute - or, worse still, by failing to turn up at all…. The trouble is

they all look so alike. You do hope you will be able to remember which name

belongs with which face. Is there time for some tea? No there isn't - here is

the applicant now. She comes in, and sits down. You get a good first

impression - she's tidy and suitably dressed - she's looking straight at you, not

fidgeting or fussing. Thank goodness. You start, in what you hope is a

pleasant way, in a welcoming manner, not an alarming one.

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Let's leave them to the interview and make a summary of what Mr. Wong

wants, and what he doesn't want.

5. WHAT THE INTERVIEWER WANTS FROM THE APPLICANT

We can summarize what he needs in a way that is very short and very easy to

remember: he wants to identify the applicant from you as

Obviously he needs to identify each applicant. Most applicants start by saying

"Well, I'm Linda Chan and …

There is nothing wrong with that - but it is a mistake to continue by telling the

interviewer the personal details which he already has on your application form

and the accompanying letter. "There is one point you should be careful of

Good afternoon Miss Chan. It's Miss Linda Chan, isn't it? Right Miss Chan. Would you like to introduce yourself?

Serious

Suitable

Memorable and

Outstanding (if possible )

Clear – free from uncertainty and confusion

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here. If, by any chance, the papers are in the wrong order, and it isn't Linda,

but Lynne Chan she must say, at once, and firmly, but not irritably

"No, my name is Lynne, not Linda. I'm the applicant from Chai

Wan, majoring in Sociology in the Chinese University."

You too need to remember how easy it is for someone to present the

application forms in a different order from that in which the applicants appear -

and make certain you are correctly identified.

E

vidence of the applicant's

seriousness

As this interviewer knows very well,

not all applicants are serious. They

are the ones who fail to arrive,

without any sort of telephoned or

written messages. And waste the

time of busy people. Just by being

there, Linda shows she is not one of

those - but she may be able to say

something in addition, that will show

that she is serious about the job.

We shall look later at some of the

things she might say.

E

vidence of the applicant's suitability.

Someone who may employ an

applicant needs to know what sort of

character and disposition the person

has, in order to make a judgement

about whether he or she will fit in

and work well. You simply have to

demonstrate self-knowledge and the

language to express it. We shall

look at ways of making sure you do.

C

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lear and free of ambiguity and confusion.

Ambiguities - statements that leave

the interviewer uncertain how he is

to interpret them - are present in

many applications, and may appear

in yours. They are of several sorts.

If, for example, your grades are not

very good, or if they are noticeably

uneven - that will seem to the

interviewer something that needs

explanation. If you have majored in

a subject that is not an obvious

preparation for the job you are

applying for, then that will seem to

him/her, something you ought to

explain. Of course the interviewer

can ask you directly - and if you

have not answered the question

before, he almost certainly will.

However, you are likely to do better

in the interview if you raise the

questions that perhaps you would

prefer not to be asked! You get a

chance then to offer an explanation

without seeming defensive. Don't

lose that opportunity!

ne or more reasons to remember

you!

Most of the people an interviewer

sees in the course of a long, hot

afternoon are likely to be adequately

qualified and reasonably well

prepared. They are not likely these

days, when there is so much

emphasis on preparing for job

interviews in the final year of degree

courses, to make any of the obvious

silly mistakes of dress and manner.

Many interviewers pack their brief

cases at the end of the session

feeling that everyone seen that day

is very similar, and there is little to

choose between them! The request

to you to introduce yourself is,

among other things, an invitation to

say what is special, unusual,

outstanding, about yourself. And

many of us (not just final year

students!) feel that really we are very

ordinary. There is nothing

outstanding or special about us at

all! That is what makes the question

hard to answer sensibly,

satisfactorily and truthfully! There is

an honest effort to help you with this

part of the question.

O

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Let's sum up so far.

Your interviewer wants to be convinced, right from the point where you

respond to the very first question, that you are somebody whose application

he must consider seriously, and that you are a potentially suitable employee.

In the next few minutes he hopes that you are going to establish yourself as

someone he will remember as an outstanding applicant.

PREPARING FOR THE DAY!

6. MAKING A START

We look now at how you can meet the needs of the interviewer who says to you

Let's take first. Your greeting to the interviewer and the very first words you

say. We can deal with that quite quickly. Let's suppose the interviewer has

already greeted you by name, and you have every reason to think that you —

the person in front of him — are firmly associated in his mind with your

application, your photograph, your Curriculum Vitae (or resume) and your

letters of reference. (You should make sure that both your English and your

Chinese name recognize you though.) What can you sensibly say next,

promptly and politely? Here are some possibilities for you to consider:

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Such an acknowledgement isn't only polite — it tells the interviewer what

information you already have and he can take for granted and need not

repeat. None of this need to take you more than a few seconds. You have

the next few minutes to establish in the interviewer's mind that you are a

serious and a suitable applicant, and that you are someone he will

remember for the right reasons. To do that, you have to give thought, before

you attend interviews, to what you are, and to the sort of person you expect to

become. Let's take the questions in the same order as before.

7. PRESENTING YOURSELF AS A SERIOUS APPLICANT

Thank you for the address of your

company's web-site. I found this

very informative.

Thank you for the opportunity of this

interview.

I received and read the detailed

particulars of the post/ the information

about the company/ the brochure —

thank you for these.

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You have already gone a long way towards reassuring the interviewer that you

are — simply by the fact that you are there, at the right time, suitably prepared

for the interview. You might therefore feel he has no reason to doubt that you

are entirely serous in your application, and will accept the job if it is offered to

you (unless of course there is a very good reason why you should not). If, in

addition, the subject of your major is directly related to the job offered, then

your seriousness will not be in doubt. Somebody applying for a training

position with an auditing company who has majored in Auditing has nothing to

explain. Somebody who is about to graduate with a BBA, and is applying for

a trainee management post with an import— export company is in the same

position. If you are in this position you can skip the next few paragraphs and

go directly to 8.

Supposing, however, that you majored in a non-vocational Arts subject, in

History, or Sociology or Geography or Psychology - say - how will the

interviewer respond to your application then? Will the interviewer believe that

you are a serious applicant - let alone a suitable one? You need to give

serious thought to the possibility that he will be doubtful about you.

Start by thinking back to the real reasons why you choose your major. Here

are some that most people (quite right) don't mention in job interviews but that

seemed to them important at the same time. Tick any that are true of the

choices you made.

I really liked the subject, and I wanted to study it, and at the time, I

just didn't think in any realistic way, about a future career.

I wasn't strong candidate for University place, and I thought my

chances were better if I chose a non-vocational subject as my major.

I chose the only subject in which I had even moderately good

grades at that time.

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There was a little group of us — all friends — we spent a lot of time

together— they were all applying for University places. It seemed the

thing to do next, I really had no clear idea of what University study

would be like.

See if you can add other reasons to this list

Recognize that many people, not just you, make decisions for reasons of this

sort. You were young and inexperienced, - so of course people guided you

who had your interests at heart. You were not in the position of a strong

competitor - so you didn’t choose the courses of study where entrance was

most competitive. What could be more sensible? So don't feel ashamed, or

resentful or apologetic!

Instead, - think a bit further. Did you find and use any options and

opportunities you and your course of study that are likely to be useful to you in

the sort of job you hope to do? Here are some possibilities that you may

remember. Again tick any you think apply to you.

There were projects, involving research, analysis, teamwork

You undertook fieldwork, extended visits/exchanges. These

broadened your experience. Perhaps you discovered unexpected

links between theory and practice

You made use of language learning and development opportunities

not easily found outside a University setting.

You developed other intellectual skills that you think can be applied

in a wide variety of circumstances

Add any others you can think of.

Now you are ready to think what you can say about your choice

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of major which is true, and which is going to reassure your interviewer that

you a serious applicant, who may very well be potentially a good employee.

Here are some things you might say.

I chose History / Geography / Sociology because

I was strongly drawn to the subject and I saw my

University course as an opportunity — perhaps

the only opportunity, — to study in depth.

I chose History / Geography / Sociology because

I was strongly drawn to the subject and I saw my

University course as an opportunity — perhaps

the only opportunity, — to study in depth.

I was advised by my parents / teachers to choose

Chinese Studies / Sports Science/ Psychology

because at the time when competition for

University entry was severe, the demand for these

subjects was less than that for vocational

subjects.

I was advised by my parents / teachers to choose

Chinese Studies / Sports Science/ Psychology

because at the time when competition for

University entry was severe, the demand for these

subjects was less than that for vocational

subjects.

Like most young students in secondary school I

chose to study further the subjects(s) in which I

had the best grades. Career guidance is more

detailed now than it was at that time.

Like most young students in secondary school I

chose to study further the subjects(s) in which I

had the best grades. Career guidance is more

detailed now than it was at that time.

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Having given this honest answer, you can then add any of the following which

are true for you, and which you are prepared to talk further about:

Almost certainly the interviewer will be reassured and will ask you to enlarge

on the claim you have just made. From your viewpoint this is satisfactory. It

means that the second question you have to answer is one that you have

chosen, and one that you have already thought carefully about. You can feel

that you have tackled that first question ("Now, please introduce yourself!") in

a satisfactory way.

8. PRESENTING YOURSELF AS SUITABLE APPLICANT

You may have the sort of excellent academic record and enthusiastic

references that leave no interviewer in doubt of your suitability! If you have,

you can skip this next section! There are many applicants; however, who

have disappointing or uneven or simply bad grades and you may very well be

one of them. Don't think these will escape the interviewer's notice! It is much

better that you, when you are asked to introduce yourself, should recognize

I was, however, able to take a minor, / additional course, / options within

the course which relates more directly to the work I hope to do.

During my course I was able to develop skills (rapid reading and writing

and summarizing/ assembling and evaluating evidence / working as a

member of a team / communicating with people of different cultural

experience) — which I believe are widely applicable to the sort of

employment I look for.

I was, however, able to take a minor, / additional course, / options within

the course which relates more directly to the work I hope to do.

During my course I was able to develop skills (rapid reading and writing

and summarizing/ assembling and evaluating evidence / working as a

member of a team / communicating with people of different cultural

experience) — which I believe are widely applicable to the sort of

employment I look for.

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that they raise doubts about your suitability in the mind of the interviewer. You

can say something that will lessen those doubts. Again, you need to think

about what to say before the day of the interview. Can you explain to yourself

why your grades were disappointing?

Here are some possibilities.

Having said something like this you can add

“I feel I learned something from this disappointment” - for example,

From finding out my weaknesses, I learned what my real strengths

are

I learned to be more patient with people who have trouble doing

things that I can do easily

I learned that success doesn't come without effort— but effort alone

isn't enough to make sure you succeed.

If you open up the subject of disappointing grades as you introduce yourself,

and address it honestly, the interviewer is not at all likely to follow it further.

I found the whole culture of the University very strange. I really didn't

know what was expected of me. I learned from the mistake and

confusion of the first year and did better in the later part of the course.

"During part of my first / second/ third / year I was ill / a member of my

family was ill / I had severe family problems. Missed assignments and

poor exam results produced disappointing grades. (Be prepared to

supply evidence if you say anything like this) "

"There were parts of the course for which I was unprepared / that were

beyond my abilities. Even though I worked hard, and asked for help

and got it, I got a very disappointing result."

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Almost certainly he will continue by asking you another question - probably by

asking you to extend what you have already said about the topic.

Now comes the hard part! If the interviewer is satisfied that you are a serious

applicant, and a suitable one, you now have a few minutes of your

introduction to persuade him that you are a good applicant - perhaps an

outstanding one. There is something special, something memorable about

you. So how are you to prepare to do this?

9. PRESENTING YOURSELF AS REALLY GOOD

- EVEN AN OUTSTANDING APPPLICANT

Right now, you may have little experience of the role of employed person - or

none at all! You may have done part-time and temporary jobs - but people’s

expectations of you in those roles are often not very well defined, and not (as

a rule) very demanding. There are other roles of course in which you have a

great deal of experience. You are very familiar, for example, with what is

expected of a student. You have had a lifetime of practice in the role of a son,

or daughter, perhaps, also of a younger/older brother/sister and in some other

roles too - friend counselor perhaps, representative of a group, or team

member. You know that in each of these roles you present a rather different

image. Different aspects of your personality emerge - but you are still

recognizably yourself. You are probably more at ease in some than you are in

others. Now you have an opportunity, and an obligation, to consider how you

are going to present yourself in the role of a potential employee.

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INTRODUCING A POTENTIALLY VALUABLE EMPLOYEE

10. THE INTERVIEWER’S WORST NIGHTMARE!

It’s time to put yourself in the position of the Interviewer again! Interviewers

are expected (by their companies) to be rapid and accurate judges of

character and ability on the basis of application letters and interviews, but all

interviewers know that they can be badly mistaken, and if they are, the cost to

the company is high! The Interviewer’s worst fear is of recruiting someone

thoroughly unsatisfactory - someone we might call the TAC, the Truly Awful

Colleague! What words would you use to describe such a person? What is

he or she being like? How about, for a start-

Careless, slovenly in work habits? The sort of person who leaves work unfinished?

Unpunctual, unmethodical, inconsistent in work habits?

Untidy, casual, and grubby in appearance?

Rude, disagreeable, sullen in manner?

Can you imagine the damage that somebody like that would do in an office?

In addition, the TAC

Is a clock-watcher?

This handy English idiom is used of people who seem to grudge the time that

work demands - so they are always looking at the clock to see when they can

go for lunch or leave in the evening! You sense that the minds of clock-

watchers are always somewhere else. TAC’s never focus on what they

should be doing. They don’t improve on their bad start

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because they are

Unwillin g (or unable) to learn

They take any suggestion as a criticism, and any criticism as a matter for

resentment.

That Truly Awful Colleague, you notice, is not malicious, is not deceitful, is not

cruel - could not justly be a bad person at all - but does so much damage that

he doesn’t last very long in the job! Let’s turn from the Interviewer’s

Nightmare, to the Interviewer’s Earnest Hope - that on the day of your

interview he will find and recommend for appointment the person who will

become the opposite of the Truly Awful Colleague –

11. THE REALLY EXCELLENT EMPLOYEE

If you feel nervous, and even despondent, at the prospect of an interview -

remember that the Really Excellent Employee is the person that the

Interviewer hopes he meets when you walk into the room. Once you have in

your mind the picture of the awful opposite - it isn’t difficult to describe an

excellent employee, is it?

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He or she arrives at work looking very much as you do on the day of the

interview - neat, fresh, alert, suitably dressed, and (of course) punctual. That

person’s attention (like yours) is focused on the job to be done. So the

Excellent Employee quickly learns what is required in the new environment -

and goes on making use of all the learning opportunities that the environment

offers. He is well mannered and pleasant with colleagues. After all, he hopes

that some of them will become good friends. And he expects that he will

collaborate more or less closely with them as members of a team because his

attention is concentrated on the job in hand, he avoids muddle and mess and

confusion. Colleagues quickly come to see him as an orderly, methodical

person who does not waste his time or theirs, and can almost find things

quickly when they are needed. As the workload increases, he sorts out the

more from the less important tasks, and makes deliberate decisions about

how he is going to use the available time. In that way he avoids crisis and

panic except on very rare occasions! And his colleagues agree he is the sort

of person who can work well under pressure. He does make mistakes

sometimes of course - but he accepts criticism, and he doesn’t make the

same mistakes twice! Increasingly, people come to rely on him. He isn’t

perfect, or a paragon, and he certainly isn’t an efficient machine - but he is a

good, competent, conscientious employee.

You almost certainly recognize that you have the qualities of such a person.

So how are you going, in the few minutes you have to introduce yourself, to

persuade an Interviewer that you have the potential to be satisfactory, and

perhaps an excellent, employee?

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It’s no good to just to say you are punctual, alert, clear-headed, calm, and

conscientious! It’s no good saying that you can cope with situations where

there is simply more to do than can be accomplished in the available time,

that you are calm, and methodical and work well under pressure. Certainly

it’s no good claiming to be an analytical person, who can offer innovative and

creative solutions! Anyone who simply makes unsupported claims is likely to

be thought naive - or worse, conceited, ignorant and boastful. So what are

you to do?

You have instead to identify situations in which you know that you have

already shown one or two of the qualities that are characteristic of a really

good employee. And be prepared to talk about them. Let’s look at the ways

in which you might do this, and at some of the things you could say.

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PAST EXPERIENCE APPLICABLE TO WORK SITUATIONS

You have much more experience applicable to your future in employment than

you may realize - but you need to think carefully about it, and how you are

going to talk about it, in advance of your interview. All students have

experience of academic study: almost all have participated in extra-curricular

activities. We look now at what each of these has to offer you as preparation

for the world of work.

12. THE EXPERIENCE OF STUDY

First: If you arrived on time at the interview, suitably dressed, and

unhurried, that is a start in itself! And you don’t even need to say anything

about it! It’s still a good start.

Second:You have experience – years of experience – of working as a

student. Ask yourself – are there any ways in which being a student is similar

to being an employee? Certainly there are! Could you, as a result of that

experience, say any of these things truthfully, about yourself?

I have learned, as a student,

To work seriously and conscientiously, meeting obligations and

meeting work deadlines, and I do all these now as a matter of habit.

The importance of working at anything you have to do with

energy and concentration.

How necessary it is to learn from criticism of one’s work. Most

of our teachers correct work very conscientiously, and though it is

disappointing to see mistakes highlighted it is very important to

study and learn from those criticisms.

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To search for additional information about things that interest or

puzzle me, it is very important in learning to take initiatives and it is

something I hope to apply in my working life.

To become familiar and at ease with computer use – as a source

of information, as a means of language extension and practice, as a

resource for information.

To work as a team member. All the projects we completed

involved collaboration. Everyone had a chance to practise all the

various roles that team members are required to fill.

To plan the use of time. There is never enough time to complete

a task as well as it could be done! A student’s work, like other work,

has to be done within the resources available. And time is the most

important of those resources.

You may think of other ways in which you have learned, as a student, to do

things that have to be done in the different environment of a work place. Be

prepared to talk about just two or three of them. – Not more. There won’t be

time for more. Notice that if you talk about opportunities, which you have

experienced, you avoid seeming to make claims! You leave the interviewer to

infer that you have, in fact, made good use of the opportunities you talk about.

You don’t then seem to be boasting and bragging about your achievements.

If the Interviewer asks you for more detail about anything you say, you will be

able to answer very easily. Just be careful not to go on too long!

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13. PARTICAPTION IN EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

As a student you probably took part in one or two extra-curricular activities.

Interviewers are, quite properly, interested in these, because they often

provide opportunities to learn practical and intellectual skills that can be

transferred to the work place.

So think about the things you did at any time in the past. Years of your

University course of study – or indeed before then – field trips, visits,

production of publications. Think … were you on the editorial committee of a

publication? Did you assist in the organization of events? Did you help to

start a new society or indeed any new venture? Were you involved in

competitive sports? It is not very likely that the answer is no – none of those

things! (If it is – then see the paragraph below on page 23)

Then consider whether you could truthfully say anything like the following:

"In my second/third year I helped with/took a leading part in the

organization of a workshop/student conference / several study

days / immersion camp / music festival / swimming gala / series

of cricket matches I learned some widely applicable lessons

about long term planning / financial management / producing

appropriate press releases / coping with the unexpected."

"In my third/fourth year I was involved in / helped to set up a

society for promoting interest in magazine production /

inexpensive travel / cultural / religious / political activity. Like all

those of us who undertook this activity, I learned a lot about

offering and receiving hospitality / advertising and promotion/

managing activities within budget / balancing the claims of

these activities and the need to meet work deadlines."

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The last point is very important. If you were very active in extra curricular

functions and societies, you must make clear that your University work had

always its rightful, central, place in your life – the place that the Interviewer

expects that in future your employment will have.

Suppose you are the student mentioned above who avoided any

serious extra-curricular involvement at all? You would probably do

best to offer some explanation rather than wait to be asked for one.

Almost certainly it is not the case that you could find nothing to interest you!

The explanation you offer is likely to be something along these lines:

You are not likely to be questioned further. You come over as a responsible

person rather than as someone having a narrow range of interests and / or

limited vitality and energy.

All that might sound as if you have spoken for half an hour! You haven’t of

course. You have introduced yourself in three or four minutes, said (perhaps)

four sentences given the Interviewer a settled conviction that you are a

serious and suitable candidate - and perhaps the very person the company is

looking for. That’s a good answer to the initial question and a good start for

the interview.

In the remaining section of this handbook you’ll find a few examples of how an

answer to the question “Please introduce yourself!” might look.

"I had to spend 2/3/4 hours daily travelling, and I decided that in these

circumstances involvement in music/sport/drama was simply not

practicable. I couldn’t do that and do justice to my studies."

"I had inescapable family responsibilities in addition to the workload

involved in my course. I simply couldn’t commit my time to any extra-

curricular or sporting activity."

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“PLEASE INTRODUCE YOURSELF!” A SELECTION OF ANSWERS

In the final section of this Handbook you get a chance to practice answering

this question. This is how it works.

Read first the two notes on each student, the Biographical Note, and the

Personal Reminder.

The first is a short summary of that person’s dates and academic record. The

second is a note made by the applicant before the interview about things he

or she thinks are relevant to the application, should be mentioned, and might

be overlooked in the circumstances of an interview.

Try to keep your answer to the question quite short – if you write it down, don’t

use more than five lines. You should know that each applicant really wants to

be offered that job and will do his or her best to persuade the Interviewer of

his or her suitability. Then compare your answer with the answer the

applicant actually gave. Don’t think of the applicant’s answer as the “right”

answer though! In the circumstances of a job interview some of these

applicants are inexperienced and nervous, and their answers are not as good

as yours are! You may be able to think of advice you could give to some of

them.

The first person (fictitious of course) is someone you may know already, if you

have used the Job Search Dialogues. It is Wendy Lo. Do you recall her

interview with Mr. Bernard So? She applied for a position as a teacher of

Biology in his school. It is Dialogue 9 in that series. Very few applicants

attended only one interview and this was not the only interview that Wendy

attended. She applied for a job two weeks earlier in an Aided School in Hong

Kong. The advertisement was for an English teacher, but said that some

teaching of Biology might be available for a suitably qualified applicant.

Wendy applied and was asked to attend an interview. Here is a summary of

her Curriculum Vitae (or Resume) and a copy of the note she made for her

own use before the day of the interview.

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Wendy Lo:

A Biographical Note born Kowloon Tong 1976: consistently

good grades in Primary and Secondary School. Satisfactory

grades in Hong Kong Certificate of Education and Hong Kong

Advanced Level and high grades in English and Biology.

Majored in Biology in the Chinese University of Hong Kong,

and graduated in 1997. Worked (in the summers of 1995,

1996) as a summer teacher in a Church Community Centre – with great

interest and enthusiasm. Has an enthusiastic letter of recommendation from

the Director of that program.

Immediately on graduation applied for and obtained a trainee-ship in

Personnel Management, but was not happy or successful in that environment,

and is anxious to leave, and find full time work as a graduate teacher of

Biology. This vacancy is for an English teacher who could teach some

Biology in lower forms. It is not ideal, but Wendy still thinks it worth applying

for.

B Personal Reminder I enjoy teaching both younger and older students.

Convinced of the importance of education to the individual and to society.

Majored in Biology – but have a long-standing interest in English Studies.

Regularly watch English Language TV- especially the wild-life programs.

Some (not very extensive) experience of teaching English. Keen to extend

this.

he scene is the Office of the Director of Studies in an Aided school.

Her name – Mrs. Sotheby B.Ed., Dip.RSA, is on the door. The

school is able to offer a good starting salary, and Wendy is one of a

very large number of applicants. Wendy’s good examination results when

she was a school student were noticed, and secured an interview for her –

though she is less experienced and less suitably qualified than some other

candidates who were not called for interview.

T

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Mrs. Sotheby, "Please take a seat Miss Lo. Now – first of all – I’ve read your

application letter of course – but, would you like to introduce yourself?"

Your turn now! Read the Biographical Note and the Personal Reminder

again, and then write between five and seven lines, in English, in which

Wendy tells Mrs. Sotheby about herself.

Now look below at what Wendy actually said. Notice that she didn’t

remember everything! And this is not intended as a model answer!

Mrs. Sothby jots down her impression of candidates. She gives 10 to

someone whose answer seems to her absolutely outstanding, really excellent,

and 1 to somebody who is too shy and embarrassed to manage any sensible

or useful answer at all…How do you think she rated Wendy’s answer?

Introduce myself? Oh, yes, well…I’m a Hong Kong person, born

and educated here. I’ve recently graduated from the Chinese

University. Biology was my major. I’ve always been interested

in English though – and I’ve done some teaching of English – not

a lot – in Summer Programs. I enjoyed that, and I think the

students did. I’d really like an opportunity to do more…I think

teaching is one of most valuable things a person can do –

though I know it’s very hard work and everyone knows that it’s

stressful…

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Comment: Probably 5 or 6. Wendy gives a straightforward response: it

doesn’t sound over-prepared; she is evidently serious about teaching and she

seems realistic in her expectations. This is not at all a bad start.

DANIEL KWAN

I wonder if you remember Daniel? His interview with Mrs.

McKenzie is in Dialogue 8. Again, that was not the only

interview he attended. He applied for a position as

trainee manager with another company, and again he

found that since English was this international company’s

working language, he was likely to face an interview in English. Here is a

summary of his biographical details.

Daniel Kwan was born in Mainland China, and came to Hong Kong with his

parents when he was very young. The family makes regular visits to family

members however. Daniel went to Primary and Secondary school in Hong

Kong. He was a hardworking, serious student, always liked by teachers and

students, and by diligent application and hard work he managed to quality for

entry to the Chinese University, and to graduate. Geography is his major. He

is not, and never has been, an academic high-flier. He is always very nervous

at the prospect of an interview in English. He has an excellent record of

involvement in extra-curricular activities - all of it in socially valuable projects.

He has worked with several voluntary organizations. – They all speak warmly

of him.

Personal Reminder This is the note Daniel wrote in preparation for the

interview. Short sentences! Say what I’ve done. Say what I want to do. Say

I’m more interested in people than in school subjects. Don’t pretend to be

good at exams. Talk about work with voluntary groups.

he scene this time is the Hong Kong office of an international

company. The management trainee post which Daniel is an

applicant is not especially well paid, but offers the possibility of

promotion. The Personnel Manager, Mrs. Ada Chan, speaks fluent English,

the working language of the company.

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Mrs. Chan:

(There is some shuffling of the large pile of papers on Mrs. Chan’s desk)

Your turn now. Look again at Daniel’s biographical details and write what you

think he said. Remember he decided to keep it short - so limit yourself to four

or five lines this time.

This is what Daniel managed to say:

No, I’m not David Kwan. I’m Daniel

Kwan.

Oh yes, Mr. Kwan, isn’t it? Mr. David Kwan?

Do sit down. Please introduce yourself.

Oh dear yes – sorry, here we are. Right – so,

just introduce yourself, will you?

Yes, I'll introduce myself. I'm Daniel Kwan. In 1997, I graduated from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. I majored in Geography. I always wanted a career in business though and to specialise in Personnel Management. My interests are in people, not in academic study.

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Mrs. Chan, (unlike Mrs. Sotheby) didn’t put a figure on the performance, but

she did of course make a note. Of the following remarks, which would you

have made about Daniel’s performance?

No right answers of course, but I expect you chose the second or the third!

There may be additions to these examples – if, in responding to the

questionnaire relating to the material, you say you would like them! I hope

you found them useful in thinking out how you will answer the same question.

It is a question you are almost sure to be asked! Please introduce yourself

gives you an opportunity

to show how well and confidently you can answer in English;

to sound at the same time assured and modest.

You don’t need to give many biographical facts. (These are in your documents

anyway)

You can draw the hearer's attention to the ways in which your experience is

relevant to the vacancy.

And good luck. I wish you successful job-search.

Pratik Dangore,25th April 2010.

Weak applicant: short, hesitant, poor quality

Modest, sensible, conscious of his own limitations

Good, obviously sociable, sympathetic – arm, likeable personality

Very good, concise, clear, to the point, seems a strong candidate

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